Benedict Cumberbatch will be returning as Doctor Strange in Spider-Man 3, which is set to be released next year. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Doctor Strange will be taking over the mentor role previously held by Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark and Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury.

Spider-Man 3 is the third installment in the latest Spider-Man franchise. The film almost didn’t happen due to Sony and Disney originally failing to reach an agreement. A deal was cut and the film is now set to start shooting this month and be released December 17, 2021.

Benedict Cumberbatch will also be returning in the Doctor Strange sequel, Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness. It is due to be released in 2022, but will also start filming this month. Spider-Man 3 will film in Atlanta, while Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness will film in London, so it’s unclear when or where Benedict Cumberbatch will film his Spider-Man scenes.

Spider-Man 3 will also feature the return of Jamie Foxx as Electro. Foxx, who voices the main character of Pixar’s upcoming Soul, last appeared as Electro in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, which starred Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker. Foxx’s return and Cumberbatch’s appearance in the new film suggest it may continue the MCU’s exploration of multiverses. WandaVision, premiering on Disney+ “soon”, will deal with multiverse theory.

Jon Watts, who directed both Spider-Man: Far From Home and Spider-Man: Homecoming, is returning to direct the untitled third film. Zendaya, Marisa Tomei, Jacob Batalon, and Tony Revolori are all confirmed to reprise their roles from the first two films.