Joe Russo Reveals How Doctor Strange Is One of the Most Powerful Heroes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe

While he may be a relative newcomer to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Strange proved himself as a valuable asset to the Avengers when he quickly sprung into action in Avengers: Infinity War when confronted by Ebony Maw and when battling Thanos himself. Co-director Joe Russo went into detail on the film’s home video commentary track to elaborate just how powerful the Sorcerer Supreme is.

“Doctor Strange’s power level, we could talk about,” Russo explained. “And from the books, as a kid, what I loved about Doctor Strange is that he always had a mystical spiritual side to him that seemed to know more than all the other characters. And I found that very entertaining, and we wanted to advance his power levels since the end of Doctor Strange because it has been a few years. And that he’s been doing his work and he’s a diligent study and he is now one of the more powerful characters in the Marvel Universe.”

Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) debuted in his own solo movie in 2016, with the film chronicling his attempts to master the mystic arts in hopes of curing his severe hand injuries. Under the guidance of The Ancient One (Tilda Swinton), Strange studied a variety of mystic texts to battle the demonic Dormammu, with his powers only heightening in the years since that encounter.

In Infinity War, Strange claimed there would be only one path to defeat Thanos, with the Mad Titan’s use of the Infinity Gauntlet ultimately killing Strange and half of the population of the universe.

While it hasn’t officially been confirmed, fans are left theorizing if we’ll get a Doctor Strange sequel after Avengers 4 debuts. Star Cumberbatch might not have official confirmation of the follow-up film, but he’d happily reprise the role.

“Oh, Strange? Just try to stop me,” Cumberbatch shared with Deadline about his interest in playing the character again. “That’s all kind of lined up as far as I’m aware, but who knows? I mean, you know, the problem is, how does he get out of where he’s at. But that’s the only thing. I’m bits of dust at the moment as far as I understand. So you really have to ask (Marvel Studios president) Kevin Feige. But as far as wanting to do it, yeah, I would love to go back into that role.”

Fans can see Strange when Avengers 4 hits theaters on May 3, 2018.

Ant-Man and the Wasp is in theaters now. Other upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe movies include Captain Marvel on March 8, 2019, Spider-Man: Far From Home on July 5th, 2019, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 in 2020.

Are you looking forward to seeing Strange again? Let us know in the comments below!