Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor Strange portaling into Tom Holland's Spider-Man sequel

Peter Parker has a new New York mentor. After the events of Far From Home, Spider-Man was caught in a tangled web involving his secret identity and the loss of his mentor Tony Stark AKA Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.). Now it seems in his next outing, he'll have a new helping hand...and magical ones to boot.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor Strange is joining the third Spider-Man standalone for the MCU, filling the mentor role left by the dearly departed savior of Endgame. Tom Holland won't have to rely on Happy anymore — or Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) for that matter. The extra star power isn't the only reprised role coming into the film, as Cumberbatch joins Electro actor Jamie Foxx as another recent casting announcement.

The film doesn't yet have an official title, but filmmaker Jon Watts is back to finish out his trilogy for Marvel. Both the third Spidey and the next Doctor Strange (Sam Raimi-helmed) film, Multiverse of Madness, are set to shoot this month. Maybe there's some alternate dimension/timeline funkiness going on? Could Andrew Garfield's Spidey show up a la Into the Spider-Verse? Whatever's happening, there will definitely be portals.

Cumberbatch, Holland, and more will join returning stars Zendaya, Jacob Batolon, and Marisa Tomei. The film is currently set to hit theaters on Dec. 17, 2021 - though that's not set in stone as the recent schedule shuffles have every blockbuster moving.