Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has already been pretty dizzying, with thrilling projects arriving on both the silver and small screen. There are some highly anticipated upcoming Marvel movies, starting with Sam Raimi’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. It looks absolutely wild, and now one Doctor Strange 2 producer has explained that long title.
The multiverse has been officially brought into the MCU with projects like Loki and Spider-Man: No Way Home, but it looks like Doctor Strange’s sequel will make things even more complicated. Producer Richie Palmer recently spoke to the blockbuster’s contents, and explained what the trailer is actually addressing. As he put it,
We honor each definition of the word 'madness' in this movie. For example, it's not just the craziness of what an alternate universe might look like, feel like, or sound like. When you see that there are infinite versions of yourself across infinite universes and you're a different person in them, different facets of you rise to the top.
Well, now I’m doubly interested in Doctor Strange 2. Because The Multiverse of Madness is related to how characters will seemingly meet multiple versions of themselves. This was definitely hinted at in the limited footage, where an Evil Stephen Strange was briefly shown.
Richie Palmer’s comments to D23 magazine (via Comic Book) will no doubt help to further increase fan excitement for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Sam Raimi ran a very tight ship, and there were no major spoilers or leaks while in production. But it sounds like this security was necessary, especially if there will be a number of different variants for characters like Strange or Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda.
In addition to ripping open the multiverse, it looks like Doctor Strange 2 will also lean on elements of horror. Elizabeth Olsen has teased that it’ll be the scariest installment of the MCU, and the trailers definitely tease some of this. In his same interview, Richie opened up more about the “madness” thats’ alluded to in the movie’s title. As he put it,
Maybe Stephen meets a few of these guys and wonders, ‘Oh, am I capable of what that person's capable of? Are they capable of what I'm capable of?’ And that can be maddening. Seeing other versions of yourself make decisions that you would not make can, for better or worse, be maddening- whether that's for Doctor Strange, for Wanda, or for any of our characters… Sometimes the scariest monsters are the ones that dwell within us. And with the Multiverse, maybe some versions of us are more monstrous than others.
Given the stakes and multiverse, it certainly seems like Doctor Strange’s second movie could go seemingly anywhere. Fans can’t wait to see the title character and Scarlet Witch share scenes together, as well as the introduction of new hero America Chavez. As a reminder, you can see the full trailer below,
In this footage we see doubles of a few different characters, and some possible connections to the animated series What If…? It should be interesting to see what additional footage and interviews from the cast come in the next few months, as we get ever closer to the release of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. All eyes are on Sam Raimi’s MCU debut, which has the potential to change the shared universe forever.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is currently set to arrive in theaters on May 6th. In the meantime, check out the 2022 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.
