Though Marvel still hasn’t officially given a sequel to Doctor Strange the go-ahead, one would assume it’ll only be a matter of time, especially given that the studio’s latest superhero adventure performed so well at the box office – and when the Sorcerer Supreme (Benedict Cumberbatch) dons the cloak of levitation again, he’s going to need some fresh bad guys to work his magic against.
Director Scott Derrickson has already mentioned that he was considering using Nightmare in the first film instead of Dormammu, and during a Twitter Q&A session with fans, he once again name-dropped the demonic villain as a “possibility” for the inevitable follow-up:
Possibly Nightmare, but he's a tricky villain to get right. And you can't tell the story of Doctor Strange w/out eventually dealing w/Clea. https://t.co/C4mZYgGkkA
— N O S ⋊ Ɔ I ᴚ ᴚ Ǝ ᗡ ⊥ ⊥ O Ɔ S (@scottderrickson) March 2, 2017
Nightmare would indeed be a challenge to pull off, as the immortal character can only influence/attack Strange while the hero is in his astral form – however, the villain does control a number of lower level demons that could do his bidding, potentially setting up some action-packed skirmishes with the good doctor and his fellow sorcerers. Plus, Nightmare has ties to Strange’s love interest, Clea (who Derrickson also mentions), as well as Loki and several other related characters.
Of course, even if a Doctor Strange sequel is greenlit, there’s no guarantee that Derrickson will return as director, so what he wants to see in the movie may not count for a whole lot in the end. Still, the fact that he’s so passionate about the character says a lot, and – whether he’s ready to admit it or not – there have almost certainly been some preliminary discussions with Marvel about signing on to helm a second film.
Doctor Strange is now out on DVD and Blu-ray and you can check out a full rundown of the extra features right here.