Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is shaping up to be the biggest Marvel Studios production of the year for a multitude of reasons. The superhero sequel will thrust the titular sorcerer into a wild new adventure that’ll bring a new level of weirdness and horror (courtesy of director Sam Raimi) to the cinematic universe. Of course, fans are particularly excited to see more of Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda Mamixmoff, and some are speculating that the Scarlet Witch could end up being the true villain of the movie. Now, Raimi has shared thoughts on who could be considered the antagonist.
It’s totally fair that the public would peg Wanda as the film’s Big Bad. The latest full trailer for Doctor Strange 2 saw the young woman express disdain for the double standard associated with the mistakes she and Strange have made. There’s also the fact that she’s searching for her sons Billy and Tommy, who have been teased in a not-so-hopeful way. So is that enough for her to go berserk and cause multiversal damage? It’s definitely possible. But when asked about who the movie’s villain is, Sam Raimi wouldn’t name only one character:
Well, there's iterations of our characters throughout the multiverse. So, if I were to say Strange ... I'm not really supposed to answer this question, but I might be saying altered Strange. Same with Wanda and Mordo. But I would say, at different times, all of the above.
The fan-favorite filmmaker’s comments to Fandango are fair, as any of the aforementioned characters could serve as an adversary at one point or another in the story. Aside from Maximoff, Chiwetel Ejiofor’s Karl Mordo has certainly taken issue with Stephen Strange. The post-credits scene of the original 2016 movie (streamable with a Disney+ subscription), hinted that Mordo was looking to reduce the number of magic-wielders within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. So it’s probably a safe bet that he’s going to cause headaches for Strange.
As Sam Raimi mentioned, the variants that’ll be featured in the movie could also be considered foes. The one that probably has most MCU fans concerned is the evil Strange, who seems similar to What If…?’s Evil Sorcerer Supreme. Trailers and TV spots show the alternate Strange eerily stating, “Things just got out of hand.” I’d say that means he could stir up a fair bit of trouble.
These options aside though, it’s totally possible that Sam Raimi and co. may have a major twist in mind. Surely there must be a main villain somewhere within the proceedings, and it could very well be someone audiences won’t be expecting.
The idea of Wanda actually becoming an opponent of Doctor Strange during Multiverse of Madness is intriguing, though. Not only would it make for great drama, but it could also finally reveal whether Scarlet Witch is truly stronger than Strange. While it still can’t be said that this will definitely be the case, we, thankfully, don’t have too much longer to find out what’s what.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness opens in theaters on May 6 as one of 2022’s biggest new movie releases.
