Ever since he was introduced to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2016 (two years after he was first mentioned in Captain America: The Winter Soldier), Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange has cemented himself as one of this superhero franchise’s most important players, and his importance will only keep growing. His next movie, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, is fully opening the door to parallel realities, and after learning about some of the established characters who will be joining the Master of the Mystic Arts, we finally know about the first new face being thrown into the mix.
According to Deadline, Xochitl Gomez has been added to the Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness cast, although no details were provided about who she’s playing. Gomez is currently best known for playing Dawn Schafer in the Netflix series The Baby-Sitters Club, while her other prominent credits include Shadow Wolves and Roped.
Marvel hasn’t officially commented on this casting, but naturally the news of Xochitl Gomez’s involvement in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has prompted a lot of fan speculation about who she’s been cast to play. Among the most popular guesses is America Chavez, a.k.a. Miss America, who was introduced to the comics nearly a decade ago and was rumored back in August to be taking part in the Doctor Strange sequel. Assuming this is true, presumably given Multiverse of Madness’ premise, America would presumably hail from another universe rather than the main MCU reality.
In any case, for now we’re in the dark about how Xochitl Gomez fits into Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, but this will definitely be a major boost for the actress’ career. Along with Benedict Cumberbatch, Gomez’s cast-mates on the sequel will include Benedict Wong reprising Wong, Chiwetel Ejiofor reprising Mordo and Elizabeth Olsen reprising Wanda Maximoff, a.k.a. Scarlet Witch. The latter’s upcoming show WandaVision, as well as fellow Disney+ series Loki, will both tie into Multiverse of Madness.
Originally the plan was for Doctor Strange director Scott Derrickson to resume helming duties on Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, but due to creative differences, Derrickson later exited that post, although he’s still attached as an executive producer. Instead, Sam Raimi, who already has some superhero movie experience under his belt thanks to his time with Spider-Man, will direct Multiverse of Madness, while Michael Waldron was tapped early this year to rewrite the script.
Although there’s a long way to go before Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness arrives, MCU fans don’t have to wait until that movie comes out to see Doctor Strange again. It was reported earlier this month that Strange will appear in the third Tom Holland-led Spider-Man movie, taking on the mentor role for Peter Parker previously filled by Tony Stark in Spider-Man: Homecoming and Nick Fury in Spider-Man: Far From Home. Jamie Foxx has also been confirmed to reprise Electro, who he first played in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, so perhaps there will be some multiversal shenanigans in the threequel too.
You can listen to CinemaBlend’s Sean O’Connell discuss that very subject in the video below.
With filming expected to begin in the coming weeks, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is currently slated to cast its spell in theaters on March 25, 2022, making it the final Phase 4 movie. Find out what else the MCU has coming to the big screen with our handy guide.
