Doctor Strange 3 Can Fix The MCU’s Big Future Problem

Doctor Strange 3 could be a key installment to streamline the MCU’s future once the Multiverse Saga comes to an end. Concepts such as time travel and the multiverse make the MCU an increasingly complex franchise, which also grows exponentially with the introduction of new characters and teams like the Thunderbolts, the Young Avengers, and the Fantastic Four. The increased number of yearly movies, series, and special presentations in the upcoming Phases will only make the MCU bigger, at least until Avengers: Secret Wars concludes everything set up so far and gives way to a new saga.

As one of the most powerful Avengers, Doctor Strange makes it difficult for the MCU to find him a spot where he doesn’t dominate the fight and end the movie in a matter of seconds. Therefore, Doctor Strange has taken a more cerebral role, where his intellect is more important than his sheer magical power. Strange’s wisdom has saved the universe more than a couple of times, and along the way, it has provided some useful context for the audience and his fellow Avengers.

Doctor Strange 3 Can Continue The Series’ Most Useful MCU Trend

The MCU’s Multiverse Saga can focus on building new teams, phasing out older characters, developing Kang’s schemes, and incorporating characters from other universes like Charlie Cox’s Daredevil and Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool into the MCU. Doing all of this while setting up the foundations for the next saga would likely result in an overload of information, but the MCU could postpone that amount of exposition for a future movie — more specifically, Doctor Strange 3, which could answer every question about the MCU’s next chapter when the time comes. It makes sense that Doctor Strange fulfills this role, as he’s the character who usually makes sense of the MCU’s most puzzling ideas.

The Doctor Strange movies have already fulfilled a similar role in the past. Scott Derrickson’s Doctor Strange consolidated the MCU’s magic back in Phase 3, and Sam Raimi’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness finished establishing the concept of the multiverse in Phase 4. This is part of why Doctor Strange movies have such a big gap between each other’s release dates, as they serve as pillars for the MCU’s world-building. In the future, Doctor Strange 3 can be the movie that tackles the overarching idea that will inform the MCU after Avengers: Secret Wars paves the way for Phase 7.

Why Doctor Strange Can Get Away With MCU Exposition

Usually, world-building must be as subtle as possible when creating a story. Otherwise, stories could take away all the focus from each character’s personal journey and replace it with superfluous information. This is also valid for Doctor Strange, but Strange’s very nature is inherently tied to complex fictional concepts. It’s Doctor Strange’s job to peek into the unknown and come back with answers. Just as knowledge about the Time Stone made it possible for Doctor Strange to beat Dormammu and bring back the victims of Thanos’ Snap in Avengers: Endgame, knowledge about the MCU’s next saga can be Doctor Strange’s main weapon in Doctor Strange 3.

Doctor Strange 3 must center around its title character first and foremost. It can’t simply throw Doctor Strange’s personal journey to the wayside in order to set up future stories. However, Doctor Strange 3 can also answer where the MCU’s mutants have been and how they will be incorporated, as well as which villain will threaten the universe and what magic object or wild sci-fi concept will be the basis of future MCU releases.