While the decision to not include Doctor Strange in Avengers: Doomsday – the next MCU Avengers movie after Avengers: Endgame – may seem surprising, Marvel already provided a perfect explanation for why the hero would be missing from the film’s story three years prior. January 2024 saw Stephen Strange actor Benedict Cumberbatch reveal that Doctor Strange will not be in Avengers: Doomsday, stating this is because of “the character not aligning with this part of the story.” Given Strange was previously confirmed for the movie’s cast, this naturally came as something of a surprise to audiences.
However, while this doesn’t appear to have been the original plan for the character, it is one that the MCU timeline has already seemingly justified in the way it has built the Multiverse Saga’s story. This is especially true regarding Doctor Strange’s last appearance in the franchise, which ends with a moment that, while potentially originally intended to tie Strange into the Avengers 5 story, now serves equally effectively in justifying his absence from the upcoming Marvel release altogether.
Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness’ Mid-Credits Scene Is A Perfect Excuse For Doctor Strange To Not Be In Avengers: Doomsday
After romping through the MCU multiverse and returning back to his home world relatively safe and sound, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse Of Madness‘ mid-credits scene shows Stephen Strange meeting another magic-user named Clea, who tells Doctor Strange that he caused an incursion, and that “we’re gonna fix it“. Clea then opens a portal to the Dark Dimension, and jumps though the portal she made with Doctor Strange by her side. As such, it seems like Doctor Strange is still off on his otherworldly mission with Clea at the current point of the MCU timeline.
Given Doctor Strange is last shown in a drastically different location to the vast majority of other MCU heroes, any prospective plotline that sees the central Marvel heroes face off against Doctor Doom would thus have a built-in justification for why Strange isn’t in the story. Since the sorcerer is off trying to save other worlds, it would also stand to reason that he’d potentially miss great danger coming to his home world, allowing him to still justifiably remain missing if and when Avengers: Doomsday‘s story puts Earth-616 in some truly great peril.
Even if the main cast finds themselves transported to a universe with Doctor Doom in it or subject to other multiversal shenanigans, the fact Stephen Strange appears to be in a different reality serves as a pretty effective explanation for why he isn’t present despite being a core character in the MCU’s Multiverse Saga so far. Ultimately, this could even work to amp up the tension for Avengers: Secret Wars, as any heroes from the main universe who faced off against Doctor Doom may be less than impressed with Doctor Strange having been missing seemingly the whole time.
Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness’ Ending Can Also Explain The MCU Hero Returning For Avengers: Secret Wars
Since Doctor Strange left with Clea to “fix” an incursion, the hero returning for Avengers: Secret Wars – as Benedict Cumberbatch teased when he revealed the character wouldn’t be in Avengers: Doomsday – also makes a lot of sense. The concept of incursions ties in closely to the story of the 2015-2016 Secret Wars comic, which comes after a series of incursions in the Time Runs Out storyline decimate the multiverse, leaving the main characters of Secret Wars left on a Battleworld comprised of several destroyed worlds.
With that in mind, it makes sense that even a roughly similar storyline for the MCU would involve its own fair share of universes colliding. This would either warrant Doctor Strange appearing to try and stop them, or otherwise appearing because he was in one of the universes that may have become the MCU’s Battleworld, allowing him to share what he’s learned about the multiverse along his journey with the rest of the main MCU heroes at a point where it makes most sense for everyone to be fully filled in and on the same page.
Either way, there’s an easy tie between Strange’s last known objective of preventing an incursion and Avengers: Secret Wars‘ presumable story given the comics and the direction the MCU itself has been heading in throughout the Multiverse Saga. In fact, it’s arguable that, because of Strange’s story, him appearing in only the latter of these two movies is potentially the best course of action for both the Avengers movies and the hero’s own arc.
Why Doctor Strange Appearing In Avengers: Secret Wars But Not Avengers: Doomsday May Be For The Best
As the main MCU hero who currently understands the multiverse arguably the most – and has now seen the most of it – Doctor Strange is a key character for the overarching Multiverse Saga, but also one whose presence can complicates the plots he features in. Doctor Strange having the potential best understanding of the universes within the MCU means that any story with him in has a character who has a better idea of what’s going on than most of the other main Marvel characters would currently seem to, which may warrant him sitting out for Avengers: Doomsday for plot purposes.
Spider-Man 4 is set to release between Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, which could theoretically also feature Doctor Strange’s return, much as Spider-Man: No Way Home featured the magic-user prior.
Similarly, whatever release brings Doctor Strange back into the MCU spotlight will also reasonably have to explain where he’s been and what he’s done since he disappeared off in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. This task inherently seems like it may be best suited for Avengers: Secret Wars, since the story seems likely to directly tie into Strange shooting off to try and prevent an incursion, and as Avengers: Doomsday may find its time more preoccupied with setting up Robert Downey Jr’s Doctor Doom following Avengers 5 changing to be centered on him rather than Kang.
All in all, the pieces of the Multiverse Saga story the MCU has currently unveiled make the concept of Doctor Strange not appearing in Avengers: Doomsday but being “in a lot of” Avengers: Secret Wars seem far more straightforward than the concept may have originally instinctively seemed when Benedict Cumberbatch announced it. Hopefully, whatever the MCU has in store regarding Doctor Strange’s story adds some of the final missing pieces to the Multiverse Saga puzzle – and hopefully this overarching narrative can compare up to its Marvel movie predecessors.
Upcoming MCU Movies
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Captain America: Brave New World
- Release Date
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February 14, 2025
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Thunderbolts*
- Release Date
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May 2, 2025
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The Fantastic Four: First Steps
- Release Date
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July 25, 2025
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Avengers: Doomsday (2026)
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Spider-Man Homecoming 4
- Release Date
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July 24, 2026
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Avengers: Secret Wars
- Release Date
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May 7, 2027
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