After “Doctor Strange 2”: It may be that long before we see Benedict Cumberbatch again in the MCU

“Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness” received mixed reception in 2022, but was a huge box office success with almost a billion dollars at the box office, many Marvel fans wanted after his performance in the mega hit “Spider-Man: No Way Home But look what awaits magical ex-surgeon Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) next Despite these numbers and the obligatory teaser for another sequel in the credits, a “Doctor Strange 3” has not yet been announced. So it might be a while before we see the titular hero in another solo adventure (there was a whopping six years between the first and second, after all).

In the MCU, however, that doesn’t mean Dr. Strange will have to sit on the reserve bench until then. He’s much more likely to make a comeback for that in one of the many other Marvel adventures – although that could be another few years away as well. This is what Benedict Cumberbatch himself alluded to:

In the Cumberbatch presenter Nick Hackworth recently said when asked what’s next for him that there are a number of Marvel adventures in the works next year (You can find the corresponding passage in the next video starting at about minute 33). First of all, the actor has confirmed his unsurprising MCU return. But his still very vague statements and the previously known information about the MCU future may already allow conclusions about when the reunion will take place…

The fact that Benedict Cumberbatch is (at least) promising a 2024 Marvel shoot should mean that Doctor Strange probably won’t drop by for the remaining screen adventures from the fifth MCU phase, after all, they’re already in the works (“Deadpool 3” ), have already been filmed (“The Marvels”, “Captain America 4: Brave New World”) or are about to begin filming this year (“Thunderbolts”, “Blade”). Of course, this doesn’t preclude Doctor Strange from completing a small cameo in one of the movies (the anticipated multiverse mayhem in “Deadpool 3” would be ideal for this). In fact, this should only be short-lived.

The magician couldn’t have his next proper MCU appearance until MCU stage 6, for which the “Fantastic Four” reboot (theater release: April 30, 2025) as well as “Avengers 5: The Kang Dynasty” (theater release: April 29, 2026) and “Avengers 6: Secret Wars” (May 5, 2027) are announced so far. The most likely scenario here is that Strange will once again be involved in the Avengers spectacle, but two things could indicate that it won’t be in the upcoming double until the second movie.

Doctor Strange won’t be back until “Avengers 6″…

In fact, it’s likely that the two Avengers movies, despite their temporal closeness, won’t form as much of a cohesive two-parter as “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Avengers: Endgame” once did, but rather their own stories. In addition, the title “Secret Wars” refers to a comic template in which the so-called raids (i.e. the collision of several parallel worlds) lead to war between the different universes. And exactly these raids also played an important role in “Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness”.

Another raid is also mentioned at the end of the movie, which the Marvel hero is supposed to take care of, going to the Dark Dimension for that. The credits scene from “Doctor Strange 2” could therefore lead directly into “Secret Wars”, where the magician could then return and play a very central role due to his expertise in the subject. It’s also fitting that “Multiverse Of Madness” author Michael Waldron will also be contributing the screenplay for “Secret Wars.”

… or before that in “Doctor Strange 3”?

If this turns out to be true, Doctor Strange wouldn’t really be able to do magic on the big screen again until 2027. Anyway, the fact that Benedict Cumberbatch mentions “a few” Marvel adventures in the conversation above doesn’t necessarily mean he’s actually filming more than one, but as a general statement it could simply obscure how much are actually on the agenda. for him. But there’s still a glimmer of hope that he could return to the MCU before “Secret Wars”.

So it can be assumed that the sixth MCU phase will not only consist of three films, since the previous two phases of the Multiverse saga each contain a total of seven films. So there’s likely to be a few more Marvel adventures announced here, including maybe even a Doctor Strange 3 as further preparation for Secret Wars.

However, it is still unclear when the Marvel plans will be officially completed. As so often the Comic-Con in San Diego, which is just around the corner, would have been an option – but Marvel Studios is dropping out this year. So it remains to be seen when there will be concrete news about the rest of Phase 6 and Doctor Strange’s next appearance.