Benedict Cumberbatch Defends Spider-Man: No Way Home Spell That Opened the Gates of the Multiverse

Benedict Cumberbatch still thinks Doctor Strange did the right thing in Spider-Man: No Way Home.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, the 45-year-old Doctor Strange star once again defended his character’s actions when it comes to that severely broken spell…

“He’s a human being, and I think it was a very human error,” he explained. “He saw Peter as a fellow foot soldier and then as a teenager going through a very formative experience of not being able to be his true self because of being exposed, and having lost a mentor, [Strange] decided to step in with a gesture of pretty good intention.”

Although Strange clearly had good intentions, he’s come under fire from fans who think his actions were remarkably blasé for a spell that could shatter reality itself. But Cumberbatch insists it wasn’t all Doctor Strange’s fault.

“I think the spell, on its own, might have been all right,” he said. “Everyone forgets that Peter interrupts the spell so many times, and that’s what corrupted it. That’s what lets it in. Peter, through the ability he has with his powers, affects the spell with his words. It’s not really Strange’s mistake.”

The big question is really, should Doctor Strange have cast the spell in the first place? Cumberbatch has an answer for that, too.

“He’s right to want to help Peter. What kind of superhero would he be if he didn’t want to help another superhero? That’s kind of questionable. That avuncular love, that genuine love, which, by the end, is another cause for a near mistake, but he rights the correction there in accepting Peter’s idea of channeling the forgetfulness into the identification of him as Peter Parker so that everyone forgets who Peter Parker is. And it’s costly to [Strange] because he cares for the guy.

“He says, ‘We. Everyone who loves you. We [would have no memory of you],’ and in the use of that pronoun, which was my idea to put in, he allies himself with MJ [Zendaya] and everyone in that universe who loves Peter.”

“I think somebody who cares about somebody can be forgiven for doing something that has consequences,” he added. “But in that moment, it takes a teenager to adjust him to doing the thing for the greater good rather than the selfish thing, which would be to not do that spell so he can carry on a friendship with the guy that he cares about.”

Ironically, Cumberbatch says it’s all about his humanity – interesting for a superhero who’s often considered a bit aloof. That said, he has already stated that this infamous spell wasn’t all arrogance.

“I empathize very much with the idea that a superhero can make a mistake because of their humanity,” he said. “I’m glad that I’m playing one that does.”

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange, alongside Elizabeth Olsen as Scarlet Witch. They’re joined by Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong, Rachel McAdams, and Xochitl Gomez.

Sam Raimi directed the movie from a script by Michael Waldron, based on characters created by comic book legends, Steve Ditko, and Stan Lee.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.