We're now 34 movies into the Marvel Cinematic Universe with three more on the way this year. The franchise has dominated the silver screen for the past two decades, and within the past half decade it has extended that reach to the small screen. It's truly revolutionary how Marvel Studios has been able to achieve those levels of success time and time again, but the audiences keep coming back to see their favorite superheroes, proving that the idea of "superhero fatigue" isn't real.
But even the biggest empire started with just one idea, and that idea eventually spawned a sequel before it led to all of this. Yes, the MCU has plenty of sequels in the midst of all of its various spinoffs, prequels and reboots, and some of them are the best installments in the whole franchise. Look no further than Captain America: The Winter Soldier or Avengers: Infinity War.
Now, one of the most popular franchises in all of the MCU is looking like it's finally going to get that second sequel fans have been waiting for.
Doctor Strange 3 is looking like it will finally happen
Doctor Strange is on his way back to us. That much is already confirmed, as we know that Benedict Cumberbatch is set to appear in at least one of the upcoming Avengers movies, but he also might be about to get that long-rumored threequel fans have been hoping for.
Speaking to Variety, the actor confirmed that he won't be in Avengers: Doomsday but that he would return for a crucial role in Avengers: Secret Wars. He also teased the possibility of a third Doctor Strange movie, saying that Marvel is very open about discussing where the story goes next:
"They are very open to discussing where we go next. Who do you want to write and direct the next one?"
This would line up with a number of reports claiming that Doctor Strange 3 is set to be part of the next phase of solo films that Marvel will soon shift its focus to. Veteran insider Daniel Richtman recently reported that the studio would be kicking off production on both Doctor Strange 3 and Shang-Chi 2 in 2026. That could very well give each of them a 2027 release date, suggesting that it is quite possible that at least one of them could still be a part of the Multiverse Saga (which is seemingly set to conclude with Avengers: Secret Wars).
There are a lot of reasons that a third Doctor Strange movie should happen. Perhaps at the top of that list (from a business standpoint at least) is the fact that the second outing in the film series, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, made an incredible $955 million at the box office (a $300 million increase on the first film's takings), so the desire for more adventures from the Master of the Mystic Arts is clearly there.
Doctor Strange has become one of the MCU's most beloved characters, and he is undoubtedly one of its most recognizable faces. With the franchise getting more and more mystical and supernatural as it goes on, it makes sense to bring the character back again in the near-future. And considering that the previous movie ended with Clea tearing a hole in the fabric of Strange's reality so that he could help her stop an incursion (seemingly involving the Dark Dimension), it goes without saying that there are more adventures for Doctor Strange waiting to be told.