In a slightly surprising twist, polling after Avengers: Infinity War showed that audiences consistently rated Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange as one of their favorite characters. With that, the production gears of Doctor Strange 2 have accelerated significantly over at Marvel Studios and, judging by this tweet of classic comic panels (following one earlier this month) by director Scott Derrickson, they’re in the midst of planning what’s next for the Sorcerer Supreme.
Seen down below, could the panels here give us a clue as to what the studio has in mind for sequel inspiration? Well, these particular images are from the November 1965 issue of Strange Tales, with the specific story entitled If Eternity Should Fail. Written by Steve Ditko and Stan Lee, it shows Strange coming face-to-face with the living embodiment of Eternity (the leader of the entities known as the Cosmic Powers of the Marvel Universe). He’s sought out this being to ask for the power to defeat Dormammu, though Eternity replies that the power already lies within him.
Now, although Dormammu wasn’t exactly beaten at the end of Doctor Strange (more outwitted), I think it’s unlikely they’ll recycle him for a sequel. Having said that, the idea of Strange astrally exploring the outer limits of the MCU could make for a fantastically trippy film, especially if they lean hard into the Ditko/Kirby aesthetic. Or, this could just be a cool set of panels that Derrickson likes.
Either way, Strange has to get himself out of the not inconsiderable pickle of being dead as a doornail by the end of Infinity War. Given that he didn’t seem too cut up about dying, it’s pretty clear he’s seen the path for the heroes to defeat Thanos and reverse the snap that killed half of all life. So, we should expect to see him pop up again in Avengers 4 with a very Cumberbatchian ‘I told you so’ look on his face.
Doctor Strange 2 is currently pencilled in for a 2020 release and as soon as we hear more, we’ll be sure to let you know.