Spider-Man: No Way Home will be hitting theaters in just under two months. Fans are getting closer and closer to finally witnessing the film which has been the talk of the town ever since it was announced that Jamie Foxx would be returning as Electro.
Based on the first trailer alone, Spider-Man certainly has his hands full. Having his identity out in the world is not the lightest of pressures to deal with, which is why Peter ends up going to Doctor Strange for help.
From what is about the movie, the good doctor's role in the film will aim to fill the mentor-sized hole in Spider-Man's life. While Spider-Man: Far From Home had Nick Fury, he hardly helped fill the loss that the young hero suffered after Tony Stark's death in Avengers: Endgame.
Doctor Strange actor Benedict Cumberbatch was able to fill fans in as to how his role in Spider-Man: No Way Home may differ from that of Iron Man's previous mentorship.
Benedict Cumberbatch Teases Strange and Spider-Man Dynamic
In a conversation with Empire, Doctor Strange actor Benedict Cumberbatch teased how his relationship with Peter Parker will look in the movie.
The actor mentions how there is a bit of "the Stark Relationship," but that it "shifts into something far more parental and corrective... then it shifts again:"
"There's a shade of the Stark relationship... It's not as intimate to begin with. Because of how experienced a superhero he is, it's a strange dynamic and it kind of shifts into something far more parental and corrective. And then it shifts again."
Doctor Strange is No Tony Stark, and Shouldn't Be
Some fans haven't been the biggest proponents of the mentorship between Tony Stark and Peter Parker. Others would strongly argue against that mentality, probably even citing it as one of the biggest emotional pillars of the MCU—after all, it was one of Stark's key drives in later films.
Either way, Spider-Man: No Way Home needs to make sure Doctor Strange's dynamic and support for Peter is different from that of Tony's. If they end up being the same, Strange's relationship with Spidey will be seen by many as cheap and repetitious.
Iron Man's influence on Spider-Man has, and will continue to be, an important part of his life. Peter doesn't need it two times over.
Cumberbatch's statements about their dynamic evolving are important, with his clarification that he will be "more parental and corrective" being the most important bit.
Fans will have to wait until December 17 to see how the two will end up meshing together.
