Benedict Cumberbatch said that he came up with an idea for a scene in "Spider-Man: No Way Home."- The star said that he figured out a way to show how much Doctor Strange cared for Peter Parker.
Benedict Cumberbatch said that he improvised during a pivotal, heartbreaking scene with Tom Holland in "Spider-Man: No Way Home."
"There was this one moment near the end of the film, where we were really trying to make that moment work, at the top of the Statue of Liberty," Cumberbatch, known for his role as Stephen Strange/Doctor Strange in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), told Collider in a new interview.
Cumberbatch continued: "Tom was having a tough time with the script, as it was before the reshoots. And then, we did the reshoots and I came up with this idea to show that I love him, I didn't want him to make the sacrifice of being forgotten."
The "Power of the Dog" star said that director Jon Watts was receptive to his improvisation and told him, "That's gonna be in the film."
"And I was like, 'OK, cool. That's great,'" Cumberbatch said.
In "No Way Home," Holland's Peter Parker/Spider-Man turns to Doctor Strange for help when the world learns of the teen's superhero identity. He asks the sorcerer to cast a spell to make the world forget that he's Spider-Man, but it goes wrong and visitors from the multiverse enter their universe.
Cumberbatch was referring to a scene near the end of the
"What if everyone forgot who I was?" Peter asks. "They're coming here because of me, right? Because I'm Peter Parker? So cast a new spell, but this time make everyone forget who Peter Parker is. Make everyone forget... me."
Strange is initially reluctant, telling the web-slinger: "Yeah, it would work. But you gotta understand that would mean that everyone who knows and loves you, we... We'd have no memory of you. It would be as though you never existed."
Knowing the consequences, Peter insists that Doctor Strange perform the new spell. When Doctor Strange tells Peter to say his goodbyes, the teen thanks him, respectfully calling him "sir."
"Call me Stephen," the sorcerer replies, in a callback to an earlier conversation between the two.
During his interview, Cumberbatch applauded Watts, who directed all three of Holland's standalone "Spider-Man" movies, for his attention to detail and ability to adjust on the fly.
"Great directors are able to throw aside a piece of script or a big set piece and go, 'Oh, maybe that's the story there,'" he said.
The actor also said that seeing Holland and Robert Downey Jr. (Tony Stark/Iron Man) go off-script while filming the 2018 movie "Avengers: Infinity War" was "a real eye-opener."