The character of Doctor Strange which is played by famous Hollywood actor Benedict Cumberbatch has evolved into one of the leading characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. His importance in Marvel’s big-scale movies like Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: No Way Home proves this very fact and we will see him yet again in the sequel of his solo movie franchise, i.e, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness which has the potential of changing the MCU as we know it completely.
A lot is at stake in the Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and it further indicates that Doctor Strange has far bigger and more important responsibilities than the Avengers in a way that the Avengers are the protectors of Earth only (or this universe at max) but Doctor Strange deals with the sacred timeline and now with the Multiverse and thus the fate of a lot of Universes are vested upon him.
Benedict Cumberbatch talks about the relation between Doctor Strange and the Avengers
Benedict Cumberbatch himself has recently talked about his take on the relationship between Doctor Strange and the Avengers. The actor has a critical theory about it which suggests that the Sorcerer Supreme (ex) is not actually (and will never be) a part of the Avengers.
Although he worked closely with the Avengers in their battle against Thanos, their ways are completely different and if you think it in that way, even the Wakandan Soldiers, Guardians of the Galaxy and Asgardians fought in the war but that does not necessarily mean that they are part of the Avengers now. Benedict Cumberbatch called himself an ‘outsider’ as far as Avengers is concerned.
Benedict said, “People say that you were in the Avengers, but you’re not an Avenger, right? No, I’m not. I’m not at Stark Tower with Nick Fury. No, he’s sort of outside of that realm, but I don’t think that’s necessarily a character trait. I think that is just a job title. He’s there to protect the reality of the Avengers in a different way to what they have been fighting up until the point that everything collides in the last two Avengers movies, so he holds his position as an adult on the periphery of that, but I think only for so long. There’s always a moment where he has to work with people and team up. And you know, we might see that in the next film; you have to wait and see.”
– Benedict Cumberbatch
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness releases in your nearest theatres on 6th May.
Marvel released the trailer of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness yesterday and fans cannot stop talking about it. It was undoubtedly one of the most captivating trailers ever for any Marvel movie and fans can’t wait to see what “Madness” the multiverse has in store for them.
In this article, we shall be breaking down the trailer scene by scene and we shall also discuss the easter eggs that you might have missed.
1. Doctor Strange’s Nightmare
“Every night. I dream the same dream. And then, the nightmare begins”
– Doctor Strange
The trailer unfolds with Doctor Strange opening his eyes in shock. He says the above-mentioned quote about his nightmares and dreams as he stands in front of a Sanctum Sanctorum that is midway through being completely disoriented in a black goo (similar to what we say in ‘What If…?’ Episode 3). Strange stands in front of it on a pile of skeletons scattered all around.
The doorway to the Sanctorum opens and a stairway to heaven (or maybe hell) going all the way up and disappearing in the clouds is shown.
Cut to darkness, someone breaks a glass, Strange sees that Kamartaj is under attack, a devilish creature is holding America Chavez in his tentacles, Defender Strange falls into a portal swirling all around and Doctor Strange wakes up from his dream.
2. Not Doctor Strange?
The scene where Doctor Strange wakes up from his nightmare has confused many fans. It shows that his hands are perfectly fine and he is sleeping in what looks like his original house.
One more noticeable point is that Doctor Strange’s voice says “And then, the nightmare begins” when he seemingly wakes up from his dream. Thus, many theories have suggested that in reality, Doctor Strange’s nightmare is waking up in a reality in which he never met the accident and was never became the Sorcerer Supreme.
3. Doctor Strange performs Chaos Magic
The first scene after the nightmare showed Doctor Strange reading the Book of Darkhold and performing Chaos Magic. America Chavez and apparently Wanda Maximoff was also present in the same room.
It seemed as though Doctor Strange was reading the Book of Darkhold in search of an answers and when he held the Red orb-like thing in his hand, Strange looked surprised.
He slammed the spells back into the Book of Darkhold, in a way that suggested he was trying to hide what he just learnt from the other members of the room (maybe from Wanda particularly).
4. Attack on Kamar-Taj
A scene in the trailer shows Kamartaj being attacked by someone. A cloud, similar to Alioth – the pet monster of He who remains whom we say in Loki, covered was seen covering Kamar-Taj as Minotaur stood alongside the other sorcerers to protect it.
Minotaur makes his debut in Doctor Strange in Multiverse of Madness. In many Marvel comics, he has been portrayed as a sidekick of Doctor Strange.
5. Doctor Strange has broken the multiverse
Doctor Strange exactly these words in the trailer to explain why he did what he did in: “I did what I had to do… to protect our world”. Many believe that his statement means that in order to save his own world, he has sacrificed the realities of several other worlds as all of them are now entangled between each other.
Wong replied: “You cannot control everything strange. You opened doorways between Universes, and we don’t know who or what will walk through it”. He thus confirmed the Multiversal theory and it is now sure that any of Marvel’s universes can make an appearance in the movie. Madness indeed!
6. Wanda portrayed as the Antagonist
“You Break the rules and become the hero. I do it I become the enemy. It doesn’t seem fair.”
– Wanda Maximoff
There has been a weird aura about the character of Wanda Maximoff a.k.a Scarlet Witch in this movie ever since we saw her in the Teaser. She was once again shown wearing a comic book accurate costume while sitting in a meditative pose, perhaps practising some spell.
When Doctor Strange called “Wanda”, her eyes opened and strange energy exuded from her body. Cut to the scene where Doctor Strange came to meet Wanda in her alternate reality of solitude where she flew (in Sokovia) after moving away from Westview.
Doctor Strange asked her, “Wanda, what do you know about the Multiverse?”
She replied, “Vis had his theories. He believed it was dangerous.” Strange then said, “He was right”
This is an interesting point as despite Vision warning Wanda about the Multiverse, she created her own pocket reality in Westview to bring Vision back after his death.
In a scene that is even more unsettling, we can see Doctor Strange and Wanda standing in the same location but has now turned completely red. Wanda, who was previously seen in her casual attire, is now transformed into Scarlet Witch and he says to Doctor Strange, “You Break the rules and become the hero. I do it I become the enemy. It doesn’t seem fair.” (and the trailer shows a memorial of Doctor Strange).
This scene kind of confirmed the role that Scarlet Witch is going to play in Multiverse of Madness. As many had anticipated, she is indeed an antagonist in this movie.
7. America Chavez’s first look
Doctor Strange’s nightmare gave us America Chavez’s first look. She was tied to the tentacles of a mystic creature who was trying to attack her.
It was after this that America Chavez opened the Star like Multiversal portals, which according to marvel comics, is her superpower. The way in which Doctor Strange was protecting her in the teaser, it seemed as though the trailer scene was where America Chavez discovered her true powers for the first time.
8. First look of Defender Strange
Defender Strange
The first scene of America Chavez also gave us the first look at Defender Strange. He looked wounded in Doctor Strange’s nightmare and was wearing a red coloured costume.
The TV spot trailer, however, gave us a much clearer look at Defender Strange. In this scene, his costume had a yellow coloured design in the front.
9. Mordo’s role in Multiverse of Madness
Mordo
“I am sorry Stephen. Your desecration of reality, will not go unpunished.”
– Mordo
The last battle scene of Doctor Strange(2016), where Strange used the time stone to make a deal with Dormammu, showed Mordo leaving Doctor Strange as he was done with Sorcery.
“Yes, we did it. No price to pay. We broke our rules just like her (Ancient One). The Bill comes due,” he had said before leaving.
Now that his prediction is proving to be right, Mordo has returned but is he the one the MCU knows? Rumour has it that this is in fact a variant of Mordo from an alternate reality in which he is the Sorcerer Supreme.
The trailer has also suggested that he is closely related to the Illuminati.
10. Mordo vs Doctor Strange
A particular scene in the trailer shows Doctor Strange being attacked by Mordo while he is still in his handcuffs. The scene was also shown in the teaser but now that we know the involvement of the Illuminati, things are clearer.
The scene is taking place in the Illuminati headquarters and while many believe that it is a battle scene between the two, some theories also reveal that Mordo is actually trying to break Strange free so that he can help them in the Multiversal war.
11. Doctor Strange arrested
In the most talked-about scene of the trailer, it is shown that Doctor Strange is being handcuffed and arrested for his ‘Desecration of reality” and the Multiversal crime that he committed.
The handcuff being used is particularly special. It has runes engraved on it and also a green light on top that gives it a futuristic look. It was the first hint from the teaser that pointed towards an X-Men involvement in the upcoming movie.
12. Iron Legions/Ultron Sentinels
Iron Legions accompanying Doctor Strange
A bunch of Iron Legions, who is better known as Ultron Sentinels or Drones whom we saw in Avengers: Age of Ultron were seen accompanying the handcuffed doctor strange to a hall like a chamber.
The Ultron Sentines are most probably from an alternate reality in which Tony Starc’s vision of making Ultron succeeded and did not fire back like we say in MCU.
It also suggests that a Supreme form of Tony Starc and maybe Ultron himself can will be spotted in Multiverse of Madness. According to rumours, Tom Cruise will play the role of Superior Iron Man.
13. Illuminati Headquarters
Illuminati Headquarters
The hall that handcuffed Doctor Strange was taken into looked like a court room for trial similar to the one we saw at TVA in Disney+ show Loki. There were six chairs placed at a platform and 3 of them were filled.
It clearly showed that the hall in discussion was indeed the headquarters of Illuminati, a secret group of Superheroes in Marvel Comics.
14. Patrick Stewart’s debut in MCU as Professor X
“We should tell him the truth”
– Professor X
When Doctor Strange stands in front of the Illuminati, a voice says, “We should tell him the truth”. And the Marvel fans needed no second guess to tell that it was the voice of Patrick Stewart (who played the role of Professor X in the X-Men series).
Although his face was not revealed, it is now confirmed that Professor X will make his MCU debut in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. According to Marvel comics, Professor X was a part of Illuminati and thus his appearance makes sense too.
15. Multiverse falls apart & Doctor Strange travels through universes
Dr. Strange and America Chavez fall through universes
A confusing scene from the trailer shows Doctor Strange and America Chavez travelling through different Universes and timelines. One of those timelines tracks back to the prehistoric age and also has Dinosaurs in it. From there, they move to what seems like a comic book universe.
A particular scene also shows Doctor Strange disintegrating into various blocks just like his world. It reminded us of Avengers: Endgame when Thanos broke Drax into various blocks using the reality stone.
16. A glowing figure attacks Wanda- Alternate Iron Man or Captain Marvel?
The glowing figure in the trailer
The trailer showed a glowing figure attacking Wanda Maximoff in the Illuminati Headquarters. There are four theories as to who it might be.
The most easy possibility is that it might be Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel as she was the closest character that the figure seemed like. However, it could also be a alternate version of Captain Marvel or maybe even Monica Rambeau who got her Superpowers from entering Wanda’s alternate reality in West View in Wanda Vision.
Others think that it might be Superior Iron Man who is a part of Illuminati and thus attacks Wanda when she tried to break into their facility.
However what many are neglecting is that it can also be Human Torch a.k.a Johnny Storm, who is a member of the Fantastic Four. Just imagine the crowd reaction if Chris Evans appears as Human Torch in the movie !
17. Gargantos came to abduct America Chavez?
The Mystical demon Gargantos who broke free in the New York City and was even shown in the teaser as well, was seemingly interested in adbducting only America Chavez.
In the trailer, we can see Doctor Strange and Wong protecting her. The TV Spot trailer showed America Chavez under Gargantos’ tentacles and it confirmed that the creature wanted the to abduct the teen.
18. Wong’s Variant saved America Chavez
Wong’s Variant?
In the scene where Doctor Strange fights Gargantos to save America Chavez, we also saw Wong using a magical lasso to tie the tentacles of Gargantos. But a clearer look shows that Wong looks slimmer and different from his usual self and it is possible that he is a variant of Wong.
19. The Doctor Strange Statue
Doctor Strange’s Memorial
When Scarlet Witch tells that Strange is seen as a hero despite his actions, the trailer cuts to Doctor Strange standing in front of a giant statue of his. It appears to be a memorial and the universe in which it is located, appears to be a peaceful one. Apparently the Doctor Strange of that universe used his magic for only the wellness of the people.
It is also being guessed that in that alternate reality, Doctor Strange might have sacrificed himself (instead of Tony Starc) and thus he is viewed as a hero in that Universe.
20. Scarlet Witch returns to Westview….with Wanda?
In a rather disturbing scene, we seen Scarlet Witch seated at Wanda and Vision’s house in West View and she looks mentally broken and sad. An alternate self of Wanda, with scars on her head, is then seen standing in front of her. She touched Scarlet Witch in a rather pitiful way.
One of them is Wand and the other is her Astral projection like we saw in the end credit scene of WandVision. According to many, this scene will be important for the character of Scarlet Witch going forward as it will decide which version of Wanda will she choose to be.
Many even thoerised that Scarlet Witch was sad due to a failed attempt at re-creating her alternate dimension with Vision and her kids in it.
21. Zombie Wanda Maximoff?
Zombie Wanda
Although it is not clearly shown in the original Trailer, the TV spot shows a Zombie version of Wanda Maximoff. It is similar to what we saw in ‘What If…?’ season 1 episode 5 and it will be interesting to see what Sam Raimi has in store for the character.
23. Bloodstained Wanda Maximoff at Illuminati HQ
In a particular scene, a bloodstained Wanda Maximoff is standing at the gate of Illuminati Headquarters and she has a chaos magic spell in her hand, ready to attack.
From the background, setup and her dress, it is sure that Wanda got wounded in her fight with the glowing figure.
24. Illuminati have abducted Wanda’s Kids!
When wounded Wanda Maximoff is standing at the door of the Illuminati Headquarters, the reflection in her eyes give out a staggering detail.
According to many, the reflection shows two cages and rumour has it that the Illuminati has trapped her two kids in those cages. It has angered Wanda as she and her brother were also trapped in similar cages by Hydra. Although they had volunteered for the project themselves, she hated her days at the Hydra concentration camp.
It is due to this reason that Wanda has attacked the Illuminati headquarters.
25. Zombie Strange?
The last scene of the trailer showed a much darker version version of Doctor Strange which is different from Evil Strange. The TV Spot gives a much more detailed view at his face and it indeed seems like Zombie Strange is appearing in the movie as well. He casts a spell that brings out many skeleton hand projections from his body, similar to what we saw Doctor Strange do in the battle of Titan against Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War.
