Doctor Strange introduced us to one of the most exciting of the second generation of Avengers in the form of Benedict Cumberbatch’s Master of the Mystic Arts. He continued to entertain in his cameo in Thor: Ragnarok and a few months ago we saw him stand alongside the rest of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes in Avengers: Infinity War. But what’s next for the sorcerer after that? Can we expect a Doctor Strange 2?
It’s been widely assumed that we can and now, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige has finally confirmed it. Unfortunately, he wouldn’t give an exact timeframe, but showed his commitment to the project by saying “whenever we do another Strange one, which we will do.”
This was in conversation with Cinema Blend, where he explained how Marvel juggles so many different franchises and outlined how it’s a good problem to have.
“Sometimes it’s where do those characters pop up? [Doctor] Strange, you know, whenever we do another Strange one, which we will do, it will be a number of years from the first Strange, and yet he’s a very big part of [Avengers:] Infinity War. So it is just a good problem to have when you have too many beloved characters that people want to see more of, whilst keeping to our core belief that we need to keep exploring nuance and keep doing different types of things.”
As for why it’s taking the studio so long to get around to making another standalone outing for the Sorcerer Supreme, well, that remains a bit unclear. It’s always possible that scheduling the talent is the reason, though. After all, Benedict Cumberbatch has a healthy slate of projects taking him through 2018 and beyond, and we know that all involved are keen for director Scott Derrickson to return to helm the sequel. The filmmaker is committed to the television adaptation of Snowpiercer at the moment, but having him take the reins of the Strange story once more will certainly make it worth such a lengthy wait.
Regardless of when it ends up surfacing, the very fact that Marvel’s committed to Doctor Strange 2 is reason to celebrate. The character’s one of the most enjoyable in the MCU and his mystical side of their cinematic universe has proven to be very fun to explore. Not to mention that after his hugely important role in Infinity War, we can’t wait to see what kind of part he plays in shaping the Marvel Cinematic Universe moving forward.