Of all the Phase 4 announcements that Marvel Studios unveiled over the summer, perhaps the least surprising was “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.” Sure, the title was new, but the fact that the studio was working on a sequel to the 2017 film was hardly shocking. That being said, it does appear that Marvel Studios is looking to add new life to the franchise by bringing in a new writer to pen the script for the sequel.
According to Collider, Marvel has hired Jade Bartlett to write the script for ‘Doctor Strange 2.’ The writer joins already-announced director Scott Derrickson, who helmed the first film, on the sequel, which many believe will start shooting fairly soon. Not much is known about the plot of the film, other than the title alluding to multiverse shenanigans.
Bartlett is a relatively new writer on the scene, with her only major credit, at this point, being her script for “Miller’s Girl,” which was recently optioned by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. While we don’t know the current status on that film, it’s been reported that Bartlett will also direct “MIller’s Girl.” Regardless, it’s obvious that ‘Multiverse of Madness’ is the biggest project she’s been attached to yet.
The previous “Doctor Strange” film was written by Jon Spaihts, C. Robert Cargill, and Derrickson, himself. While we can’t say for sure that Bartlett will be the ONLY writer credited on the sequel, as Marvel Studios has never been shy about having up to a half dozen writers on any given film, it appears that Spaihts and Cargill are not involved, at this point.
As mentioned, we don’t know when production on the film is expected to begin, but with an already-announced release date of May 7, 2021, it’s assumed that filming will commence in the first half of 2020.