I'm even more curious about what story Marvel Studios might explore in story will unfold in Avengers: Doomsday, and Benedict Cumberbatch has just added to the confusion.

So far, several notable MCU characters have been confirmed to be ing Robert Downey Jr. in Doctor Strange in Avengers: Doomsday, but these comments have made me wonder what story Marvel will explore without the Master of the Mystic Arts.

Benedict Cumberbatch’s Comments Suggest Avengers: Doomsday Won’t Completely Set Up Secret Wars

Avengers: Doomsday Likely Won't Include 1 Huge Marvel Comics Event

Originally, I suspected that Avengers: Doomsday would directly set up the events of Avengers: Secret Wars, the sequel that is scheduled to premiere a year after Doomsday's May 2026 release. This would follow the Russo brothers' pattern that they established with Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, but I now think this might not be the case. At the end of 2022's Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Strange's help was enlisted by Charlize Theron's Clea to deal with an incursion, and this story will surely continue in Strange's next appearance - which is not in Doomsday.

Since a project releasing after Avengers: Doomsday will continue Doctor Strange's exploration of incursions, I reckon it's unlikely that Doomsday will end with incursions destroying the multiverse, which immediately precedes Marvel Comics' Secret Wars event from 2015. This makes me think that Avengers: Doomsday will tell a story that nobody's been expecting, perhaps setting up Secret Wars somewhat, while Strange's next appearance will do most of the heavy lifting. It seems Secret Wars will need one more crucial movie to be able to tell a comic-accurate and exciting story.

Doctor Strange 3 Plot Theory Seems Even More Likely Now

Theories About Doctor Strange 3's Storyline Have Been Rife

Benedict Cumberbatch's comments have quietly confirmed that Doctor Strange 3, which still hasn't been officially announced by Marvel Studios, will likely release in the empty November 6, 2026, release slot. This will fall between Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars, and will make Doctor Strange 3 the last movie before Secret Wars' premiere in May 2027. This makes me think that Doctor Strange 3 will be the project that directly sets up Secret Wars, and I think it can do this by adapting Marvel Comics' Time Runs Out storyline.

Marvel Comics' Time Runs Out saw Doctor Strange leave the Illuminati and the Black Priests, fighting to stop incursions from ravaging the multiverse. This led him into the path of Doctor Doom, and the pair teamed up to steal the Beyonders' power and create Battleworld from the fragments of destroyed universes, leading directly into Secret Wars.

Doctor Strange 3 has been heavily-theorized to be exploring Jonathan Hickman's Time Runs Out arc for quite some time, and now that the sequel will seemingly be releasing immediately prior to Avengers: Secret Wars, this is even more likely. Time Runs Out saw the heroes of Marvel Comics fighting to stop incursions from destroying the multiverse, with many carrying out heinous acts to save their world. This would be a fantastic arc to explore for Doctor Strange in the MCU, and adapting Time Runs Out for Doctor Strange 3 opens new doors for the story of Avengers: Doomsday.

What Story Could Avengers: Doomsday Explore?

Doctor Doom's Debut Creates Many Opportunities For Marvel Studios

Since I reckon that Doctor Strange 3 will explore the Time Runs Out storyline, perfectly setting the stage for Avengers: Secret Wars, 2026's Doomsday will need to adapt a different story from Marvel Comics. Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom is set to make his MCU debut in Doomsday, and he is a key figure in the Time Runs Out and Secret Wars storylines, so his live-action introduction has me very excited. In the months before Time Runs Out in Marvel Comics, a more-controlled incursion took place in Latveria, which I think could occur in Avengers: Doomsday.

This smaller incursion was caused by the Mapmakers, a group of beings who worked for the extradimensional Beyonders. Doctor Doom then set out to find variants of Molecule Man, all of whom he planned to kill prematurely to save the multiverse. This adventure took several years, and allowed Doom to form a cult, the Black Swans, with him as "Rabum Alal," the Great Destroyer. I'd love to see this story play out in Avengers: Doomsday, giving Doctor Doom the opportunity to fully develop his motivation and perfectly setting the stage for him to eventually come across Doctor Strange.

MCU Movies

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  Captain America: Brave New World

  Release Date

  February 14, 2025

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  Thunderbolts*

  Release Date

  May 2, 2025

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  The Fantastic Four: First Steps

  Release Date

  July 25, 2025

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  Avengers: Doomsday (2026)

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  Spider-Man: Brand New Day

  Release Date

  July 31, 2026

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  Avengers: Secret Wars

  Release Date

  December 17, 2027

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