Following the epic ending of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which prepared audiences for a new mission of the Sorcerer Supreme alongside Charlize Theron’s Clea, Benedict Cumberbatch announces that his return to the MCU will be sooner than fans imagined.

Cumberbatch’s first appearance as Stephen Strange was in his solo movie in 2016, and the character quickly became a key player in the Infinity saga and especially in the battle against Thanos, being in charge of the heroes taking the right path, the only one in which they managed to defeat the villain.

However, in this new stage of the MCU, in the Multiverse saga, his presence is even more important, as he has shown in both Spider-Man: No Way Home and in Multiverse of Madness.

Although the end of the film directed by Sam Raimi seemed to prepare the ground for a third installment in the saga starring Cumberbatch’s character, the actor announced in the JWR Speaker Series that he could return much sooner in a project scheduled for next year, although he did not confirm which one it is (via The Direct):

“There are some Marvel capers in the making next year.”

Related: Deadpool 3 Could Be About To Copy The Flash in Resurrecting A Long-Dead X-Men Project

In Which Upcoming Marvel Studios Project Could Doctor Strange Appear?
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One of the most obvious answers would be Agatha: Coven of Chaos, due to the connection between the latest Doctor Stranger movie and WandaVision, the series thanks to which the Agatha spinoff was born. The magical elements will be present in the show, and the powers of Kathryn Kahn’s character could be difficult to deal with, so the presence of the Sorcerer Supreme trying to stop her would make sense.

Blade would be another good choice for the character’s return, considering Mahershala Ali’s hero is often surrounded by a lot of mystical and supernatural elements, and Doctor Stranger’s magic would fit into those stories. However, the film was recently pushed back to 2025.

The other Marvel Studios releases confirmed for 2024 are Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts, Daredevil: Born Again and Deadpool 3, the latter being another candidate to bring Cumberbatch back. While the characters have no apparent connection, the nature of Ryan Reynolds’ Merc with a Mouth movies don’t necessarily follow any logic, and any character could have a cameo in the next installment.

Deadpool 3 is currently under production, which seems to be doing pretty well since it was pushed up from November 2024 to May of the same year. No details have been shared about the plot of the film starring Reynolds and Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, but it seems that it might find Wade Wilson getting into trouble with the TVA after using Cable’s device to travel through time, which could create a huge chaos within the multiverse. Something we would expect from the character.

With Deadpool traveling through different realities, Cumberbatch could easily appear not only playing Doctor Strange, but some other character or even himself.