Word has arrived from the Multiverse that Benedict Cumberbatch is joining the cast of Marvel's third film in the Spider-Man: Homecoming series. Cumberbatch will, of course, be reprising his role as Doctor Stephen Strange, who is expected to act as a mentor to Tom Holland's Peter Parker aka Spider-Man, a role that was previously occupied by Robert Downey Jr., who played Tony Stark/Iron Man in SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING and by Samuel L. Jackson in SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME.
Previously, it was announced that Jamie Foxx will reprise his Electro role for the upcoming Spider-Man sequel. Foxx played the super-charged villain in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, which featured Andrew Garfield as New York City's friendly neighborhood wall-crawler. Rumors also suggest that Spider-Man actors Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, Kirsten Dunst, and Dane DeHaan will reprise their roles as Peter Parker, Peter Parker, Mary-Jane, and Harry Osborn, respectively, in the upcoming film. To be clear, none of the actors I've just mentioned are confirmed to be starring in the new film as of this time, and Marvel has yet to comment on their participation. That said, it's entirely possible that the third film in the Spider-Man: Homecoming series will be getting up to some Multiverse shenanigans, a Marvel Comics plot device that allows characters from across the Spider-Man film spectrum to become a part of the new film. Again, we'll have to wait and see, but considering that Doctor Strange's next film is called DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS, I'll let you draw your own conclusions.
Jon Watts, who directed both SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING and SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME, will return to helm Spider-Man 3, which is expected to begin shooting in Atlanta in late October while Multiverse of Madness is set to film later this month as well, in London. For the moment, we've no idea how Cumberbatch will film scenes for both films, though I suspect that some magic portals and an N95 mask will have something to do with the process.
Spider-Man 3, starring Tom Holland, Zendaya, Marisa Tomei, Tony Revolori, Jacob Batalon, and Jamie Foxx is dated for a December 17, 2021 release, though many fans suspect this date will change on account of the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.