After Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was pushed back to March 2022 as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s reshuffling of Phase Four, the Sorcerer Supreme faces the longest wait between sequels in the franchise’s history, and by the time the follow-up finally lands in theaters, almost 65 months will have passed since the first installment was released.
To put that in perspective, in the interim we’ve seen new outings for the Guardians of the Galaxy, Ant-Man and the Avengers, while Spider-Man and Thor will have gotten multiple sequels in the time it’s taken Doctor Strange to get just one. And even though the MCU has always tended to reward their major characters with at least a trilogy, up until recently, the plan was for Benedict Cumberbatch’s Master of the Mystic Arts to only get two solo adventures of his own, before Clea assumed the mantle as part of the widespread changes set to be made to the studio’s lineup of marquee heroes.
However, with Multiverse of Madness now set to introduce the idea of branching timelines and alternate realities into the long-running series, we’ve heard from our sources – the same ones that told us She-Hulk and Ms. Marvel shows were in the works for Disney Plus before either was officially announced – that Doctor Strange 3 is back on the table, with Cumberbatch poised to extend his contract.
According to our intel, Marvel are said to be high on the possibilities that Sam Raimi’s upcoming sequel will bring to the MCU, and with Scarlet Witch rumored to be the real focal point of the story, they want Doctor Strange to headline a trilogy-closer of his own before Clea takes over as the MCU’s next Sorcerer Supreme. We’re also told that the gap between Multiverse of Madness and the third solo outing will be a lot smaller than before, meaning fans still have plenty of Cumberbatch to look forward to in the MCU in the near future before he ultimately passes on the mantle and makes his exit.
