'Doctor Strange 2' Release Date Possibly Confirmed

The confirmation that Doctor Strange director Scott Derrickson has signed on to helm the sequel also comes with the news that the film aims to shoot in 2020 with a May 2021 release date, according to The Hollywood Reporter. This might reveal that Marvel Studios aims to release the film on May 7, 2021, as the studio had previously confirmed that release date yet never revealed which film would be snagging the coveted spot.

In the infancy of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, all films were released between May and July as to take advantage of the summer blockbuster window, with the eighth film in the series, Thor: The Dark World, breaking that trend with its November 8, 2013 release. The strength of the franchise and its popularity has changed the landscape of the MCU's release strategies, with Black Panther earning $1.3 billion after a February release while Thor: Ragnarok took in $853 million with a November release.

Despite Marvel Studios releasing multiple films a year, the summer kick-off release date is often saved for their biggest potential successes, with Marvel's The Avengers, Iron Man 3, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Captain America: Civil War, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 hitting theaters in May. Both Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame originally held May release dates until Marvel Studios bumped up each of their releases up by a week to debut in April.

Details about what to expect from Doctor Strange 2 are relatively unknown, as is everything else about films that are slated to follow Avengers: Endgame. The only film confirmed to be hitting theaters is Spider-Man: Far From Home, debuting on July 5, 2019. Marvel Studios surely knows exactly what films it will be releasing, yet doesn't want to announce those projects as their titles will likely distract audiences from enjoying Endgame.

Other Marvel Studios release dates are as follows:

• May 1, 2020 - Untitled Marvel Movie
• November 6, 2020 - Untitled Marvel Movie 2
• February 12, 2021 - Untitled Marvel Movie 3
• May 7, 2021 - Untitled Marvel Movie 4
• November 5, 2021 - Untitled Marvel Movie 5
• February 18, 2022 - Untitled Marvel Movie 6
• May 6, 2022 - Untitled Marvel Movie 7
• July 29, 2022 - Untitled Marvel Movie 8

One film that was seemingly confirmed was Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which was slated to hit theaters in 2020. However, the firing of James Gunn and fruitless search for a replacement has delayed that project indefinitely. The MCU's tendency to release trilogies focusing on heroes likely means we can expect a third Spider-Man film and a third Ant-Man film to be among the above dates, with a Black Panther sequel also reportedly in the works. A Captain Marvel sequel will also likely earn one of the above release dates.

As we get closer to the release of Avengers: Endgame, expect to learn more about what the future of the MCU holds.

Do you think Doctor Strange will snag the May 7, 2021 release date? Let us know in the comments below!