Screenwriter Jade Bartlett has reportedly been hired to work on the script for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Now that Phase 3 is behind them, Marvel Studios is busy getting various movies in Phase 4 off the ground. To this point, they’ve finished filming on Black Widow and are in the middle of production on Eternals, which concludes 2020. This has turned the attention towards 2021, where the sequel to 2016’s Doctor Strange is set to be a marquee title.

Officially announced this summer at San Diego Comic-Con, Doctor Strange 2 will see Benedict Cumberbatch return to star as Stephen Strange. Directed by Scott Derrickson, the sequel will also see Wanda Maximoff aka Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) take on a co-starring role after WandaVision. With a May 2021 release date already announced, cameras are expected to roll on Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness in the first half of next year.

Progress is already being made on a script, as Collider reports that Marvel have hired Jade Bartlett to write Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. It is unclear at this point to what capacity her involvement in the script will be, as she may be responsible for writing the entire script alone, co-writing it with Derrickson, or rewriting what already exists. Bartlett does not yet have a produced script to her name, but her screenplay Miller’s Girl was part of the 2016 Black List selection.

The hiring of Bartlett comes at a point when Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ story is already somewhat plotted out. It was previously reported that C. Robert Cargill, who co-wrote the first film with Derrickson, was going to return to write the sequel too. His involvement has yet to be confirmed at any level, so it is possible that did not come to fruition. He previously discussed his and Derrickson’s shared vision for Nightmare to be the villain of a sequel. If Bartlett’s contributions to Doctor Strange 2’s script are significant, though, it is possible that those plans could go through some changes.

Regardless of Cargill’s involvement in the script for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Bartlett could just be the latest example of Marvel constantly refining the screenplays for their films. Captain Marvel and Black Widow had several writers join and tinker with the script in the lead up to production. With that in mind, it is possible that Bartlett will not be the last writer to work on this sequel. However, if she impresses Marvel with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, there is a precedent for the studio to bring writers back or reward them with new properties.

MORE: Doctor Strange 2 Theory: Scarlet Witch IS The Multiverse of Madness

Source: Collider

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