Doctor Strange: 9 Big Implications For Phase 3 And Beyond
Forget everything that you think you know about the future of the MCU.
It's rare that Marvel makes a movie that can be considered a standalone. Everything is connected in their ever-expanding Cinematic Universe, and thus the notion of a film standing apart from that is almost obsolete.
It's a credit to Doctor Strange, then, that it almost manages it. If you've never seen a Marvel movie before, then aside from the obvious questions regarding where you've been the last eight years, you can go straight in and enjoy the movie. It has a self-contained narrative, a brand-new hero, and no appearances from any of the Avengers (save for the mid-credits scene, anyway).
That's all well and good, but a huge part of the MCU is that way in which the films link up, and Doctor Strange doesn't totally steer away from doing just that. From the opening shot, which includes Avengers Tower, to the mid-credits scene which appears lifted out of another Phase 3 movie, there's plenty here to setup what's to come in the rest of this Phase and beyond it.
Consider this your spoiler warning....
9. Stephen Strange Will Be In Thor: Ragnarok
Doctor Strange's mid-credits scene is absolutely superb; a great blend of being a nice little comic moment, and also setup for what's to come.
It finds Thor visiting Strange in New York, where they discuss him bringing Loki to Earth, and the search for Odin. Thor also rejects tea in favour of beer, which magically refills like something lifted straight out of Harry Potter.
Given that Ragnarok will see Thor and Loki head to NYC, and set photos have already shown Chris Hemsworth holding an address for Stephen Strange, we can safely assume this is taken straight from the movie (much like the Ant-Man stinger with Bucky).
That confirms we'll be seeing Benedict Cumberbatch in Thor: Ragnarok, ahead of Avengers: Infinity War, and backs-up what the set photos have shown: the siblings heading to Earth to find Odin, who's missing from Asgard.