When it comes to negotiations, they're in the endgame now.

Marvel is finally ready to conjure up a sequel to Doctor Strange. Scott Derrickson, who directed and co-wrote the mystical Marvel hero's initial 2016 outing, has quietly finalized a deal to helm the new installment. A search for a writer to pen the script is about to get underway.

Benedict Cumberbatch will return as Stephen Strange, the good doctor turned master of the mystic arts, as will Benedict Wong, who played his right-hand man, Wong. Rachel McAdams, who played Stephen Strange’s love interest, is likely to return as well. Strange was last seen de-materializing in the $2 billion-grossing Avenger: Infinity War, where one of his lines of dialogue served as the inspiration for the title of the fourth Avengers movie, Avengers: Endgame. Marvel has been tight-lipped about its plans for life after Endgame, which it is calling Phase Four. After all, how much can there be when half your heroes are supposed to be dead?