Roughly the last half year has been good for fans of Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. First, this version of the Master of the Mystic Arts played a key supporting role in Spider-Man: No Way Home, and then he stepped back onto center stage for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which followed approximately five and a half years after his last solo movie. Doctor Strange 2 has been playing in theaters for a month now, but now we know when the sequel will be available to watch with a Disney+ subscription, and it’s pretty soon.
Whether you haven’t been able to see Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness in theaters, or you have and simply want to rewatch it in the comfort of your own home, the latest Marvel movie is arriving on the Mouse House’s streaming platform Wednesday, June 22. This official Disney+ announcement was accompanied by a video featuring Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Benedict Wong and Xochitl Gomez talking about the sequel, which you can watch below.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ Disney+ arrival comes 48 days after it began preview screenings on Thursday, May 5. That’s a sharp decrease in time compared to fellow recent Marvel releases Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Eternals, which respectively hit Disney+ after their theatrical premieres 71 days and 69 days later. Black Widow was released on Disney+ last summer on the same day it hit theaters, but that was part of the platform’s Premier Access tier, meaning subscribers had to pay an extra $29.99 to watch it (it later became available to all subscribers the following October). Spider-Man: No Way Home is currently not available on Disney+ due to it being a co-production with Sony Pictures, although that will presumably change in the coming years thanks to a streaming deal struck between Sony and Disney.
At this time, it hasn’t been announced when Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will become available to buy for digital download or physical media. That being said, considering that Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Eternals’ digital releases came the same day they were put on Disney+, don’t be surprised if you’ll be able to buy Multiverse of Madness on digital platforms starting June 22 too. This gap between theatrical and Disney+ premieres also just barely surpasses what’s become the new 45-day norm between a movie hitting theaters and becoming available to watch at home digitally.
As far as Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ theatrical run goes, it’s made roughly $879.5 million worldwide as of this writing, and has surpassed The Batman to become the highest-grossing movie of the year. Critically speaking, Multiverse of Madness has been met with more positive reception than negative, but it’s not quite the critical darling the first Doctor Strange movie was. CinemaBlend’s own Eric Eisenberg gave the movie 3.5 out of 5 stars in his review, and overall it has a 74% score among critics on Rotten Tomatoes, and an 86% Audience Score.
While we wait for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness to drop on Disney+, look through the upcoming Marvel movies guide to see what else this superhero franchise is sending to theaters. Fingers crossed Doctor Strange 3 will be added to that lineup, as Multiverse of Madness’ mid-credits scene set the stage for what could be an even wilder story.
