For the most part, the events of Doctor Strange exist almost entirely separate from the goings on of the Avengers in the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Granted, with Captain America, Falcon, Hawkeye, Ant-Man, Black Widow, Scarlet Witch, and The Winter Soldier all on the run in the wake of Captain America: Civil War, there's not too much Avengers-action going on. If someone wanted to pop their Marvel cherry with Doctor Strange, they could do so without being left out, though some key details to the greater Marvel plot would, obviously, be lost on newbies. One of those details: the Doctor Strange first post-credits scene, which sets up Doctor Strange being in Thor: Ragnarok in a super fun way, and ties this new movie into the Marvel universe.
In the first post-credits scene of Doctor Strange, Strange, having now taken on the role of Master of the New York Sanctum Sanctorum, sits across from a civilian-dressed Thor. As one of the guardians of the Earth, Doctor Strange must safeguard the planet from mystical threats, like, say, a God from another dimension who happens to have an evil brother who has threatened to conquer Earth before. In the post-credits scene, Strange and Thor discuss Loki — more specifically, they discuss wether or not Strange will allow Loki, a being flagged as a threat to the planet, to stay on Earth. Thor tells Strange that they will stay as long as it takes for them to find their father, Odin. So, in an effort to get them off the planet as soon as possible, Doctor Strange offers his help.
The scene, directed by Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi, seems to set up Doctor Strange's involvement in the third Thor film, which means he would join Thor and Bruce Banner/the Hulk, who is also set to appear in the film. However, Doctor Strange has not been confirmed for Thor: Ragnarok . In fact, according to actor Benedict Cumberbatch's IMDB page, Doctor Strange's next Marvel outing will be in Avengers: Infinity War, set for release one year after Thor: Ragnarok.
Wether or not Doctor Strange does appear in Thor: Ragnarok, the scene sets up the film quite nicely. Firstly, it reveals that Thor has discovered that Loki faked his death and disguised himself as Odin in the end of Thor: The Dark World. It's unclear how much time will have passed between Avengers: Age of Ultron (the last time we saw Thor) and Thor: Ragnarok, or if the upcoming film will explain where Thor was during the intense Civil War between his Earthbound BFFs. Either way, it looks like Thor has finally figured out that his duplicitous brother is still up to his evil tricks. Secondly, the scene reveals that Thor and Loki will be making at least one trip to Earth, which could explain how the Hulk is involved in the film. Last we saw him, he was flying away from the Avengers, not going into space, so it's likely that Thor will have to recruit him somehow in Thor: Ragnarok.
I, for one, hope Doctor Strange does show up in Thor: Ragnarok, even if only for a brief cameo role. The prospect of watching Cumberbatch's Strange interact with Tom Hiddleston's Loki is just too good to pass up.
Images: Walt Disney Motion Pictures; wonderlandinmymind/tumblr
