Is Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor Strange Joining 'Thor: Ragnarok'?

Doctor Strange
Benedict Cumberbatch as the eponymous 'Doctor Strange.' Marvel

Rule one of seeing Marvel movies: stay through the credits, because you never know who might turn up.

It is already known that Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor Strange, currently fronting his own movie, will join the cast of The Avengers alongside Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo and Chris Hemsworth in 2018's The Avengers: Infinity War. But it looks like he'll be back on screens sooner than that.

If you've yet to see Doctor Strange, perhaps now is the time to look away.

There are two scenes in the movie's credits: the first appears mid-credits and hints toward Marvel's next Thor standalone film starring Hemsworth and released in November 2017.

The Norse god, last seen in 2015's The Avengers: Age of Ultron, is seen in Doctor Strange's New York apartment. Strange tells Thor he has been keeping an eye on potential otherworldly threats to Earth, his mischievous brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) being one of them.

"So why bring him here to Earth?" asks Strange. (The last time Loki was in New York he tried to take over the world in 2012's The Avengers.)

Thor's response suggests where the plot for Thor: Ragnarok may be heading: the duelling brothers are searching for their father Odin (Anthony Hopkins), who has gone missing from Asgard.

Strange offers his help to Thor on the condition that they all return to Asgard when they find Odin.

Earlier this week, Doctor Strange director Scott Derrickson hinted at a connection between the two movies when he revealed Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige told him the plot for next year's Thor movie—perhaps a hint as to how Strange will fit in?

"It was fun to be shooting and have [Feige] show up on set one day and tell us: 'By the way, this is what we're going to be doing in Thor: Ragnarok,' and then to sort of pitch me the whole movie," Derrickson told Digital Spy.

Although the plot for Ragnarok is under wraps, the mid-credits scene seemingly resolves one cliffhanger from the last Thor film, The Dark World, released in 2013. That film concluded with Loki shapeshifting and impersonating Odin. The fact Thor and Loki are now searching for Odin suggests that Thor has worked out Loki's ruse.

Thor: Ragnarok, directed by Taika Waititi, will also feature Oscar winner Cate Blanchett as the film's lead villain Hela and Tessa Thompson as Thor's new love interest, the Asgardian warrior Valykrie.

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