‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’: Everything We Know So Far About the Marvel Movie

Credit: Disney/Moviestore/Shutterstock

'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness': Everything We Know So Far About the Marvel Movie

Stranger than ever. The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been slowly introducing the multiverse, and the Doctor Strange sequel will finally dive headfirst into the weirdness. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was first teased at the end of Spider-Man: No Way Home, released in December 2021. After the credits, audiences got their first look at the trailer for the May movie, and it's clear that the sequel won't just be a direct follow up to 2017's Doctor Strange movie. The Benedict Cumberbatch-led flick will deal with some of the aftermath of several other Marvel movies and TV shows (which means there are spoilers ahead for every title through Spider-Man: No Way Home). In the third Spider-Man movie, Doctor Strange (Cumberbatch) cast a spell that went wrong, cracking open the multiverse, allowing parallel universes to collide. While only those who had a direct connection to Spider-Man were affected in that movie, it looks like there might be more problems with the multiverse at large. In the trailer, Strange seeks out Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) for help. She immediately starts to apologize for Westview, which WandaVision viewers will remember as the town she accidentally magically compelled into her grief-induced sitcom fantasy. However, he has bigger concerns now and asks Wanda what she knows about the multiverse. The concept was already introduced in Disney+'s Loki — which included Loki (Tom Hiddleston) meeting various versions of himself from alternate timelines — as well as the animated What If...?, another Disney+ show that featured the voices of many cast members, including Cumberbatch as Strange. That might turn out to be very important. The trailer for the Doctor Strange sequel shows Stephen saying he never meant for "any of this to happen." His friend-turned-foe Karl Mordo (who turned his back on the Sorcerer Supreme in the 2017 Doctor Strange film and now wants to rid all sorcerers of their magic) gives him a warning. "I'm sorry, Stephen," Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor) says. "I hope you understand that the greatest threat to our universe — is you." He might mean that very literally. The trailer shows another version of Doctor Strange — Dark Strange. He looks like the version fans previously saw in What If...? in 2021. Viewers watched as the neurosurgeon went off the deep end in an attempt to save Christine's (Rachel McAdams) life and stole power from anyone he could to change the course of history. If the Dark Strange in the Multiverse of Madness trailer is at all similar to the animated one, it's clear that all of the characters fans love are in major trouble. "Things just got out of hand," Dark Strange says ominously. Check out everything we know so far about Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness:

Credit: Disney/Moviestore/Shutterstock

'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness': Everything We Know So Far About the Marvel Movie

Stranger than ever. The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been slowly introducing the multiverse, and the Doctor Strange sequel will finally dive headfirst into the weirdness. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was first teased at the end of Spider-Man: No Way Home, released in December 2021. After the credits, audiences got their first look at the trailer for the May movie, and it's clear that the sequel won't just be a direct follow up to 2017's Doctor Strange movie. The Benedict Cumberbatch-led flick will deal with some of the aftermath of several other Marvel movies and TV shows (which means there are spoilers ahead for every title through Spider-Man: No Way Home). In the third Spider-Man movie, Doctor Strange (Cumberbatch) cast a spell that went wrong, cracking open the multiverse, allowing parallel universes to collide. While only those who had a direct connection to Spider-Man were affected in that movie, it looks like there might be more problems with the multiverse at large. In the trailer, Strange seeks out Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) for help. She immediately starts to apologize for Westview, which WandaVision viewers will remember as the town she accidentally magically compelled into her grief-induced sitcom fantasy. However, he has bigger concerns now and asks Wanda what she knows about the multiverse. The concept was already introduced in Disney+'s Loki — which included Loki (Tom Hiddleston) meeting various versions of himself from alternate timelines — as well as the animated What If...?, another Disney+ show that featured the voices of many cast members, including Cumberbatch as Strange. That might turn out to be very important. The trailer for the Doctor Strange sequel shows Stephen saying he never meant for "any of this to happen." His friend-turned-foe Karl Mordo (who turned his back on the Sorcerer Supreme in the 2017 Doctor Strange film and now wants to rid all sorcerers of their magic) gives him a warning. "I'm sorry, Stephen," Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor) says. "I hope you understand that the greatest threat to our universe — is you." He might mean that very literally. The trailer shows another version of Doctor Strange — Dark Strange. He looks like the version fans previously saw in What If...? in 2021. Viewers watched as the neurosurgeon went off the deep end in an attempt to save Christine's (Rachel McAdams) life and stole power from anyone he could to change the course of history. If the Dark Strange in the Multiverse of Madness trailer is at all similar to the animated one, it's clear that all of the characters fans love are in major trouble. "Things just got out of hand," Dark Strange says ominously. Check out everything we know so far about Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness:

Credit: Disney/Moviestore/Shutterstock

When Is the Release Date?

Marvel Studios will release the sequel in theaters on May 6, 2021.

Credit: Marvel Studios

When Do Tickets Go on Sale?

In April 2022, Marvel Studios announced that tickets for opening weekend will go on sale Wednesday, April 6, one month before the movie hits theaters.

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Who Is the Director?

Sam Raimi is the man behind the camera. Raimi also directed the Toby Maguire-led Spider-Man trilogy.

Credit: Chelsea Lauren/Variety/Shutterstock

Who Is Returning to the Cast?

Dr. Stephen Strange (Cumberbatch), Karl Mordo (Ejiofor), Wong (Benedict Wong), Dr. Christine Palmer (McAdams) and Dr. Nicodemus West (Michael Stuhlbarg) will return from the first film. Scarlet Witch (Olsen), who met Strange in the final battle against Thanos in Avengers: Endgame, will also be among the returning characters.

Credit: Chelsea Lauren/Shutterstock

Who Are the New Characters?

The only confirmed newbie is America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez), also called Miss America in the comics.

The teen superhero is one of the Young Avengers in the comics. While it's unlikely that the Young Avengers will form in this movie, it's worth noting that she isn't the first member of the YA to join the MCU recently. Other Young Avengers include Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld, introduced in Hawkeye), Elijah Bradley (Elijah Richardson, who was in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier), Billy Maximoff (Julian Hilliard, introduced in WandaVision) and Cassie Lang (Kathryn Newton, who will take over the role in the upcoming Ant-Man: Quantumania). Their introductions being so close together probably isn't a coincidence.

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How Is Scarlet Witch Connected?

WandaVision ended with Scarlet Witch learning about her powers and reading the Darkhold, also known as the Book of the Damned or Book of Sins — so it's definitely not for good guys.

Wanda was last seen studying the Darkhold when she suddenly heard her sons calling out for her. Her twins, Tommy and Billy, weren't real in WandaVision. They were supposed to be just a creation for her to live out her family dreams, but it seems like real versions might exist in the multiverse somewhere.

The Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness trailer shows Wanda in full Scarlet Witch outfit, compete with her tiara, and she has blackened fingertips, indicating that she has been working with plenty of dark magic since fans last saw her.

Credit: Marvel/YouTube

Will There Be a Major Cameo?

A new trailer that aired during the Super Bowl on February 13 made fans wonder whether the movie will include a surprise cameo from Patrick Stewart, who played Professor Charles Xavier in 2000's X-Men and its two sequels. At one point in the teaser, an offscreen voice addresses Doctor Strange, and internet sleuths immediately became convinced that it belongs to the Picard star. Another shot hinted at the inclusion of an alternate universe’s Captain Marvel, who fans think may be Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) under the mask.

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Patrick Stewart and Ryan Reynolds Deny Cameos

The Star Trek: Picard star was asked about the voice that sounds an awful lot like his own. "You know, people have been imitating my voice ever since I came on the stage 60 years ago. So, I can't be held responsible for that," Stewart told ComicBook.com days after the Super Bowl trailer debuted in February.

Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds also denied appearing — but noted that he had to issue a denial regardless of the truth. “I guess I'm really not supposed to say anything, but I’m really not in the movie,” Reynolds told Variety the same week. “I’m promising, I’m not in the movie."

In April 2022, Raimi told Fandango, "I couldn't promise you that Patrick Stewart's in the picture. That's all that Marvel will let me say." Stewart did, however, attend the movie premiere. 

Credit: YouTube

Doubles Everywhere

Raimi revealed that it isn't just Doctor Strange who meets different versions of himself. "The movie is a journey into the multiverse, so you do see different iterations of Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor Strange, and even Lizzie Olsen's character of Wanda Maximoff," he told Fandango in April 2022.

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America Chavez Is From Another Universe

The director explained that she doesn't live in the primary universe. "She's a newcomer to her powers and to our world. She actually comes from another universe," Raimi told Fandango in April 2022. "I think she brings a sense of lightness and youth. Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor Strange can be a very egotistical and stuffy character, a know-it-all. She just flies in the face of that."

Credit: YouTube

Tommy and Billy Return

Wandavision introduced Wanda's kids Tommy and Billy, and an April 2022 trailer showed her with the 10-year-old twins again as her character speaks about a "nightmare" she keeps having.

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Is There a Post-Credits Scene?

It's a Marvel movie. Of course, there's an end credits treat — two to be exact. The first will be a mid credits scene, running after the animated portion of the credits. The second will be all the way at the end of the credits, just before the lights in the theater come up.