As Marvel prepares to roll cameras on Doctor Strange 2, a familiar face is returning to the ensemble. Deadline confirms that Rachel McAdams will be reprising her role as Dr. Christine Palmer in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, after speculation about whether she would or would not return for the sequel. Benedict Cumberbatch reprises the title role in the follow-up, which may be headed in a wildly ambitious direction if that title is any indication.

Scott Derrickson was originally set to return to direct the follow-up after helming the 2016 film, but he departed the project over creative differences with Marvel. Then the studio tapped legend Sam Raimi to take his place, and fans are wildly excited to see what the Spider-Man and Evil Dead filmmaker does with a multiverse-focused Doctor Strange movie.

Elizabeth Olsen has a co-starring role in the film as Scarlet Witch, and originally Doctor Strange 2 was supposed to be released in 2021 after the release of WandaVision on Disney+, with that limited series leading directly into the story of the big screen sequel. Those plans changed, however, when the pandemic hit, and now Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness isn’t slated to hit theaters until March 25, 2022.

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Image via Marvel

Cumberbatch is currently filming a significant role in the untitled third Spider-Man film and filming on Doctor Strange 2 is expected to begin once he’s done with that, but clearly the Marvel Cinematic Universe is about to open up the idea of the multiverse in a big way. Past Spider-Men Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield are already expected to appear in the new Spider-Man movie alongside Tom Holland, with villains from the various Spider-Man movies over the past two decades also poised to appear (including Jamie Foxx’s Electro and Alfred Molina’s Doc Ock).

That Spider-Man movie hits theaters next year, so it’ll be fun to see how Doctor Strange 2 builds upon the multiverse story that that film will surely introduce.

McAdams was frankly kind of wasted in Doctor Strange so here’s hoping she has more to do in the sequel. Also expected to return from that first film are Benedict Wong and Chiwetwl Ejiofor.

For a complete list of upcoming MCU movies, click here.