Photo credit: Helga Esteb / Shutterstock.com

Benedict Cumberbatch is a busy man these days. After appearing in ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’, preparing for the new season of ‘Sherlock’, and dominating the box office last weekend as the titular dragon in ‘The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug’, his rising star isn’t stopping any time soon. He’s even been rumored for a part in ‘Star Wars: Episode VII’. But a new report might indicate that those rumors were a cover up for what’s really going on.

According to TheDailySuperhero, sources say that the rumors of Cumberbatch heading to a galaxy far, far away were started to throw fans off the trail and conceal Disney’s real plan for him. Rather than stepping into the revitalized Lucasfilm franchise, the popular British actor is apparently actually being looked at for a role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. There’s no word on which character he’d play, but the House of Mouse definitely wants him for something.

The outlet notes that this news from the same source that revealed that Marvel Studios was interested in Bradley Cooper for Rocket Raccoon in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’, so they consider them fairly reliable. Also, both Marvel and Disney have been known to leak false information in the past to swerve the press and fans away from the real story and keep things a surprise.

With ‘Doctor Strange’ as good as confirmed for Phase Three, I’d say that film might be the best place for Cumberbatch. But who knows? Maybe he’ll pop up in ‘Ant-Man’ with fellow Englishman Edgar Wright at the helm. Of course, there could be some unannounced project that they have in mind that he could be perfect for. No matter who they want him for, you can’t really blame Marvel for wanting him for something.

On the flip side, it is sort of a bummer that these ‘Star Wars’ rumors could potentially be a hoax. I was starting to warm up to the idea of the actor playing a Sith Lord. Just imagine it! That would be so badass.

Naturally, one should take these rumors with a grain of salt since no official word has come through the grapevine to confirm Cumberbatch’s involvement with neither Marvel nor ‘Star Wars’, but if he is in fact off to join the world of Iron Man, The Hulk, and Captain America, who do you think he’d play and what movie could he be appearing in? Share your thoughts and theories in the comments below.