Hollywood star Benedict Cumberbatch has hinted at his return as Doctor Strange in a new Marvel Cinematic Universe film next year. According to Deadline, Cumberbatch said while being a guest in the JW3 Speaker Series, “There are some Marvel capers in the making next year.” It’s unclear whether Cumberbatch was referring to a standalone Doctor Strange sequel or an appearance in another MCU film, such as Avengers: The Kang Dynasty.
The actor first appeared as Dr Stephen Strange in the 2016 film Doctor Strange, post that he also appeared in the films like Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, Thor: Ragnarok, Spider-Man: No Way Home, and Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness.
A post-credit scene in Multiverse of Madness hinted at a possible future for Doctor Strange. In one moment, Charlize Theron, who plays Clea, tells Doctor Strange that he “caused an incursion, and we’re going to fix it.” Strange responds, “Not in the least.”
The Multiverse of Madness writer Michael Waldron teased a little bit about Strange’s future in an interview with Gizmodo by saying, “We knew that we wanted to introduce Clea. She’s Strange’s great love in the comics and it felt to me like Strange wasn’t at the point at the start of our movie where he was ready to meet the love of his life. It felt like we had to close the loop with he and Christine Palmer. And so after she gives him her wisdom to not be afraid of loving someone, then it felt like we were right to tease what could be eventually with he and Clea,” reported Deadline.