Though some may deem his turn as to be the pinnacle of his career, Benedict Cumberbatch has a unique comparison for his and Marvel Cinematic Universe successes. The two-time Oscar nominee found his rise to international stardom with his role as the iconic Sherlock Holmes in the eponymous BBC series, which brought the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle detective character into the modern day alongside Martin Freeman's John Watson. After trying his hand in the world of blockbuster filmmaking with and the latter two movies, Cumberbatch would find further acclaim with his work as Doctor Strange in the MCU, starring in the origin film of the same name and its sequel,
, as well as , , , and .
In a recent interview with , Cumberbatch was asked his thoughts on exploring a grander scale with the MCU over his time as Sherlock Holmes in the BBC series. in turn offered a unique comparison for the two franchises, feeling he has yet to surpass the "" of his prior claim to fame even with his superhero role. See what Cumberbatch shared below:
Well, as far as this being a bigger pond than Sherlock… I don’t think it is. I think Sherlock, for me, has had a bigger reach than something like Doctor Strange because it’s television; it’s more democratic, more people have seen it.
The reach that program has had is extraordinary. It was a sort of stink bomb that I knew was going to go the minute I said yes to doing the role. But I didn’t know just how big it would be — it surprised all of us who made it.
Though the show's final season scored generally mixed reviews from critics, many have remained hopeful to see Cumberbatch return to at some point in the future. Co-creator Steven Moffat has previously confirmed plans for a
, stating that he and co-creator Mark Gatiss had plotted out what a future season would entail, though at the time of season 4's release was uncertain whether it would be produced. Moffat spoke about the possibility of the show's return earlier this year, expressing doubts about its future due to both Cumberbatch and Freeman's busy schedules and the lower pay they would be offered for the series in comparison to their other work.
Interestingly, Cumberbatch wasn't the only one brought on to the MCU following their work on as Freeman joined the comic book movie franchise the same year as his former co-star with 2016's
. The Everett K. Ross actor has since reprised the role in the first movie, for which he saw a bigger, and well-received part, and is expected to return for this month's , . Cumberbatch himself is expected to return as Doctor Strange at some point in the future, with ' post-credits scene teasing the start of his relationship with Charlize Theron's Clea, well-known in the comics as the eventual wife of Strange, as well as the niece of the villainous Dormammu.
Given their ongoing busy schedule in the MCU with Doctor Strange and the political intrigue of and , the chances for Cumberbatch and Freeman to return for
season 5 does, unfortunately, seem relatively low. However, both actors have frequently expressed their interests in coming back for more of the beloved BBC show, with the latter feeling that could prove effective to give closure to the characters given their schedules and the amount of time it's been since the last season was released. While audiences await word on a potential return, they can revisit the first four seasons of streaming on Crackle now.
