While Marvel Studios is likely to remain tight-lipped about their plans beyond 2019 at least until after the release of Avengers: Endgame next month, it’s been known for a while now that director Scott Derrickson will be returning to the helm for Doctor Strange 2.
What’s more, a now-deleted tweet from the filmmaker may have offered a few clues about the content of Stephen Strange’s next solo adventure. As you can see in the screenshot below, shared by SuperheroPOLL! Plus+, the Sinister helmsman posted an image from the first issue of the 2011 limited series Fear Itself: The Deep, which shows the doctor getting dragged into the depths of the ocean, while the comic book hero Namor comes up behind him.
Derrickson’s post also came with the cryptic caption, “Are You Experienced?” Presumably, the reference here is the Jimi Hendrix track of the same name, and as SuperheroPOLL! Plus+ points out, the song’s opening lyrics may hold some significance:
“If you can just get your mind together / Then come on across to me / We’ll hold hands and then we’ll watch the sunrise / From the bottom of the sea”
Call it a stretch if you must, but Derrickson’s deleted tweet certainly has an underwater theme going for it, and the inclusion of Namor might well hold some significance. Last October, the possibility of the Sub-Mariner entering the MCU even came up in a discussion with Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige, though the producer remained characteristically vague on the matter, saying that the team is still working out if and when it might happen.
In any case, with production for Doctor Strange 2 not expected to get underway until 2020, we still have plenty of time to get some clarification on the matter. While we wait for answers, Stephen Strange is predicted to make a triumphant return from the grave when Avengers: Endgame hits theaters on April 26th, 2019.