Doctor Strange 2: Benedict Cumberbatch Updates "Far Out" Sequel Multiverse of Madness

Doctor Strange star Benedict Cumberbatch is not yet out of the Multiverse of Madness. After wrapping principal photography on the Sam Raimi-directed Doctor Strange sequel in April, Cumberbatch will return to set next month for pre-planned pick-ups ahead of a scheduled March 2022 release in theaters. In a new interview with BBC Radio 2's The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show, Cumberbatch updates the "far out" Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and praises the "superb" Spider-Man trilogy and first-time Marvel Cinematic Universe director as a "master of this genre."

"As usual, I'm kind of padlocked by Marvel. It was a riot, doing this film," Cumberbatch said of Doctor Strange 2 from Raimi and Loki head writer Michael Waldron. "It's all in the process of process right now. There's the usual pick-ups and stuff that we have to do in September, and then sometime next year [it will release]. I think it is known when it's slated to be released but I don't want to say if it isn't (laughs)."

After COVID-19 delays pushed the sequel out of May and then November 2021, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will open only in theaters on March 25, 2022.

"I've been very loyal with the whole secret-keeping game with the whole enterprise because I believe in it," said Cumberbatch, who first reprises his role opposite Tom Holland in the equally secretive Spider-Man: No Way Home. "I completely get the fans now who want to have a headstart and guess or play that game. But I also really appreciate the people who just want to turn up and buy their ticket, try to ignore the noise and the reveals before they go into the cinema and have the experience of everyone holding in the same breath."

Calling Raimi "a master of this genre," Cumberbatch said of his Doctor Strange director, "His presence, his friendship, his directing, all of it, he was just superb."

Cumberbatch leads a "really, really brilliant, amazing cast" that includes Avengers co-star Elizabeth Olsen, back as the Scarlet Witch after WandaVision, and returning Doctor Strange stars Benedict Wong (as Won), Rachel McAdams (as Christine Palmer), and Chiwetel Ejiofor (as Karl Mordo). Newcomer Xochitl Gomez (The Baby-Sitters Club) makes her MCU debut as dimension-hopping teen superhero America Chavez.

"That's all I get to say because more would get me in trouble," Cumberbatch added with a laugh. "I will say, the clue is in the title. It is a Multiverse of madness. It's pretty far out."

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness opens in theaters on March 25, 2022.