Spider-Man 3 has enlisted the aid of a good doctor, as Benedict Cumberbatch's superhero surgeon Doctor Strange has joined the cast as Peter Parker's new mentor according to the Hollywood Reporter, which broke the exciting news.

Tom Holland's first two Spider-Man movies saw Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man and Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury take a teenage Spidey under their wing, but now it's Doctor Strange's turn to play father figure. I expect that he'll also introduce Spider-Man to the multiverse, seeing as how Jamie Foxx is already slated to reprise his role as Electro from The Amazing Spider-Man 2.

Jon Watts is returning to direct the threequel for Sony Pictures and Marvel, and production is slated to start later this month in Atlanta. The timing lines up with the start of production on Sam Raimi's Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which will soon begin filming in London. Thus, Cumberbatch will have to navigate two different shoots as the same character, though he's expected to shoot his Spider-Man 3 scenes first.

The supporting cast of the Spider-Man movies will also be back, including Marisa Tomei, Jacob Batalon, Tony Revolori and Zendaya, the latter of whom will then segue to the set of Euphoria season two early next year.

Sony plans to release the third Spider-Man movie on Dec. 17, 2021, though as we've seen this week, release dates remain fluid at the moment. Just this week, we've seen the delays of Dune, The Batman, The Flash and Jurassic World: Dominion, though The Matrix 4 actually moved up on the release calendar, which served as an encouraging sign.

Cumberbatch and Holland's comic book characters first shared the screen in Avengers: Infinity War, and Marvel quickly paired the two actors for junket interviews, which sparked speculation that their paths could cross outside of the Avengers franchise. I liked Scott Derrickson's Doctor Strange more than most, so I'm excited to see the character get a bit more screentime now that Tony Stark isn't hogging the limelight.

It remains to be seen if any other Spider-Man actors over the years join the cast of this new film, such as Kirsten Dunst or Dane DeHaan, but to read more about Foxx's return as Electro, click here.