While you could make a well-founded argument that Peter Parker doesn’t always need to have a father figure in his life, especially when his Marvel Cinematic Universe tenure began with Uncle Ben already out of the picture, having Tony Stark and Doctor Strange as mentors is hardly a bad thing.
With the genius billionaire playboy philanthropist having made the ultimate sacrifice in Avengers: Endgame, the Sorcerer Supreme steps into Spider-Man: No Way Home as a source of advice and comfort for the young web-slinger, and an important ally when the multiversal chaos ensues.
Benedict Cumberbatch was one of the first names announced for the No Way Home ensemble, and in an interview with Esquire UK, he admitted that he felt like a little kid getting the chance to be in a Spider-Man movie.
“All the time when you’re making those movies are pinch-yourself moments. I’m never over the giddy nature of working opposite Spider-Man. It’s pretty cool. You go into it, and you commit to it and it’s daft. But it’s also really enjoyable and intoxicating and should be celebrated as well and treated for what it is, which is fun.”
Mephisto rumors aside, Doctor Strange looks to be pivotal to the story of Spider-Man: No Way Home, with his spell gone awry causing the Sam Raimi and Marc Webb timelines to become one with MCU canon. It’s going to take a whole lot of fighting and twice as much magic to restore order, and the fact it ties directly into Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness means that the Master of the Mystic Arts may not emerge from the wreckage unscathed.