“Am I working for the Goliath that’s killing the David?”- Doctor Strange star Benedict Cumberbatch reflects on his association with Marvel

Benedict Cumberbatch recently reflected on his career after a successful 2021 which saw him at the top on both sides of the movie business.

While on one hand his latest Western movie, The Power of the Dog earned 12 nominations at the 94th Academy Awards including Best Picture, his turn as Doctor Strange in Spider-Man: No Way Home was well-received as well, with the movie becoming the biggest blockbuster of the year, after it earned over $1.8 billion at the box office.

While he enjoys playing the sorcerer in Marvel franchise movies, the actor recently admitted that he’s working with the Goliaths of the movie industry, which are trampling the box office performances of other films.

During a recent interview with Vanity Fair, Cumberbatch noted how, even though movies like The Power of the Dog have great stories and characters, these films won’t receive the backing in terms of finances without the addition of an actor who has played a major role in a Marvel.

Following the Marvel boom, producers both inside and outside of Hollywood are taking less risks to fund movies that doesn’t have a major IP involved in it, because it might tank at the box office.

Over the years, even projects from celebrated and popular directors like Ridley Scott and Steven Spielberg have failed to earn big at the box office as their movies had to go against the big names from the world of Marvel, DC, Star Wars and many more.

While these films have great plots and performances from famous actors, moviegoers are very reluctant to watch them in a theatre, and instead they would want a major experience that IP driven movies provide.

In the end, while Cumberbatch sees it as an issue, he doesn’t agree with all the bashing that comic book movies receives, which include them being CGI-laden nonsense, and he finds both types of projects as equally challenging and artistic.