The MCU is home to hundreds of actors, with dozens of them being huge names throughout Hollywood. Benedict Cumberbatch, the actor that actively brings the character of Doctor Strange to life, just recently starred alongside Elizabeth Olsen in his second solo film in the franchise - Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Unfortunately for the actors, the MCU is a vast franchise. It covers everything from street-level heroes like Hailee Steinfeld's Kate Bishop that have not ventured outside of New York yet to characters like Chris Hemsworth's Thor who is literally from a different realm. This means that some of the actors don't get to work with everyone in the MCU, and if they do it is extremely brief in one of the team-up movies like Avengers: Endgame.
Cumberbatch recently talked about this downside to playing in the MCU, and even listed off a group of actors that he would personally like to work with at some point in the future and one he regrets not having more scenes with.
Benedict Cumberbatch's Wanted More Scenes With Scarlett Johansson
In a recent interview with Oracle Time, Doctor Strange actor Benedict Cumberbatch was asked who he would like to work with inside the MCU.
The actor immediately mentioned the actor behind the character of Nick Fury, Samuel L. Jackson, saying that he would "love to share some screen time with him," but as for anyone else, "it depends what timeline:"
"Samuel L. Jackson. I’d love to share some screen time with him if he’s still in it. I don’t know any more. I guess it depends what timeline?"
Cumberbatch also singled out Scarlett Johansson as an upsetting case of his lack of MCU history, as he "sadly didn’t have much screen time with" the Black Widow star due to him arriving much later in the MCU. Although Cumberbatch and Johansson both starred in Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame together, Doctor Strange and Black Widow never interact with each other.
Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston were also actors Cumberbatch mentioned that he would love to work with at some point:
"I sadly didn’t have much screen time with Scarlett Johansson and I’d love more with Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston. The thing is I came very late to the party when Marvel was just celebrating the first decade with that incredible group shot in Endgame."
The actor went on to mention Tony Stark's funeral scene in Avengers: Endgame, and how it was "pretty intense" to be there with so many of the other big names. Cumberbatch then mentioned how he got to speak to Michael Douglas and Michelle Pfeiffer and called the experience "so bizarre:"
"I was just blown away by the people I was surrounded by, and I hardly got to talk to everyone, let alone act with them. That tracking shot at Stark’s memorial is pretty intense. That was amazingly charged and I think everyone got a bit giddy that day. But I literally went, 'Hello, morning, how are you?' to Michael Douglas and Michelle Pfeiffer. It’s just like, what the f--k is going on now? How did I get here? This is so bizarre. It was magic."
Can Benedict Cumberbatch's Wish be Granted?
Going down the list of names that Cumberbatch revealed, it is incredibly likely that he will be able to "share some screen time" with Samuel L. Jackson at some point. Nick Fury will be returning to the MCU in Disney+'s Secret Invasion, and he could very well come back for Avengers: The Kang Dynasty or Avengers: Secret Wars.
Scarlett Johansson is an interesting choice. Her character met an emotional end in Avengers: Endgame, and then came back one more time for her Black Widow solo movie, but it seems like she won't be returning to the franchise at any point in the future. The one exception would be Avengers: Secret Wars, but the actress may not have any interest in returning to the MCU – at least not in an acting capacity.
Cumberbatch and Johansson did star opposite one another in a film previously, that being The Other Boleyn Girl, but it is a shame the two won't be able to engage in a proper Marvel team-up.
Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston are both equally likely to get some more screentime with Cumberbatch in the future. There is no reason as of right now for their paths to cross, but once Loki can get back to the Earth-616 timeline, he will probably want to seek out Doctor Strange and tell him about his experience.
