Marvel has summoned its Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness writer. Up-and-coming screenwriter Jade Bartlett, whose script Miller’s Girl made it to the 2016 Black List, has been tapped by Marvel to pen Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the upcoming sequel to 2016’s Doctor Strange starring Benedict Cumberbatch.

Collider broke the news that Marvel has tapped Jade Barlett to write Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Director Scott Derrickson, who returns to helm the sequel, co-wrote the first film with C. Robert Cargill and Jon Spaihts, but it’s unclear whether Derrickson will co-write this time with Bartlett, or if she will receive sole writing credit.

Bartlett is a rising screenwriter who first broke out with her script Miller’s Girl, one of the 2016 Black List entries of best unproduced screenplays. Miller’s Girl has since been optioned by Good Universe, with Bartlett set to direct and Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s Point Grey banner set to produce. She’s also been tapped by Universal to adapt Chloé Esposito’s debut novel Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know, and most recently wrote the latest draft for the upcoming Mackenzie Davis-starring horror movie The Turning, based on The Turn of the Screw. This last project bodes best for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which is being billed as “the first scary MCU film.” Derrickson, who made his name in the genre with films like The Exorcism of Emily Rose, is already a perfect fit for this approach, and Bartlett’s experience in adapting a classic ghost story like The Turn of the Screw will certainly help.

Though she’s got a lot of projects under her belt, Bartlett is still relatively untested — none of her scripts have yet made it to the big screen yet. So it’s too early to tell whether she’s a good fit for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, but her hiring by Marvel does suggest that the studio is making a concerted effort to bring more diversity behind the scenes.

Benedict Cumberbatch is set to return as the Sorceror Supreme, alongside Benedict Wong and Elizabeth Olsen, who reprises her role as Scarlet Witch.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will hit theaters on May 7, 2021.

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