When Doctor Strange In the Multiverse of Madness was first announced at San Diego Comic-Con 2019, the only wild casting fans knew of was the inclusion of Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff. Although his story is said to continue straight from the events of WandaVision, he’ll be the film’s biggest new cast alongside Doctor Strange, and they’ll eventually have a returning cast, Wong and Baron Mordo, joining forces.
After that, the story and cast of this film turned into…the pun really meant…madness.
With the film set for release in May, two full trailers of the film and a Super Bowl TV spot have teased a variety of potential heroes and villains who could play a role in the sprawling plot. Promo material has led to confirmations and rumors leading to the appearance of many classic Marvel characters from the MCU and other adjacent universes.
With all of that in mind, The Direct has put together 34 characters that are rumored or confirmed to appear in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
This wouldn’t be a Doctor Strange movie without Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Stephen Strange. Now more than five years into his MCU tenure, Cumberbatch will be making his sixth appearance as a Marvel wizard, though this is only his second solo film since his first debut in Doctor Strange in 2016.
Fans last saw Strange working with Spider-Man Tom Holland in Spider-Man: No Way Home, after casting the spell that first opened the Multiverse to help Peter Parker overcome his identity crisis. The trique ends with Strange performing the spell in the way it was originally meant to be cast, leaving the world with no memory of Peter’s whereabouts.
Now, Strange will face a whole new world of trouble as he improves his magical skills, which are sure to pit him against challenges he’s never seen before.
Once the doors of Multiversal are opened again in this new sequel, Stephen Strange will learn how powerful and important he is in more than just his world. After seeing Tobey Maguire and Spider-Men Andrew Garfield next to MCU hero Tom Holland, he’ll be facing a different version of himself in his next solo film.
One of them is Defender Strange, which has the opportunity to give an exciting twist to one of Marvel Studios’ strongest heroes.
This version of Strange is classicly part of the Marvel’s Defenders team in the comics, having boasted partnerships with iconic characters like the Hulk and Valkyrie. While the ponytail hairstyle she rocks is likely just to help set her apart from the film’s titular hero, her outfit is nearly identical to the one she wore while fighting alongside the Defenders.
Sinister Strange makes his sinister debut at the end of the sequel’s first trailer.
Dressed in a darker cloak and sporting a more disheveled look than his comrades, Sinister Strange started many conversations when he first came back to life. Benedict Cumberbatch’s third character in the film is one of the first officially confirmed wild entries.
Part of what started so much discussion about him in the Multiverse of Madness was the idea that this new Variant might be the same as the Doctor Strange Supreme seen in What If…? . However, this is refuted by the text of the Super Bowl trailer.
Sinister Strange is one that seems to take a much darker turn even than the MCU animated wizard, who does everything he does almost purely out of grief.
In a universe that’s only featured one Doctor Strange since his 2016 debut, the character’s solo sequel pulls all the stops. The film is now confirmed to bring a fourth good doctor into the mix.
Although not much is known about him, the leaked Funko Pop! image teases the inclusion of another Doctor Strange Variant called “Supreme Strange.” This take on the Cumberbatch hero wears a lighter-colored blue cape than his contemporaries and is completely clean-shaven, which will help set him apart from the ponytailed Defender Strange and the shaggy-looking Sinister Strange.
This appears to be the version of Strange depicted in the huge statue in front of the Sanctum Sanctorum, which Prime minister Strange admires in footage from the Super Bowl trailer.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is expanding to new frontiers with Phase 4 and it all comes together in Doctor Strange 2, officially titled Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The sequel will take the storylines of Loki, WandaVision, and Spider-Man: No Way Home to build on a story that is potentially more massive than Avengers: Endgame. Not pressure, though.
Starring Benedict Cumberbatch and directed by the legendary Sam Raimi, Doctor Strange 2 is the most anticipated MCU film of Phase 4. The script for the film has been written by Jade Bartlett and writer Loki Michael Waldron. Based on everything we’ve heard about the film, it looks like Doctor Strange 2 will set the stage for all of the MCU’s upcoming projects. Read on for all the details that have been revealed so far including the release date, plot, characters, and more.
Yes indeed. So far, there have been two trailers released for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The first teaser was released on December 22, 2021, revealing the return of Elizabeth Olsen as the Red Witch and the evil Doctor Strange from What If…? .
The trailer for both films came out during the 2022 Super Bowl with lots of new footage. The most significant reveal in the trailer is a shot featuring someone who appears to be Patrick Stewart reprising his role as Professor Charles Xavier from the Fox X-Men movies.
When is Doctor Strange 2 Release Date?
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is currently scheduled to premiere in the United States on May 6, 2022. The sequel was originally slated for release on May 7, 2021.
The COVID-19 pandemic thwarted those plans, as did most of the film’s schedule. Doctor Strange 2 is pushed first to November 5, 2021, then March 25, 2022, and then to the current date, with Eternals taking the November slot.