Credit: Marvel Studios Sam Raimi revealed that he originally didn’t expect Doctor Strange to be in the MCU.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) will be one of Marvel’s biggest movies yet as Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange will have to deal with the consequences of his actions in Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021). Fans have been eager to see the Multiverse and after having it teased for well over a year, Doctor Strange 2 will finally explore what lurks in the Multiverse.
Strange won’t be alone as America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez) and Wong will help Strange navigate the Multiverse, but it won’t be long before Strange finds a dangerous foe that threatens his universe. The Doctor Strange sequel will be one of Marvel’s most ambitious projects with several variants of the main characters, zombies, dinosaurs, and several cameos reported to be in the film.
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With all this in mind, it’s hard to think back to a time where Doctor Strange wasn’t a pivotal character in the MCU. Ever since his role in Avengers: Infinity War (2018), fans loved the hero as he was the only magic user that was part of the super hero team. Now, Strange has helped Spider-Man and somehow ended up stopping entire threats to the universe just by himself.
Raimi explained in a recent interview he was shocked that Marvel planned to bring the character to the big screen as he always saw the character as a “third or fourth tier hero” who always ended up below Captain America, Thor, Spider-Man, the Avengers and Fantastic Four:
“He was like a second or third tier character for Marvel. Obviously, their big popular names were Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, The Avengers, Captain America, Thor. And because none of those other movies were being made, I actually never imagined they would make a Doctor Strange movie. Just seemed far from possible.”
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While Marvel did obviously start with introducing Captain America and bringing the Avengers, together, Marvel didn’t have the ability to bring in the Fantastic Four or Spider-Man until way later. Tom Holland’s Spider-Man may be a staple to the franchise, but due to Sony’s hold over the character, Spider-Man isn’t guaranteed to make a cameo or have a minor role in a series without Sony’s approval.
The Fantastic Four’s movie rights have returned back to Marvel Studios, but Marvel plans to take their time introducing the team to the MCU. While some reports claim that Reed Richards may make a small appearance in Doctor Strange 2, it doesn’t mean that fans should expect to see major news about the movie just yet.
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At the time, it made sense for Marvel to move forward and bring Doctor Strange in, but at the beginning of the MCU, Marvel was purposely avoiding any possible connection to magic. The first few MCU movies made sure to have any powerful weapon seem to be high-tech and not magical. While the Tesseract may be an Infinity Stone and is just a magical rock, The Avengers (2012) made sure to claim that it was a power source than could power a device or open a portal. These moments could’ve easily persuaded Raimi that magic was off the table for Marvel.
Now that Strange has become the anchor of the MCU, there’s no doubt that the hero has a lot of importance in the MCU now that Captain America is retired and Iron Man sacrificed himself. Despite having some initial shock about the character, Raimi has made it clear that fans should expect a wild journey for fans with Doctor Strange 2.
More on Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
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Here’s an official description of Doctor Strange’s newest adventure:
“To restore a world where everything is changing, Strange seeks help from his ally Wong, the Sorcerer Supreme, and the Avengers’ most powerful Scarlet Witch, Wanda. But a terrible threat looms over humanity and the entire universe that no longer can be done by their power alone. Even more surprising, the greatest threat in the universe looks exactly like Doctor Strange.”
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Doctor Strange 2 is directed by Sam Raimi and stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Stephen Strange/Doctor Strange in the main timeline, but he will also play other variants in the movie such as Zombie Strange, Defender Strange, and Strange Supreme.
The movie will also star Elizabeth Olsen as Scarlet Witch/Wanda Maximoff, America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez), Wong as the Sorcerer Supreme (Benedict Wong), Mordo, (Chiwetel Ejiofor), Rintrah (Adam Hugill), Charles Xavier/Professor X (Sir Patrick Stewart), and potentially other characters from the Marvel universe.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness releases in theaters on May 6, 2022.
Do you think Marvel always planned to bring Doctor Strange into the MCU? Let us know what you think!