Tom Holland's Peter Parker profoundly affected Doctor Strange in Spider-Man: No Way Home, and the college-bound teenager actually brought out a different side of the sorcerer according to Benedict Cumberbatch.
Spider-Man: No Way Home showcased the relationship between Peter and Doctor Strange differently than any other film.
This was in part due to the fact that Peter had to rely on Strange so heavily after the world found out that he was Spider-Man, which was something that director Jon Watts had planned in order to "do something that [fans] haven't seen before."
How Peter Parker Changed Doctor Strange
In the Spider-Man: No Way Home - The Art of the Movie book that was recently released worldwide, Doctor Strange actor Benedict Cumberbatch discussed the way Strange interacts with Peter Parker in the film, and specifically how Peter changed him.
Cumberbatch explained that a "paternal" side of Doctor Strange "kicked in" when Peter came to him for help in No Way Home, which, in the actor's eyes, "reorients" Strange into becoming less egotistical:
"One's an adult and the other one's yet to go to college. So there's a very sort of paternal or avuncular thing that kicked in with Strange, which is very non-Strange territory to be in. This guy is quite a self-involved egotist. Even if he is doing good for others, it's on his own terms. So this kind of reorients him. We're loving riffing off that..."
Will Fans Ever See the "Paternal" Side of Doctor Strange Again?
No Way Home is likely the only project that will ever feature the relationship between Peter and Doctor Strange in a "paternal" way due to how the film ended.
It is important to remember that even Strange's memory of Peter was wiped at the end of the movie, so he no longer has any sort of fatherly connection to him because they have no history with one another through Strange's eyes.
However, it is entirely possible that the side of Strange that was displayed in No Way Home could be seen again.
Viewers were able to see that side of the character a little bit more in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness between him and America Chavez.
Even though Cumberbatch stated that it is "very non-Strange territory to be in," perhaps his experiences with the Avengers and particularly his experiences with younger heroes such as America and Spider-Man have really opened up a different side of the character for good.
It is obvious that there is a difference in Strange from the time he was introduced in 2016's Doctor Strange and now, so he may be continuing to grow and change as a character.
Spider-Man: No Way Home is currently available for purchase digitally and physically.
