Doctor Strange Star Says Sequel Could Begin Filming Next Year

After the events of Avengers: Endgame, fans are curious to see exactly what the Marvel Cinematic Universe has in store going forward. According to one of franchise’s stars, one of the most highly-anticipated sequels, Doctor Strange 2, might get off of the ground as early as next year. During a recent appearance at Denver Pop Culture Con (via LRMOnline), Benedict Wong was asked about the long-gestating sequel, and hinting that it could be getting off the ground “sometime next year”.

“I know they’ve now got a writer on board who I met at the Endgame premiere.” Wong explained. “So I think that may be happening some time next year.”

A sequel has been talked about in one way or another ever since the original Doctor Strange film debuted in 2016, but only a handful of updates have come about in the time since then. Director Scott Derrickson and his co-writer C. Robert Cargill are believed to be returning, with the film previously expected to hold a May 2021 release date. Seeing as Strange has appeared in three MCU films since his last solo adventure, it will be interesting to see what this next film has in store.

“Sometimes, it’s where do those characters pop up?” Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige said of Doctor Strange in an interview last year. “[Doctor] Strange, you know, whenever we do another Strange [movie], which we will do, it will be a number of years from the first Strange, and yet he’s a very big part of Infinity War. So it is just a good problem to have when you have too many beloved characters that people want to see more of, whilst keeping to our core belief that we need to keep exploring nuance and keep doing different types of things.”

Of course, there’s also the question of Doctor Strange 2‘s plot, with a recent rumor suggested that Brother Voodoo and Clea could make an appearance. Baron Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor), who began to be set up as an antagonist in the first film’s post-credits scene, has been long-believed to make some sort of return.

“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,” Cargill said in a previous interview. “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.”

Captain Marvel and Avengers: Endgame are in theaters now. Spider-Man: Far From Home will land in theaters on July 2nd.