Marvel heroes may have superpowers to combat evil, but they also have the buff bodies to go with them.

And now Benedict Cumberbatch is having to pack on the muscular pounds as he joins the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) as Doctor Strange.

Though the lean actor is having to work a lot harder than the already hench likes of Chris Hemsworth (Thor) and Chris Evans (Captain America) to live up to his comic book role.

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Gym time: Benedict Cumberbatch is having to pack on the muscular pounds as he joins the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Doctor Strange

'Dr Strange was always muscly in the cartoons so Benedict has to look the part when they start filming in the autumn,' a film insider told The Sun.

'Skinny Sherlock Holmes will be the last thing anyone thinks about.'

As well as doubling his daily dose of calories and the consumption of protein shakes, Benedict is also reportedly racking up the hours with a personal trainer to beef up.

Not that the Oscar-nominated star isn't a stranger to tough fitness regimes after playing Khan in Star Trek: Into Darkness.

Training: Cumberbatch had to do a lot of working out for his role as Khan in Star Trek: Into Darkness

Muscle: His lean physique was pumped up to play the Trekkie villain thanks to 'a lot of training and a lot of eating'

'I did a lot of training and I did a lot of eating,' he said of the routine. 'By the end I could do handstand press-ups, feet up against the wall, lowering my head to the floor and pushing up.

'It didn't last long, but I could definitely do that for a week or two.'

Having already played geniuses, real and fictional, Benedict certainly seems to be the perfect choice to play Doctor Strange, a former neurosurgeon who becomes the Sorcerer Supreme, Earth's protector against magical and mystical threats.

Typecast: Benedict has played both fictional and real life geniuses in the form of Sherlock (left_ and Alan Turing so is perfect for the role of a former neurosurgeon turned Sorcerer Supreme

After damaging his hands in a car accident, the egotistical Strange goes on a global hunt to find a way to stop the tremors that have forced him out of the operating room.

It is in the Himalayas that he meets The Ancient One who helps turn the formerly selfish surgeon into a formidable hero with the martial arts skills and magical artifacts to combat dark forces in the world.

Kevin Feige announced Doctor Strange was in the development as part of phase three of the MCU, with filming scheduled to begin shooting in May this year at Pinewood-Shepperton studios in the UK.