Despite only making one live-action appearance in 2022’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Benedict Cumberbatch‘s Stephen Strange has remained a central character in the Multiverse Saga. While it remains to be seen how Marvel Studios ties the events of three seasons of Marvel Animation’s canonical animated series, What If…?, into the larger MCU narrative, one Stephen Strange Variant played an integral role from beginning to end.
Despite all that–and being a key player in both Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame–it’s hard to believe that there isn’t much, much more the studio could do with the character. His film appearances have neither truly scratched the surface of the weirdness of the character’s comic book counterpart nor taken advantage of his shared history with characters such as the Hulk, Namor or Clea, who was at least introduced in the last film. Even more surprising is the news that despite the character seemingly being a perfect fit as a primary foil for Doctor Doom, Strange will not appear in 2026’s Avengers: Doomsday.
So what does the future hold for Strange? Cumberbatch promises the character will play a big role in Avengers: Secret Wars but surely the studio has more in store for a major Marvel Comics’ character played by one of Marvel Studios’ biggest starts…and it seems that they do. On the heels of a report that the powers that be have decided to move forward with a third installment in the Doctor Strange franchise, Cumberbatch addressed the potential threequel in an interview with Variety.
Though the star was careful not to give anything away, it’s clear things are moving forward with the project.
“They are very open to discussing where we go next,” said Cumberbatch, who will clearly have input on the direction of the project and its creative team.
Who do you want to write and direct the next one? What part of the comic lore do you want to explore so that Strange can keep evolving? He’s a very rich character to play. He’s a complex, contradictory, troubled human who’s got these extraordinary abilities, so there’s potent stuff to mess about with.
-Benedict Cumberbatch
At this point, it’s unclear if Doctor Strange 3 fits into the Multiverse Saga or if the studio sees the project as one that can help it launch its post-Multiverse plans. While it seems as though the build up to Avengers: Secret Wars might benefit from additional narrative runway–and that Strange’s importance to the overall story would dictate continuing his story before that film would be helpful–that would require moving the film again, something the studio may be unwilling to do. So, for now, whatever “potent stuff” Cumberbatch believes is in store for the character remains the stuff of speculation.
And there’s the threat. And it’s out there and now it’s out there. There’s a multiversal threat. In the same way that when the MCU first went cosmic many years ago, there was the teed up threat of Thanos. Now it’s probably a matter of you’re setting up some multiversal threats on the board. Whether it’s Kang, Incursions, whatever. It’ll be interesting to see how all those things come together.
Really what happened was, we ended up stumbling upon an idea that activated all of us. You couldn’t see it coming until it came, and once it came it was like, “Well, that’s a story we need to tell.”
-Anthony Russo on Avengers: Secret Wars
While many believed Doctor Strange 3 would provide a good chunk of the exposition necessary to get fans ready for the final act of the Multiverse Saga, it’s possible that writer Stephen McFeely has incorporated that into Strange’s arc in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. If that’s the case, Doctor Strange 3 will likely be one of the first films in the studio’s next saga which is expected to be heavily focused on mutants.
In the simplest terms, MCU fans would be best served by forgetting Marvel Studios 2022 SDCC and D23 presentations ever took place. Just over two years later, the studio’s plans for their Multiverse Saga have been turned upside down and inside out. However, after going through an unprecedented rough patch, Marvel has begun to emerge and, it seems, learned and evolved and righted the ship.
As part of the unexpected struggles, many of Marvel’s previously announced and planned projects have been delayed while others face an uncertain future. However, with a new path to the end of the saga outlined, the studio has been able to begin roughing out the supporting pieces that will flesh out the story around the two Avengers centerpieces.
With the studio’s 2025 projects all seemingly moving along as expected, the Parliament has turned its attention to its 2026 slate and it has started to come together quickly. Though nothing has been officially announced by the studio, it’s beginning to look like 2026 will shape up as follows:
Blade (February 13, 2026)
Avengers: Doomsday (May 1, 2026)
Spider-Man 4 (July 24, 2026)
Doctor Strange 3 (November 6, 2026)
To be clear, as of now only Avengers: Doomsday, set to be directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, has been announced by the studio. However, Destin Daniel Cretton recently boarded Spider-Man 4, choosing to direct it rather than a Shang-Chi sequel, and Sam Raimi is reportedly nearing a deal that would see him back at the helm of the Doctor Strange franchise. And yes, even Blade, which has been searching for the proper creative mix for over five years is reportedly still working toward eventually hitting the big screen.
Caveat emptor certainly applies heavily here as the studio has never faced a more uncertain time than now; however, it is clear the powers that be have been working toward putting together a 2026 slate and have made some legitimate progress. And for a studio trying to scale back its output, 2026 is shaping up to be one of its biggest years ever.
Marvel Studios took a very focused approach to the 2024 summer convention circuit. Rather than present an updated future slate full of projects tied to dates they might never meet, the studio chose instead to focus on the short term, showing off 2025 projects such as Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts*, Fantastic Four: First Steps, Daredevil: Born Again and Ironheart. Sure, the revelation that Robert Downey Jr. was returning to the MCU to play Doctor Doom for a pair of Avengers films was a wonderful surprise and a tease of what’s to come but overall, SDCC and D23 felt very different than prior cons in which the studio let fans peer 3 or 4 years into the future.
The studio’s concentrated efforts on stage reflected changes behind the scenes that had come with the return of Bob Iger to the Disney throne. Following a string of projects that weren’t up to the standards of success expected by Marvel Studios, Iger mandated the studio slow down and seek to get things in order. Indeed each of the 2025 projects shown off at the summer cons was delayed from its original release date and that scale of delay will, of course, create a domino effect. However, despite the delays, the studio seemed intent on staying the course and wrapping up its Multiverse Saga by mid-2027. It’s a confusing calculus but after what amounted to a year’s worth of delays, the studio’s decision to keep the same fixed endpoint meant some projects simply were not going to make the cut and reading between the lines, one of the reasons SDCC and D23 were focused on 2025 was because Marvel Studios hadn’t quite figured out what they were doing next. However, that’s all started to change.
In the past two months, the pieces of a potential 2026 MCU slate have started to fall into place. The studio is still seeking a new director for Blade, perhaps in hopes of having it in theaters in February 2026, ahead of Avengers: Doomsday which is still on track for a May 2026 release. Destin Daniel Cretton paused work on his Shang-Chi sequel to take on directorial duties on Spider-Man 4 which Sony is expected to schedule on July 24, 2026, a date recently abandoned by Marvel Studios. That leaves only one more film in 2026 and while fans have had plenty of ideas about what it might (or should) be, a new report has likely eliminated the need for guesswork and theorizing.
According to Jeff (The In) Sneider, Marvel Studios is seeking to reteam with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness director Sam Raimi on the as-yet-untitled third installment in the Doctor Strange franchise.
Should the studio close the deal with Raimi for Doctor Strange 3, it would very likely indicate a desire to have the film in theaters on November 6th, 2023, placing it between Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars which is the studio’s first scheduled 2027 release.
It was a fun challenge, and a little scary. Most of the work was done by [screenwriter] Michael Waldron, who is a really big fan of the Marvel Comics and has friends on the WandaVision writing staff, so we would communicate with each other, the WandaVision team and ours and the Spider Man: No Way Home team, and we would keep abreast of their changes. And even while we were shooting, they were shooting, and we’d be making changes based on changes that they made, because we really wanted this to be the next installment. We really wanted it to be a really good — not sequel, but a very logical next step for the fans.
-Sam Raimi on directing Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
After more rounds of shuffling and reshuffling than anyone cares to count, it seems as though Marvel Studios has settled on a plan for the remainder of the Multiverse Saga. While it seems more likely than not that things will shift around again, the latest update to Disney’s theatrical slate shows 1 film in 2024 (Deadpool 3), 4 films in 2025 (Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts, Fantastic Four and Blade) and 4 in 2026 before getting to Avengers: Secret Wars on May 7, 2027. Should Marvel Studios somehow stick to that schedule, that leaves one untitled film between Blade and Avengers: The Kang Dynasty/Avengers 5 and two more untitled films between Avengers: The Kang Dynasty/Avengers 5.
Rumors suggest that Deadpool 3 will do some heavy lifting in terms of advancing the overall narrative of the Multiverse Saga but what other projects NEED to happen before the big finale? What projects WILL happen because they’re the most ready to roll? We take a look at what 2026 might look like if nothing were to change between now and then and how it gets us all to Avengers: Secret Wars.
February 13, 2026: Armor Wars
With the news that Marvel Studios is finally searching for a director for the film, it would seem that Armor Wars is the most likely project to be on deck which means it would have the best chance of being ready to hit theaters in February 2026. That slot would make it the last film to hit theaters before Avengers 5. Guardians of the Galaxy was the last film fans saw in theaters before Avengers: Age of Ultron, so there’s precedent for a non-related film to precede an Avengers films.
Armor Wars doesn’t seem like the kind of film that would have a direct impact on the plot of Avengers 5 but there are plenty of unknowns about the film that could change that perception. Originally conceived as a streaming series, Armor Wars reportedly got too big for D+; presumably, there’s an interesting reason why and maybe that has factored into it getting moved down the road a bit. Could some of the events of Captain America: Brave New World lead into Armor Wars? What about Ironheart? Those are things we might not know for well over a year but regardless, Don Cheadle’s solo Rhodey flick seems like a good bet to fall here and potentially be a step in the direction of assembling the MCU’s New Avengers.
May 1, 2026: Avengers: The Kang Dynasty
The only 2026 film on the slate with a title, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty is currently being written by Michael Waldron.
July 24, 2026: Shang-Chi 二
Destin Daniel Cretton’s departure from Avengers: The Kang Dynasty could be taken to mean that his sequel to Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings was going to need to be ready to go as a follow-up to the fifth Avengers film (it could also mean it needs to be ready to be the lead up to Avengers 5 but we’re staying the course here…). Cretton’s work on Wonder Man will keep him tied up for the first half of 2024 but he’s been working on the script for quite some time and it’s very likely that not only will this one be ready to begin production in 2025 but that it is one of the KEY films in the Multiverse Saga and that it NEEDS to release before the MCU starts its Secret Wars.
The one project on this list that the least is known about, Doctor Strange 3 also feels like one project that absolutely has to be part of the Multiverse Saga. While Marvel Studios is developing plenty of other projects that could easily roll out AFTER they wrap up their current saga, it would be incredibly strange not to have Doctor Strange’s next film play a crucial role in sorting things out.
Strange has been described as a key figure in the Multiverse Saga, yet so far he’s had some animated appearances (Seasons 1 and 2 of What If…?),a cameo (Spider-Man: No Way Home), one solo film which only truly served as a set up to whatever comes next (Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness). Adding a second Strange film to the Saga–even in some sort of larger crossover event–would allow the character to be used similarly to how Captain America was in the Infinity Saga.
May 7, 2027: Avengers: Secret Wars
The final film of the Multiverse Saga, Avengers: Secret Wars–like Avengers: The Kang Dynasty–is currently being written by Michael Waldron.
The Denouement of the Multiverse Saga
Should Marvel Studios stick to its current theatrical slate, the projects listed above truly seem to make the most sense and provide the path of least resistance to the big conclusion in 2027. Again, it seems far more likely that Marvel Studios’ Multiverse Saga slate will undergo at least one more round of restructuring; however, for once it seemed like a fun idea to play it by the books at take things at face value.
While Marvel Studios Phase 5 films have not done the type of business at the box office that the studio had become accustomed to, Phase 4–which ended with Black Panther: Wakanda Forever–was lucrative. Despite COVID delays and a fairly last-minute change in its creative team, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was among those successes, raking in over $400M domestically on its way to falling just shy of $1B globally ($952M). Much of the success of the film was attributed to director Sam Raimi who despite coming on late put his signature touches on a film that looked to be in trouble. Raimi was so impressive that Marvel Studios One Above All, Kevin Feige, has been rumored to be interested in working with the director again. As Marvel Studios looks to get back on track following the strikes, those rumors are heating up again and have become a bit more interesting.
According to insider Daniel RPK, Marvel Studios is considering Raimi not only for another installment in the Doctor Strange franchise but also to direct both parts of the two-part finale to the Multiverse Saga. Though Doctor Strange 3 has not been officially announced by the studio, it’s widely believed that it’s going to be included in the Multiverse Saga and rumored to be happening BEFORE Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, which is currently slated to hit theaters on May 1, 2026. If the rumors of where Strange 3 would fall are true, that would currently leave only February 13th, 2026 as a potential release date. The current slate would seem to face Raimi with choosing either the threequel or the Avengers films, which RPK addressed in his report.
Given the delays Marvel Studio has already faced due to the strikes and the reworking of several projects, perhaps they’ll find a way to shuffle things around and allow Raimi the opportunity to do all three films. Strange is purportedly a key character in the Multiverse Saga, though so far he’s only made two appearances (Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness). While that might seem like a tall order for one director, it would be similar to what the Joe and Anthony Russo did in Phase 3 directing Captain America: Civil War (2016), Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019) after debuting as MCU directors with 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier. It’s safe to say that by giving the Russos room to work and grow with the Infinity Saga’s central characters, Steve and Tony, the entire saga benefitted. Perhaps that’s something they will keep in mind in this rumored scenario with Raimi and allow him to work with Michael Waldron on similarly developing Stephen Strange.
Even as it becomes increasingly unlikely that Marvel Studios meets its previously slated 2024 release dates as the ongoing WGA and SAG strikes begin to knock down some dominoes, rumors about the future of the MCU continue to swirl. One such rumor indicated that Marvel Studios is contemplating an adaptation of Time Runs Out, a 20-issue comic book event published in 2014 and 2015, for the plot of the third Doctor Strange film. Written by Jonathan Hickman, Time Runs Out served as a prelude to his 2015 Secret Wars and capped his long run on Avengers and New Avengers titles. With Marvel Studios’ Multiverse Saga set to end with Avengers: Secret Wars, it seems sensible that the studio would turn to the comic book prelude to Secret Wars for inspiration; however, for a studio that’s already losing connectivity with its fanbase, it might be best for them to stay clear of borrowing anything but the title for Doctor Strange 3.
What is Time Runs Out?
In 2012 and 2013, Jonathan Hickman took on one of his most ambitious Marvel Comics projects. Working across both the Avengers and New Avengers titles, Hickman laid the groundwork for a new iteration of Secret Wars. Hickman, through Reed Richards “Everything Dies” speech, introduced the idea of the contraction of the Marvel Multiverse through incursions, an eight-hour timeframe in which parallel Earths collide with one another. Those collisions cause the destruction of both universes and, over time, only two universes remained: Earth-616’s, the original Marvel universe, and Earth-1610’s, the Ultimate Universe.
Time Runs Out tells the story of the final eight months before the incursion between Earth-616 and Earth-1610. It is a vast that includes high-profile members from across the Marvel universe such as the Avengers, the Illuminati, the Cabal, the Fantastic Four, members of the Future Foundation, the Shi’ar Empire, Doctor Doom and more. As a member of the Illuminati, Doctor Strange played a pivotal role in the event. Though a prelude to Secret Wars, Time Runs Out was also the culmination of nearly 60 issues of storytelling by Hickman and required every inch of runway to make it work. As is often the case with Hickman’s work, Time Runs Out included high-concept science fiction and complicated real-world science and, as is often the case with Hickman’s work, it wasn’t for everyone.
Why Should the MCU Steer Clear of Adapting Time Runs Out for Doctor Strange 3?
Before answering the question, it’s worth pointing out that if Marvel Studios does choose to move ahead with Doctor Strange: Time Runs Out, the film adaptation will likely only borrow the title and a few plot points and/or characters from Hickman’s work…and that’s for the best.
An Incursion occurs when the boundary between two universes erodes and they collide, destroying one or both entirely.
Reed Richards explains incursions to Stephen Strange in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
As of now, incursions are the only thing the MCU has in common with Hickman’s run on Avengers and New Avengers and that’s in name only. Whereas in the comics incursions are just part of the natural order of things, though sped up a bit by the untimely end of one alternate Earth, as once again explained by Reed Richards, the MCU’s incursions are–maybe–the result of too much traveling between alternate Earths in the multiverse and, so far, pretty much all caused by different Doctors Strange. Want to destroy an alternate Earth? Just travel to it and hang out there and you’ve got it done.
The decision to make incursions the results of choices made by characters rather than part of the contraction of the multiverse makes TRULY adapting Time Runs Out impossible. The whole point of Time Runs Out is to put the heroes up against the clock as they try to find a way to stop the incursion that will wipe out their Earth. As more incursions happen, they learn more and more, including how to prevent one. According to the present rules of the MCU’s multiverse, that entire scenario isn’t viable. Incursions are super easy to avoid: just stop traveling the multiverse. And what happens when there are only two Earths left, like in the comics? Why are the heroes and villains of each Earth fighting each other at that point? To keep each other from traveling to each other’s Earth? It seems like moving forward in the MCU, an incursion will probably be an intentional tool of destruction.
In the Time Runs Out comic book event, Stephen Strange actually joins up with a group of powerful beings, The Black Priests, who were actually all in on intentionally destroying other universes. By deleting a few intrusive Earths, The Black Priests hoped they would stabilize the contracting multiverse. These same Black Priests are rumored to be part of Marvel Studios’ Time Runs Out adaptation and apparently one of them, Clea, has already appeared on screen. Clea’s goal: to fix the latest incursion caused by Strange’s trip to Earth-838. Black Priests fixing incursions rather than causing them (how can they be fixed, anyway?) would make them Black Priests in name only.
So what’s the problem with adapting Time Runs Out? Nothing has been earned. Nowhere near enough has been set up. And as has already begun to happen, general audiences are going to have a very hard time following the multiversal logic that causes incursions and how they can be fixed. Any true adaptation of Time Runs Out would need to include a significant amount of exposition about the origins of the multiverse and should include a much bigger team of heroes working on the problem. One of the most enjoyable aspects of the comic event was, as a reader, working through the problems in lockstep with the greatest minds of the Marvel Universe. Having Doctor Strange be the sole POV character for an event of this magnitude would not only be underwhelming it would underserve the enormity of the event itself.
While there’s plenty of reasons for Marvel Studios to turn to Hickman’s works as they approach Avengers: Secret Wars, trying to make an event that included dozens and dozens of Marvel Comics’ brightest and best into another Doctor Strange multiverse adventure (especially considering the lukewarm reaction to the last one) would be a mistake…and Marvel Studios can’t really afford another theatrical mistake in their Multiverse Saga. If they’re not careful, they are going to end up with a film, that like Hickman’s work, is not for everyone.
Following Scott Derrickson‘s departure from Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Sam Raimi stepped in to take the reigns and put together one of Marvel Studios’ best Phase 4 films. Raimi infused the film with his signature style, providing audiences with a giant walking eyeball, a zombie Doctor Strange and a reminder that Marvel Studios films can be both “comic booky” and fun. Rumors have begun to swirl that Stephen Strange has a major role to play in the Multiverse Saga and that the studio is keen on pushing out another Doctor Strange solo film sooner rather than later and now that they might just have Raimi in their sights to helm it.
During a segment of the Hot Mic Podcast, co-host Jeff Sneider indicated that it’s his belief that Raimi will return to direct the third installment in the Doctor Strange franchise. Though Sneider was clear that he was not confirming Raimi’s return, he hinted that it was pretty clear that was the direction things were headed.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness grossed just short of $1B at the box office ($955.8M), making it the fourth highest-grossing film of 2022. The film’s post-credit scene, which introduced Charlize Theron as Clea, hinted at Strange playing a major role in the larger narrative of the Multiverse Saga and recent rumors have suggested that the character will essentially fill the shoes Tony Stark wore towards the end of the Infinity Saga.
Despite the rumors, Marvel Studios has not officially announced the Doctor Strange threequel; in fact, Disney ChairmanBob Iger recently indicated that the studio may be less inclined to revisit characters for a “third and a fourth” film in the future in favor of bringing new characters to the screen. Additionally, news of a slow down and increased measures of quality control within Marvel Studios don’t seem to match up with the rumored “fast-tracking” of Doctor Strange 3. Disney will be in attendance at April’s CinemaCon, providing them with an opportunity to publicly address any additions, subtractions or delays to Marvel Studios’ slate, should they chose to do so. Otherwise, fans may have to wait until SDCC ’23, or later, to see what Iger’s return to the company means for Marvel Studios theatrical plan.
It looks like the rumor mill is ablaze today, as one story after another has been hitting the web on what exactly the future looks like for Marvel Studios’ Marvel Cinematic Universe. We’ve had to cast rumors for Fantastic Four, hints at various Disney+ shows, and many more, but it seems we have one more story making the rounds. Now, a new rumor from multiple sources has surfaced that Marvel Studios might be fast-tracking a third Doctor Strange film.
@GGeneralHolt8 better known as Greatphase has seemingly shared online what might be a major shift in the future plans of the MCU. Among them is that Marvel Studios hopes to release a new Doctor Strange film ahead of their next major Avengers film, TheKang Dynasty.
While it seems that rumors also picked up on Scott Derrickson, who directed the first entry, potentially returning for the third entry after leaving Multiverse of Madness over creative differences, there seems to be some uncertainty surrounding that detail. @BigScreenLeaks adds to hearing something similar about the third Strange film but not so sure about the Derrickson part.
For now, this remains another rumor but one that does make quite a bit of sense. The post-credit sequence and a major part of the film explore the multiverse, a major aspect of the upcoming Avengers film. Not only that, but we also meet someone who seemingly has knowledge about Incursions, which are very likely a big part of how the movies will tie the various multiverses together.
The only question is who they might get to bring this film to life and if Derrickson would return. While they didn’t come to a consensus on the second entry, he was still on board as an executive producer and fully supported Sam Raimi as the film’s new director. Not just that, but he has also openly stated he’s interested in working with Marvel again. So, it’s not completely out of the realm of possibility.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has made its way to Disney+, as the film had just recently passed $400M domestically and $900M worldwide. The film was quite a success and among director Sam Raimi‘s highest-earning productions. Of course, it leaves us with the question of when or where Doctor Strange may return.
It turns out that Benedict Cumberbatch is also excited to return and shared that he’s definitely down for a sequel. In an interview with New Indian Express, he opens up on how much he enjoys playing the character and his hope to continue playing him.
I hope so. I would love to do another one. Doctor Strange is such a complex character and it feels like there is so much more to explore with him. He is such a brilliant character and I’m still having a wild time playing him.
Benedict Cumberbatch
Cumberbatch has definitely given us one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s most complex characters in the form of Doctor Strange. A man always on the edge of doing something for the greater good no matter the consequences made him quite morally grey.
Among the many heroes, he’ll stop at nothing even if it means possessing the dead body of a version of himself from a different dimension while turning demons into his cape. It definitely was one of the most iconic moments in the franchise and continues to define what makes this character so interesting.
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