The first hero for Avengers 5 has been confirmed, and I’m happy to say it’s who I wanted to be the team’s leader, making me more excited about the Marvel Cinematic Universe movie. My favorite MCU hero is Chris Evans’ Captain America. It was amazing to watch him grow in importance in the MCU over the years, cementing himself as the leader of the Avengers and having some of the franchise’s best films and moments. With him out, a new generation of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes will rise, with Avengers 5‘s cast being massive.
The movie will reportedly feature over 60 returning MCU characters, with an ensemble approach rather than focusing on a handful of heroes. Still, the MCU’s new Avengers need a leader, and without Evans’ Captain America, it should be the first Avenger confirmed for the movie. Benedict Cumberbatch will return as Doctor Strange in Avengers 5, with the actor revealing the news and teasing filming will start in 2025. I think Doctor Strange is the perfect character to lead the first Avengers movie of the Multiverse Saga and future MCU outings of the team.
Doctor Strange’s Avengers Past Makes Him The Perfect Team Leader
Cumberbatch’s Hero Has Plenty Of Experience
Cumberbatch was one of the standouts of Avengers: Infinity War. His role in the movie and the smaller but effective appearance in Avengers: Endgame helped make Doctor Strange a major MCU name after his first solo movie was a middle-of-the-park affair. Strange showed all of his power when he fought Thanos. That sequence continues to stand as the height of Doctor Strange’s powers in the MCU for me and is easily one of the most exciting moments in the franchise. The new Avengers could do with a leader as powerful as Doctor Strange.
Cumberbatch also had amazing chemistry with Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man, Tom Holland’s Spider-Man, and others in the Avengers movies. That shows that the actor could deliver an electric performance in Avengers 5 with Strange interacting with a whole new roster of heroes, as the MCU has had many new additions over the past few years. Strange should also be the new leader of the Avengers because I believe his sacrifice — willingly giving Thanos the Time Stone and ultimately getting snapped — for the Avengers to get the one shot they had to beat Thanos was what a leader would do.
Only 1 MCU Character Rivals Doctor Strange’s Multiverse Knowledge
And They Could Both Team Up In Avengers 5
As the first Avengers movie in the Multiverse Saga, it would make sense for Doctor Strange to serve as the leader of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes in Avengers 5. After all, the character has the most multiverse experience among the MCU’s heroes. Cumberbatch’s character was key to Spider-Man: No Way Home‘s multiversal plot, bringing Sony characters into the MCU and later sending them back. Then came Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which stands as the biggest multiversal exploration in a theatrical MCU release. Strange now has experience with other universes and knowledge of incursions.
An incursion is when two universes collide, with one or both being destroyed. Incursions should be the main plot device of Avengers: Secret Wars, as they were in the comic book event that inspired the movie, which I think would make Doctor Strange becoming the team’s new leader in Avengers 5 make a ton of sense. The only other MCU character that rivals Doctor Strange’s multiverse knowledge for the Avengers is Loki. While Loki is currently the protector of the multiverse, his past as an Avengers movie villain makes it hard for him to lead the team in Avengers 5.
I Think Benedict Cumberbatch Should Play Doctor Strange For The Next Decade
The MCU’s Future Needs Some Consistency
Cumberbatch becoming the new leader of the Avengers would be one of the best things for the MCU in the long run. I think Marvel needs to retain as many of its biggest stars as it can for the next decade. If there is something that the Multiverse Saga has shown so far, it is that the shared universe has struggled without Captain America and Iron Man.
The recipe for turning the franchise around, in my point of view, consists of key characters like Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange sticking around for another decade as heroes like the Fantastic Four and the X-Men arrive. There’s so much still to do with Strange. Cumberbatch can end his trilogy and lead more solo movies. He could also be one of the leaders of the Midnight Sons, a supernatural team the MCU could soon set up and appear in more Avengers movies. If the MCU gets it right, Doctor Strange will do so as the team’s leader, starting with Avengers 5.
