WandaVision: Benedict Cumberbatch Comments on Doctor Strange's Exclusion From Finale

WandaVision has already reached its endgame by showcasing the full-blown transformation of Wanda Maximoff into the Scarlet Witch. Despite that, there are still questions that have been left unanswered, and a good chunk of those are from the show's game-changing post-credits sequences. 

It was clear that the first stinger sets up two Marvel projects at once in the form of Secret Invasion and Captain Marvel 2. Meanwhile, the last sequence at the tail-end of WandaVision appears to tease the madness part in the highly anticipated Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, mainly due to Wanda's “experimentation” with the Darkhold. 

Given the inclusion of the Book of the Damned, it prompts numerous questions of why Doctor Strange didn't show up in the finale. Now, a new interview may shed some light on the matter. 

BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH REACTS TO DOCTOR STRANGE'S ABSENCE IN WANDAVISION

Doctor Strange star Benedict Cumberbatch recently spoke with Jake Hamilton in the latest episode of Jake's Take to talk about The Courier, and one of the topics that was touched upon was the absence of the Sorcerer Supreme in the series finale of WandaVision. 

Cumberbatch was asked if he was aware that fans expected the Master of the Mystic Arts to show up in the MCU series finale, but the veteran actor only apologized to viewers that he didn't show up while also admitting that it “would've been fun” to see the characters together before Multiverse of Madness: 

"Aww. I'm sorry to disappoint you. I don't know, yeah. I mean, that would've been fun I guess. It would've let into [Elizabeth Olsen's] involvement with [Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness] but, ah hell, you know. That's all to come. We're in the middle of it now, we've been filming since before Christmas, and it's very exciting. And yeah, today's a good day, not only talking about this film, but also our production company, in general, is doing great. We just got five nominations for The Mauritanian which is a film I'm proud of. So yeah, I wasn't in WandaVision, I'd been quite busy, I guess that's why I mentioned The Mauritanian is also because I wanted to talk about [it]. [Laughs]"

The full interview can be viewed below. 

 

DOCTOR STRANGE'S ABSENCE MAKES SENSE IN WANDAVISION

At first, Doctor Strange's involvement in the Westview anomaly should be a no-brainer, considering that Chaos Magic was involved. However, WandaVision effectively showed that the narrative worked without the Sorcerer Supreme, placing the spotlight on Wanda's grief at the core of the show. 

Cumberbatch's comments could indicate two possibilities regarding the WandaVision and Doctor Strange debacle. For starters, the actor might be telling the truth that he actually had no idea if the MCU sorcerer had been involved in the series.

On the flip side, Cumberbatch's answer could be a safe one, as evidenced by the actor's way of staying away from the topic. It's possible that Doctor Strange was indeed included in the finale for WandaVision, but other factors such as the pandemic or the continued shift in the MCU's Phase 4 slate derailed those plans. 

This is on top of previous comments from WandaVision head scribe Jac Schaeffer about Doctor Strange's involvement in a recent interview, hinting at the fact on “that's how the cookie crumbled” in production. 

In canon, Doctor Strange's lack of presence in Westview is a head-scratching ordeal, but there's a chance that the Masters of the Mystic Arts is still recovering from the post-Endgame world. After all, the Time Stone is already gone, and Strange would've not foreseen the threat of the Hex-pansion in New Jersey. 

Whatever the case, all the questions will be answered in the Doctor Strange sequel, and the much-anticipated team-up (or confrontation) between the two powerful heroes will definitely be a must-see because of these lingering plot threads.