Spider-Man: No Way Home will be released on Dec. 17, and fans are eagerly awaiting how the film will incorporate a lot of Marvel Comics storylines together. One of those involves the relationship between Peter Parker and Stephen Strange, Spider-Man and Doctor Strange, respectively, which has been teased in trailers for the new film. Both Tom Holland and Benedict Cumberbatch have hinted at the mentorship between their characters over the last few weeks.
In a recent interview, Cumberbatch spoke to Empire about how he sees the mentorship and compares it to another famous MCU mentor for the webbed hero.
“There’s a shade of the [Tony] Stark relationship… It’s not as intimate to begin with,” the actor said. “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.”
This isn’t the first time that Cumberbatch has provided some preview of what’s to come with the duo’s bond. Earlier this year, he had a similar discussion with The Hollywood Reporter and described the bond as being a “close relationship.”
“They’re neighborhood superheroes, and they’ve had an experience or two,” he said during the interview. “They’ve got history. It might be the case that Peter asks me to help him do something? I think I’m allowed to say that much. I help him fill in his tax returns. That’s what I do.”
Details of Spider-Man: No Way Home have been leaking out for months, with the story following the titular hero now that he’s unmasked and no longer able to separate his normal life from the high-stakes of being a true hero. He turns to Doctor Strange for guidance.
It’s widely believed that Jamie Foxx will reprise his role as Electro from The Amazing Spider-Man movies, and Alfred Molina will reprise his role as Doctor Octopus from Spider-Man 2. That should give the Spider-Man/Doctor Strange tandem plenty of villainous firepower to fight against.
