Although Doctor Strange returned earlier this year in Avengers: Infinity War and is expected to be back for Avengers: Endgame, it's been two years since his first movie, a.k.a. his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut. Since every debut Marvel movie aside from The Incredible Hulk has gotten a sequel or two, it's generally been assumed that the Master of the Mystic Arts would follow suit, and now it's been confirmed that director Scott Derrickson will be back for Doctor Strange 2.
This update comes from THR, which reports that Scott Derrickson has finalized a deal to direct on Doctor Strange 2. Interestingly, although Derickson wrote the Doctor Strange script with C. Robert Cargill, apparently Marvel Studios is searching for a new writer to tackle this sequel. The plan right now is for the script to be worked on in 2019, which will lead into a spring 2020 production launch. If all goes according to plan, Doctor Strange 2 will be released in May 2021.
As for folks in front of the camera, Benedict Cumberbatch will obviously be back as Stephen Strange, and Benedict Wong will reprise Wong as well. It's also "likely" that Rachel McAdams will return as Christine Palmer, Strange's love interest. Beyond that, there's no word yet on what Doctor Strange 2's story will be, although C. Robert Cargill revealed earlier this year that when he was hashing out the sequel with Scott Derrickson, the plan was for Nightmare to be the main antagonist.
Before Doctor Strange, Scott Derrickson's directorial credits included The Exorcism of Emily Rose, The Day the Earth Stood Still and Sinister. He also directed the pilot for the Snowpiercer TV series, but left the project after the showrunner was replaced. While not all directors who've worked on debut Marvel movies have stayed for sequels, it sounds like Marvel was keen on Derrickson leading the charge once more for Doctor Strange's next solo adventure.
Of course, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that currently, Doctor Strange is currently dust. Literally. He was among the unlucky half of the universe that was wiped out by The Decimation, and with most of Avengers: Endgame still under a shroud of secrecy, it remains to be seen how Strange and the other fallen heroes will be brought back.
However, before being dusted in Avengers: Infinity War, Doctor Strange used the Time Stone to look into the future and glimpse all the outcomes of the coming battle with Thanos, and in only one were the heroes victorious. So even though he's not currently around, Strange knew what needed to be done to ultimately defeat the Mad Titan, and it won't be much longer before he's casting spells again and ready to go on a new magical adventure.
We'll keep you updated on what's happening with Doctor Strange 2 as more details come in. In the meantime, look through our Marvel movies guide to find out what else this superhero franchise has coming down the pipeline.
