It seems rather peculiar (strange, even) that we don’t even know if there will be another Doctor Strange movie. The 2016 film was pretty big success, pulling in $677 million worldwide on a $165 million budget. Since then, Dr. Stephen Strange (played by Benedict Cumberbatch) has made an appearance in Thor: Ragnarok, and he is poised to play big role in Avengers: Infinity War. You’d think he would have two more films lined up and strategically placed on Kevin Feige’s elaborate Marvel Cinematic Universe chessboard.
Yet, he doesn’t even have a vague Untitled Doctor Strange Sequel placeholder page on IMDB. All Stephen Strange has going for him at this moment is a perilous role in Avengers: Infinity War, defending the Time Stone from the Mad Titan, Thanos. Perhaps he’s going to die. Or perhaps the suits at Marvel want you to think he’s going to die. Or maybe Cumberbatch can’t be coaxed into a multi-film contract. At the moment, the only person talking about the possibility of another Doctor Strange film is screenwriter C. Robert Cargill.
Cargill co-wrote Doctor Strange with fellow screenwriter Jon Spaihts, and director Scott Derrickson. As reported by SYFY, Cargill stated that “Nightmare will be the villain” of a potential Doctor Strange sequel. Nightmare was Strange’s first adversary in the comics, and he’s the demonic force in control of the Dream Dimension, where humans visit while in slumber. He has green hair and a black horse named Dreamstalker, and he gives really good snuggles. Still, just because a villain has been selected, there is no guarantee that a sequel will be made.
Of course, there will be those wondering how Baron Mordo (played by the brilliant Chiwetel Ejiofor) fits into this plan. It seems that they are playing the long game with Mordo, who goes from ally to supervillain in the comics. “Some of the better Marvel films have more than one villain in them,” Cargill observed, which was true for Captain America: The Winter Soldier, which was well-received, as it had multiple antagonists including the tragically mind-controlled titular Bucky Barnes. It looks like Cargill wants to tap into that complexity, adding that he “and Scott have not laid the groundwork for it but what I can say is that I have a feeling that whatever Nightmare is involved with, Baron Mordo, being somebody who considers himself the defender of natural law will have something to do with it.”
Cargill went on to discuss more about future plans for Mordo. “For those of you who have ever read the comics, you know that Baron Mordo has a very particular arc, and that’s something we discussed with Chiwetel while working on the first movie. And part of the reason Chiwetel wanted to play Mordo was because he has a definitive ending as a character and it’s such a fascinating ending. And I do know that whether we’re attached or not, that Marvel plans on working towards that ending and fully realizing Mordo as more than just a cardboard cutout villain, but actually taking him to kind of Loki levels of awesomeness. That’s the goal with him.”
So there are plans. Whether or not those plans will lead to sequels, and more villainy, is anyone’s guess. As for Strange, you can see for yourself if he survives the Infinity War on April 27th.
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