Doctor Strange

From ‘Iron Man’ to ‘Thor: Ragnarok,’ after a decade of the Marvel Cinematic Universe we ranked all the coolest MCU posters so far.

If you stayed for the credits after Doctor Strange last year (of course you did) you saw the titular Sorcerer Supreme have a little sit down with Chris Hemsworth’s Thor over some beer. So it only makes sense that Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor will drop by Thor: Ragnarok.

When we talked to Kevin Feige about Spider-Man: Homecoming and the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe last weekend, he spoke about Avengers: Infinity War like the film is going to almost literally break the MCU. It will “completely redefine everything for ,” Feige told us; and we suspect the same could be said all of the 8,000 Marvel characters who are going to show up in Avengers: Infinity W

Sometimes Avengers: Infinity War feels like it’s just an excuse for a bunch of actors to have a giant get-together, film it, and add in some special effects later to make them all look cool. Like the shawarma post-credits scene from the first Avengers, but for two-plus hours. Today on set, two scientists, a doctor, and a librarian walked into a La Croix commercial… and made sure to snap a pic.

Marvel superheroes across the TV-movie spectrum may not join forces anytime soon, but that isn’t stopping a few team-ups behind the camera. Case in point. a notable Iron Fist star has Doctor Strange himself to thank for the gig, as Benedict Cumberbatch put in a good word.

While Marvel has a reputation for valuing continuity on both sides of the camera, it’s easy to forget that the first two phases of Marvel movies were essentially put together by hired guns. The early days of the Marvel Cinematic Universe were populated by directors like Alan Taylor, Kenneth Branagh, Joe Johnston, and Shane Black, one-and-done filmmakers who were either not invited or not inclined to go a second round with the studio.

It doesn’t matter if you’re some regular schmo or the Asgardian God of Thunder, living by yourself can get a little lonely. Thank Odin for Darryl, then, the milquetoast desk-jockey roommate of the Avengers’ resident hammer-thrower Thor. We first met the mild-mannered pencil-pusher in a short called “Team Thor,” directed by upcoming Ragnarok helmer Taika Waititi and bundled as an extra with the Captain America: Civil War home media release. That amusing glimpse into the tensions between the two cohabitants was a fan favorite, not to mention a brief preview of the comic sensibility that What We Do in the Shadows (another film about roommates sniping at one another) director Waititi would bring to the Marvel universe.

With the release of Doctor Strange on home video just around the corner, fans are getting an early look at some of the behind-the-scenes features that will accompany the film on DVD and Blu-ray. Just yesterday, for example, Marvel released some of the best best set jokes on the film’s gag reel, showing that even respected Shakespearean actors like Benedict Cumberbatch aren’t above flubbing the occasional line. For die-hard fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, these features are a great peek at how the sausage gets made.

When you get right down to it, there’s something delightfully surreal about watching our generation’s best actors tie themselves to the ceiling and spout metaphysical gibberish at the camera. Doctor Strange may not be my personal favorite superhero movie, but it’s undeniably the one with my favorite cast; Benedict Cumberbatch, Tilda Swinton, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Mads Mikkelsen would represent an embarrassment of riches for any movie, let alone one focused on time travel and temperamental capes.

Doctor Strange is the first film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to feature the kind of mind-bending magic absent from most other films in the Avengers series. The Thor movies tend to demur and call their magic science, but Doctor Strange is the Sorcerer Supreme, and as such has powers so great they allow him to bend time and space. The bad news is his enemies can do the same, not to mention summon demons from other dimensions that require blood sacrifices.