Doctor Strange to Appear on Netflix’s ‘Iron Fist’ Series?

Daredevil showrunner Steven DeKnight said he wanted to try and work more Marvel easter eggs into the first season of the Netflix series, but a lot of future characters (like Jessica Jones and Luke Cage) hadn't been cast yet. But, what if for one of the upcoming Marvel shows on Netflix, they were able to introduce a future character that had been cast? That's the basis for a pretty interesting, yet unconfirmed rumor, that states Benedict Cumberbatch will appear as Doctor Strange in the upcoming Iron Fist series.

The report comes from Bleeding Cool who say that Strange will “make an appearance” in Netflix’s Iron First series. Which sounds like it could fit: they're both from the mystical side of the Marvel universe and, sure, Marvel loves cameos. But, a few things give us pause.

For one, we have no idea when Iron Fist is actually happening. As the fourth and final Netflix series before The Defenders, it doesn't have a start date or even a showrunner at this point. Doctor Strange opens in theaters in just over a year. Would the timing even match up?

For another, few of the major stars of the Marvel Cinematic Universe have actually crossed over to the small screen. Only Samuel L. Jackson and Cobie Smulders have put in appearances on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. despite teases we may someday see Jeremy Renner or even Robert Downey, Jr. show up. Could Marvel somehow convince the Oscar-nominated Cumberbatch to show up on Netflix?

Bleeding Cool mentions that it may not necessarily be a visual appearance, but that he could be providing some voiceover, like he's speaking to Danny Rand from beyond the ether, which makes a little more sense than actually showing up to set.

We've heard that the contracts of the new Marvel TV cast members (like Charlie Cox of Daredevil and Krysten Ritter of Jessica Jones) include provisions to star in any future Marvel movies, but do the new Marvel movie contracts include provisions to cross over into the TV shows? It sounds a little far-fetched to us, but with Marvel, you just never know.

Doctor Strange opens in theaters on November 4, 2016.