Rumor has it that the MCU is adapting this Doctor Strange event

A 2018 comic, titled Doctor Strange: Damnation, might serve as inspiration for an upcoming MCU project. We met Mephisto in the sixth episode of Ironheart, "The Past Is the Past," which is also its finale. After years of theorizing, the devil finally appeared on screen, even if it was on a six-episode miniseries. Ironheart ends on a rather shocking and bold note.

Dominique Thorne's Riri Williams makes a deal with Mephisto to bring back her dead friend. This deal is confirmed as we see scars forming on Riri's hands, just like they did on Parker Robbins's body. Since his appearance in Ironheart, fans are wondering when Sacha Baron Cohen will return to the MCU as Mephisto. But the latest rumor suggests that his next project will take inspiration from a Doctor Strange storyline.

It is rumored that Mephisto will be the central antagonist of the Midnight Suns project, which will supposedly take inspiration from the 2018 comic book storyline headlined by the Master of the Mystic Arts. In that story, Mephisto has taken over the city of Las Vegas. The ability to take over the city was something even Cohen's Mephisto hinted at in the sixth Ironheart episode.

What is the Doctor Strange: Damnation comic about?

Published in 2018, Damnation was written by Donny Cates and Nick Spencer. In this 2018 comic, Blade, Iron Fist, Moon Knight, and Ghost Rider are assembled to save Earth from a supernatural threat, Mephisto. The devil has taken Doctor Strange, Captain Marvel, Jane Foster's Thor, Black Panther, Falcon, and Hawkeye to Hotel Inferno in Las Vegas and turned them into demons resembling the Ghost Rider.

Thus, Blade, Ghost Rider (who already has an axe to grind with Mephisto), Iron Fist, and Moon Knight team up to excorise the turned heroes and ward off the devil's influence over Vegas. The synopsis for the storyline reads:

"The city of sin gets its biggest sinner yet. When Doctor Strange raises Las Vegas up from its destruction during SECRET EMPIRE, he inadvertently opens a big door for the embodiment of evil, MEPHISTO! The devilish villain takes the city for himself and sets his sights on the rest of the world. It's going to take heroes from all over the Marvel Universe to defeat him, but there's nothing simple about fighting the lord of Hell."

It must be noted that the Midnight Suns project, being inspired by the Damnation storyline, is just an online rumor. There is also the issue of the third solo movie headlined by the Master of the Mystic Arts.

Will there be a Doctor Strange 3?

As of now, a third movie headlined by Stephen Strange hasn't been announced yet, but actor Benedict Cumberbatch, in a January 2025 Variety interview, revealed that he is currently discussing Doctor Strange 3 with Marvel Studios. Appreciating the studio for its collaborative approach, Cumberbatch told Variety this:

"They are very open to discussing where we go next. 'Who do you want to write and direct the next one?' 'What part of the comic lore do you want to explore so that Strange can keep evolving?' He’s a very rich character to play. He’s a complex, contradictory, troubled human who’s got these extraordinary abilities, so there’s potent stuff to mess about with."

Given that Marvel is focused on concluding the Multiverse Saga with Avengers: Secret Wars in December 2027, chances are high that the third movie headlined by Stephen Strange will be released only after Secret Wars.