It was recently reported that Marvel Studios is moving forward with Doctor Strange 3. At the same time, we learned that Benedict Cumberbatch is supposedly looking to be a little more hands-on, particularly when it comes to who writes and directs the threequel.
With neither writer Michael Waldron nor director Sam Raimi expected to return for the third instalment, Skyfall director Sam Mendes is said to be high up on the Sherlock star's wish list.
Screen Rant recently spoke with Cumberbatch for The Thing with Feathers and started by asking the actor about Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige's comments that Stephen Strange is "the anchor of the MCU." To that, he simply replied, "You have to ask Kevin."
As for those Mendes rumours, he replied, "I honestly, it's just not worth the backlash, trouble, and the boring nature of any answer following me around forever." Cumberbatch did say that he loves "the amount of collaborative input I'm allowed to have in that universe" and stressed, "Collaboration is collaboration. You're working with the most amazing people and in the most extraordinary original IPs."
"So yeah, bring it on. I love being part of a creative process," he added, perhaps going some way in confirming those rumours. "So yeah, where I can contribute, I do. And it's exciting to see where he's going to go next."
For now, Cumberbatch has Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars on the horizon. Despite denying that he appears in the former, we've heard that the former Sorcerer Supreme will be front and centre and a crucial part of how the Multiverse Saga ends.
Original plans called for Doctor Strange director Scott Derrickson to return for the sequel. The 2016 movie boasted visuals unlike anything we'd seen in the MCU before and delivered a clever final act, which, while still heavy on VFX, played around with the concept of time in a way that largely bucked the trend of Marvel Studios' expected VFX-dominated third-act battles.
Unfortunately, creative differences—in place of the Multiverse, the filmmaker had hoped to tell a story about Nightmare—led to Derrickson parting ways with Marvel Studios. Fans didn't have long to be disappointed, though, as Spider-Man trilogy director Sam Raimi was soon enlisted to replace him.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness grossed $955.8 million at the worldwide box office, even with so-so reviews (73% on Rotten Tomatoes) and a mixed response from fans who were unhappy with how it dealt with the fallout from WandaVision.
Whatever form Doctor Strange 3 might take, it's easy to imagine Stephen regaining the mantle of Sorcerer Supreme for a fresh approach to the character that makes him pivotal to the post-Avengers: Secret Wars MCU.
Stay tuned for updates as we have them.