Benedict Cumberbatch admits it's "very cool" to be part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange

Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange

The 41-year-old actor stars as magical superhero Doctor Strange in the MCU and is set to reprise his role in both 'Thor: Ragnarok' and the upcoming 'Avengers: Infinity War', and Cumberbatch admits it's an honour to be part of such a "huge" cinematic storyline which Marvel Studios have been building to for a decade.

In an interview with Digital Spy, the actor said: "It's 10 years coming. It's just a huge, huge amount of work, huge amount of storylines and it's all sort of pointing to this confrontation. It's amazing to be part of it even though I'm late to the party. It's a very cool to be part of it."

'Avengers: Infinity War' will see the Avengers superhero team joining forces with the Guardians of the Galaxy to fight the powerful intergalactic villain Thanos.

The next two Avengers movies have been announced as the end of Phase 4 in the MCU and Joe Russo - who is helming the two films with his brother Anthony - accepts that fans believe they know what will happen in the plot from watching the other Marvel movies but he previously said there's going to be some shocks for cinema goers.

'Avengers: Infinity War' will see the hero squad - Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), Vision (Paul Bettany), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) - join forces with the Guardians of the Galaxy.

The two teams will have to work together to fight Thanos, with some help from newcomers Doctor Strange (Cumberbatch), Spider-Man (Tom Holland), Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) and the screen debut of Captain Marvel (Brie Larson).