Fox Studios’ X-Men series was all good but one thing about the franchise that can not be praised is the massive loopholes in its timeline. The complex change of timelines and the characters being shown in different ages has messed up some of the castings and age portrayals of some characters. However, we have to admit that both the castings for the role of Professor X in the franchise were spot on.
Fox Studios had cast Patrick Stewart as an older version of Professor X and James McAvoy as the younger version of the character and both the actors did an absolutely spot-on job.
We last saw the role of Professor X being played on the big screen back in the 2017 film Logan where Patrick Stewart as Professor X killed nearly all of the Mutant population by mistake and he himself died as well.
However, the character is now set to make his debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe with their upcoming Big scale movie Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness which is set to release in about a month’s time on 6th May 2022.
The first trailer gave conclusively evidence to prove that Patrick Stewart is indeed redeeming his role as Professor X in Multiverse of Madness. Professor X is seemingly a member of the Illuminati in this movie which is very comic accurate as in Marvel comics as well Patrick Stewart was one of the founding members of the secret Think Tank organisation.
“Do you miss playing Charles Xavier?” “No, I don’t think so” 😂
As a result, the fans wondered: Does this mean that James McAvoy might have a cameo in Multiverse of Madness as well?
The actor himself has now opened up on this question and it is not good news for the fans. In a recent Instagram live, James McAvoy was asked if he was in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and whether he missed playing Charles X Xaviers.
To this, he straightforwardly answered, “No. No, I don’t think so” totally quashing the rumours.
We will have to wait till 6th May to find out whether McAvoy is telling the truth.
Marvel’s upcoming Magnum Opus, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is set to release in a month’s time on 6th May and it is undoubtedly one of the most anticipated movies of currently. The Doctor Strange sequel will have massive consequences in the Marvel Cinematic Universe going forward and it is thus one of the most important Marvel movies right now.
However, one of the major factors that have led to the creation of this massive hype around Multiverse of Madness is the numerous possible storylines, subplots and cameos it might feature. And coming to cameos, the MCU debut of Marvel’s fan-favourite character Deadpool is perhaps the most anticipated cameo in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
The Ryan Reynolds played character will be getting the third movie of his franchise soon and it shall be set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe for the first time as, before this, Fox Studios had the rights to Deadpool. Deadpool 3 is set to be MCU’s first-ever R-Rated movie.
However, before making a Deadpool movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it is firstly important to bring the character in this universe and that will supposedly be done in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
It is being said that Deadpool is one of the time-criminals that the Illuminati has caged up in their headquarters for his Multiversal crimes and he will be freed after Wanda Maximoff attack the headquarters.
Deadpool in a World without Cursing
However, the problem in this is that Deadpool is an R-Rated character but Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is PG-13. Deadpool without cuss words is like Captain America without his hammer and thus Marvel has reportedly come up with a way to stop Deadpool from abusing in Multiverse of Madness.
A rumour states that in Multiverse of Madness, he ends up in the MCU and had to deal with living in a world where all the cursing is muffled by Surrounding noises and Random objects conveniently block all the gore.
If this be true, it is the perfect plan aimed at stopping him from cursing in the movies.
One thing that the trailer of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has clearly pointed out is that Wanda Maximoff will definitely be portrayed as a negative character in the movie. The Scarlet Witch will go completely rogue in an attempt to find her lost sons in the Multiverse and Doctor Strange will have to fight her at some point in the movie to stop the chaos that has been created by her.
The Producer of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has now made a big revelation about the faceoff between these two heavyweight magicians and it has intensified our excitement for the movie Tenfolds.
Doctor Strange vs Wanda Maximoff
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness producer Richie Palmer recently said in an interview that the movie will have an epic final battle between Doctor Strange and Scarlet witch a.k.a Wanda Maximoff. He also went on to say that his money will definitely be on Scarlet Witch as the power that she showed in Avengers: Endgame, when she tormented Thanos completely, were outstanding. Moreover, she has grown more powerful than ever after assuming the powers of Agatha Harkness and getting hold of the Book of Darkhold.
“Meeting the Wanda Maximoff at the end of Endgame would have been a lot for Strange. Who comes out on top as the most powerful being in the universe? Maybe we find out atFinal Battle at Wundagore Mountains
Final Battle at Wundagore Mountains
Fan Theories has suggested long ago that Doctor Strange and Wanda Maximoff will probably have a battle near the Wundagore Mountain, where Chhthon wrote the Book of Darkhold. In a particular scene from the trailer, we see America Chavez punching through a star-shaped portal inside a cavern that has designed just like that of the Book of Darkhold on it. People think that it is actually the inside of the Wundagore Mountains and Scarlet Witch has trapped them inside.
Moreover, the Zombie Strange TV Spot footage shows a Mountain top which again hints that Scarlet Witch and Doctor Strange will indeed fight in front of the Wundagore Mountains.
The trailer of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness gave away many hidden details and one of them was the appearance of the Illuminati in the movie. The scene where a handcuffed Doctor Strange is being accompanied by Ultron Bots to what seems like a trial room is indeed the headquarters of the secret think tank organization of the Marvel Universe.
The role that the Illuminati will play in the movie is unclear but from what we know till now, we can assume that in MCU, the Illuminati that we are going to see has been assigned the role of safeguarding the sacred timeline of all the Multiverses to maintain its sanctity. As Doctor Strange caused mayhem in the Multiverse and broke it open, he is has been called up for a trial in front of the heads of the Illuminati.
In Marvel comics, Illuminati has always been shown to be a 6-member secret organisation where all the six members represent the 6 superhero communities of Earth. However, in the trailer, we can see that the Illuminati trial room has 7 chairs which implied MCU will tweak it a little to make it a 7-member organisation.
In this article, we shall be taking a look at all the members of the Illuminati that we might see in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
1. Professor Charles X Xaviers
Professor X is the only member of the Illuminati who we know will surely appear in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Although his face was not revealed in the trailer, we got a view of the back of his head and he said “We should tell him the truth” to Doctor Strange. And that was enough to confirm that it was the voice of Patrick Stewart – the man who played Professor X in Fos Studios’ X-Men.
Professor X was a core member of the Illuminati according to Marvel comics as well. In the comics, he represents the Mutant community in the Illuminati.
2. Superior Iron Man
It is almost certain now that Superior Iron Man (played by Tom Cruise) will be making his MCU debut in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The Ultron Bots in the trailer made his appearance in the movie crystal clear and it will be interesting to see what story arc director Sam Raimi gives to Tom Cruise’s character.
According to Marvel comics, however, Iron Man was a member of the Illuminati and not Superior Iron Man. Superior Iron Man is an entirely different comic lineup of Marvel in which Tony Stark turns completely evil. Basically, Superior Iron Man is a bad buy in Comics and thus it will be interesting to see his role in Multiverse of Madness.
3. Mister Fantastic
Mister Fantastic who is considered to be the leader of the Superhero group Fantastic 4, was one of the founding members of the Illuminati. When Iron Man pitched the idea of forming a secret think tank organisation, Mister Fantastic a.k.a Reed Richards was the first to agree to his idea and he helped Tony persuade the other members.
Ioan Gruffudd played the role of Mister Fantastic in the 2005 and 2007 movies and it is almost sure that he will not be playing the role anymore as he is already 48 years old and Marvel are looking for a much younger option. It is thus being rumoured that American Actor John Krasinski will be playing the role of Mister Fantastic in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
4. Black Panther
Shuri as Black Panther
In Marvel comics, although Black Panther was one of the founders of the Illuminati, he never became an active member of the organisation. In fact, Illuminati was founded in the City of Wakanda. However, a silhouette sitting on the chair in the Multiverse of Madness trailer has shown a suit similar to that of Black Panther and thus fans think that it might be the Superhero.
However, it can not be T’Challa as actor Chadwick Boseman is no longer with us. However, some theories suggest that a female Black Panther might be making an appearance in the Multiverse of Madness. In that case, Shuri might have taken up the mantle of Black Panther in some alternate Universe.
5. Baron Mordo
Baron Mordo
Rumours have confirmed it now that Baron Mordo is indeed a member of the Illuminati in the MCU. This is one of the strangest tweaks that the MCU has made as Baron Mordo should have no connection with the secret organisation as far as comic book stories are concerned.
In Marvel comics, Baron Mordo has been shown as a Supervillain and an arch-enemy of Doctor Strange. In the MCU he had been given a different role so far. In Doctor Strange (2016) he was shown to be a disciplined sorcerer who was so disturbed by the Strange and Ancient One’s rule-breaking that he decided to leave the Kamar-taj. His role in the Multiverse of Madness will thus be very interesting to see.
6. Black Bolt
Black Bolt
Black Bolt is another founding member of the Illuminati and represents the Inhumans community in the organisation. He also goes by the Name Blackagan Boltagon.
He is one of the strongest Inhumans in his race and can be considered to be their leader. In Marvel’s Inhumans series, the character of Black Bolt was played by Anson Mount and he can make a return in the role. However, Marvel will probably make a recast that would fit all their demands.
7. Peggy Carter
Peggy Carter
We saw the Shield of “What If…?”’s Peggy Carter who became the Captain America in that universe, in the official poster of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Ever since it has been rumoured that a live-action version of the character played by Hayley Atwell can be seen in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Captain America was once a temporary member of the Illuminati according to Marvel comics and thus, showing Peggy Carter as one of its members in Multiverse of Madness will not be technically wrong. Moreover, it would hand them a wonderful opportunity to bring in the beloved character to the MCU.
A new theory is being made every day on Marvel’s upcoming Magnum Opus Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and although most of them are fan-made and probably just imaginary, some rumours have proved to be true. The Superior Iron-Man theory, for example, started off as a rumour but after we saw leaked images of Tom Cruise from Multiverse of Madness’ set, the theory has strengthened tenfolds.
It is thus important that we scrutinise every theory about the Movie carefully because as we know, Marvel has made it a habit to listen to fan theories now (Spider-Man: No Way Home being the biggest example of the same).
The rumour that is currently being shared a lot, is regarding the mid-credit and end credit scene of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. A scene detail has emerged about both these important scenes and although the authenticity of the reports is yet to be checked, it surely does ruffle a few feathers of every Marvel fan.
Multiverse of Madness Mid-credit and Post-credit scene Revealed
Let us first read what these rumoured post and mid-credit scenes are.
Mid-Credit Scene: Doctor Strange is sleeping after the events of Multiverse of Madness and he has a nightmare wherein he sees a ruined New York, dead Wong, Umar (Dormammu’s sister) and Glimpse of Kang the Conquerer. He sees the third eye and hears the voice of Clea saying ‘Help me’ and wakes up immediately. According to this theory, the famous scene from the trailer where Doctor Strange wakes up from his nightmare is actually from the mid-credit scene.
Post-Credit Scene: Deadpool, Vanessa, Cable and Domino explore the headquarters of the Illuminati. Deadpool makes a joke about the bodies of Illuminati members and makes a reference to Professor X dying again.
Well, the mid-credit scene seems a little too far-fetched for two reasons. Firstly, Marvel would not like to tease Doctor Strange 3 in the same way that they teased the sequel of the franchise as it would be considered too repetitive. Secondly, characters like Umar and Kang might appear in the Doctor Strange threequel but revealing them this soon when the third part has not even started its production process is perhaps not what Marvel would like to do.
However, the post-credit scene is highly possible. It was being rumoured for a long time that Deadpool will make his appearance in the post-credit scene of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and what better way to do so that his signature comedic way.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is the upcoming Magnum Opus project of Marvel Studios. It is set to release on 6th May and with the level of hype that has been going on around this movie gives a clear indication that is is growing to blowup the Box-office records completely. There is no doubt in the fact that it would be Marvel’s second successive Blockbuster hit after Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Marvel have applied a promotional strategy for Multiverse of Madness which is exactly similar to the one that they used for Spider-Man: No Way Home. Yes, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will have a great ramification on the MCU’s future as the title suggests but the USP of the movie is going to be its huge Starcast. It is being said that Multiverse of Madness will have a star cast comparable to Avengers: Endgame and Infinity War.
A number of old and new characters from across Marvel’s universes will be appearing in the movie. Professor Charles X Xavier of X-Men, Fantastic 4 leader Mister Fantastic, Namor, Deadpool, Wolverine and a bunch of other exciting characters are set to make their MCU debut through Multiverse of Madness and that is what makes it so unique and this is what the hype is all about.
Apart from characters across the Universe, a number of variants of MCU’s existing characters like Doctor Strange and Wanda Maximoff are also set to appear in this movie. We have already been familiarised with Evil Strange and Defender Strange in the Trailer and the teaser.
Supreme Strange to make Live action debut in Multiverse of Madness?
However, a recently released official Marvel LEGO set has teased the appearance of yet another Doctor Strange variant – Supreme Strange.
Those who have seen the fourth episode of the animated Dinsey+ MCU series “What If…?”, will be familiar with the character. Basically it is one of the darkest and the strongest variants of Doctor Strange. In that storyline, Doctor Strange turns to dark magic to save change an absolute point in time to save his deceased girlfriend Christine Palmer and corrupts himself in the process. The prospect of his arrival into the MCU is thus very exciting.
The leaked LEGO character
However, the appearance of the leaked LEGO character resembles the statue of Doctor Strange that we saw in the trailer. Both of them do not have any beard (unlike the other variants of Doctor Strange) which is a differing characteristic from “What If…?”’s Strange Supreme.
Although Supreme Strange’s possible intrigues us, it is also a concerning factor. “What If…?” gave us an elaborate depiction of how Supreme Strange got corrupted to a point where we even start feeling bad for him. The limited runtime of Multiverse of Madness will not allow Sam Raimi to do that and showing Supreme Strange without giving any hint about his past life will be injustice towards the character.
So what do you think – will we get to see Supreme Strange in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness?
Ever since Marvel released the trailer of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness about a month ago, fans and Marvel nerds have been crazy about the theories and predictions that have been circulating on the internet. They have scrutinized every single hidden detail of the teaser and the trailer to see if they can find any big leak about the movie but in vain.
Despite all kinds of theories, none of the actors or Marvel’s high authorities have opened up on any theory (except Patrick Stewart sort of confirming that he has been cast as Professor X). The lead role of the movie, i.e, Benedict Cumberbatch who plays the role of Doctor Strange has finally opened up on the various fan theories and alleged leaks at the Screen Actors Guild Awards. However, we all know that he is way too smart to leak any detail at all and he would be the last person to give away a spoiler.
Benedict Cumberbatch talks about Multiverse of Madness Fan Theories
At the SAG Awards, he was confronted by a journalist who asked him about the theories of the Illuminati’s supposed MCU debut in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. We know that a number of variants of Doctor Strange will appear in the upcoming movie including Evil Strange. She thus asked whether one of them was a part of the Illuminati as in Marvel comics, Doctor Strange is one of the core members of the secret Think Tank group called Illuminati.
However, rather than clearing the doubts of the fans, Benedict Cumberbatch further intensified their curiosities. He replied, “Maybe.”
Who knows? Who knows?” he said before teasingly adding, “I do. I know.”
Benedict said that he was somehow able to dodge the questions during the promotions of Spider-Man: No Way Home as he was mostly busy re-shooting scenes for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness at that time. “It’s weird, I kind of escaped it with Spider-Man, because we were doing reshoots for Strange, I couldn’t do the tour,” he said before sympathising for Tom Holland and Zendaya who just had to deny sort of everything.
The on-screen Doctor Strange then went on to tease Marvel’s upcoming Magnum Opus a bit. He gave us a verbal taste of how grandeur a movie Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is going to be.
“Listen I will say this. It’s a feast. It’s a Sam Raimi special and it’s got everything it says in the Title and a lot more besides,” Benedict said.
Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man Trilogy is one of the most loved versions of the web-slinging Superhero. Released in 2002, Spider-Man was the first Marvel superhero to hit the theatres and it became an instant hit. Sam Raimi’s brilliant direction combined with Tobey Maguire’s spot-on portrayal of the character won the fans over in no time. However, one of the underrated aspects of Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy would have to be the hilarious cameos of Bruce Campbell.
Bruce Cambell was a close friend of Sam Raimi and he made an appearance in all three of his Spider-Man movies. In fact, he is often called the ‘Stan Lee’ the RaimiVerse as he made cameos similar to what we generally saw Stan Lee doing in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
From a Ring announcer in Spider-Man(2002) who gave Peter Parker his superhero name to a Snooty Usherer who would not let Peter inside Mary Jane’s play in Spider-Man 2 (2004) to ultimately being a French Maître D’ who tried to help Peter propose to Mary Jane (which ultimately failed) in Spider-Man 3 (2007), Bruce Campbell has played a wide range of characters in the trilogy.
The most amusing fact about his cameos was that his characters from every movie did not have any connection to the character that he played in the previous movie.
It was rumoured that if the Fourth instalment of Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man was ever made (Spider-Man 4), Bruce would be cast in a much more important role. Raimi is said to have offered the role of Quentin Beck a.k.a Mysterio to Bruce Campbell but the actor himself later debunked those rumours.
Bruce Campbell makes a big revelation about Multiverse of Madness
Bruce Campbell
However, with director Sam Raimi now returning to the MCU to direct Marvel’s upcoming Magnum Opus Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, it was believed that Bruce Campbell might have a little cameo in it as well.
In fact, the actor himself has confirmed that he has shot a cameo scene for the film. But while doing so he also teased the appearance of a Marvel character that has been ‘beloved for years’.
Bruce said, “The deal with Doctor Strange is interesting. A majority of the film was reshot extensively, so I have no idea what’s in there and what isn’t. I did a cool scene with a character that’s been beloved for years, and… we’ll have to see what ends up in the movie. I don’t know if it’s still in there. It’s a pretty cool part”
Seeing the other rumours that have been going on about the movie, we can infer that it could be Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man or Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine. Or is it someone completely unexpected?
Marvel’s Disney+ show Wanda Vision was very important for the character development of Wanda Maximoff as she is going to play a key role in MCU’s phase 4. She was seen tapping into her true potential in Wanda Vision and she also transformed into the Scarlet Witch for the first time in MCU, after absorbing the powers of Agatha Harkness in the season finale. Her role in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will be particularly very intriguing.
In Wanda Vision, we witnessed Wanda Maximoff creating a hex or an alternate reality within the city of West View to reincarnate her love interest Vision while trapping the locales of the city. She and Vision gave birth to two twin boys (named Billy and Tommy within the hex. Unfortunately, when she had to open the hex up, it also meant that she would be losing Vision, Billy and Tommy – and she did so.
However, in the post-credit scene, we saw Wanda’s astral projection reading the Book of Darkhold and exploring the Multiverse in search of her sons. It was then that she could hear the voice of her sons and the scene cut to darkness.
All that Scarlet Witch a.k.a Wanda Maximoff wants right now is to get back her kids and she sided with Doctor Strange for the same reason. She wants to travel through different realities to find her sons.
This might be the reason why many think Scarlet Witch might be the antagonist of Multiverse of Madness. Theories claim that it is Wanda Maximoff who sent Gargantos and the other dangerous creature that we saw in the trailer to capture America Chavez.
America Chavez can open star-shaped portals to any dimension, universe or timeline she wishes to travel to and Wanda seemingly wants to absorb her powers in order to succeed in her plan to find her kids. The Multiverse of Madness will probably focus on this dilemma very closely.
Multiverse of Madness trailer reveals the possible location of Wanda’s Kids !
But where exactly could Wanda’s kids be? The Trailer of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness might have already given us that answer.
Well, we saw Wanda fighting the glowing thing at Illuminati’s headquarters and in the very next scene, a blood-stained Wanda Maximoff was standing at the door of Illuminati, casting an offensive spell.
When the camera zoomed into, we could see the reflection in her eyes and it gave away a big detail. There were two cages in the reflection and that was where Wanda was aiming.
Have the Illuminati arrested and caged Billy and Tommy !
Well, it is highly likely given their role as the keepers of the sacred timeline in the multiverse. The Illuminati would contain any threat to the Multiverse and as they are aware of the powers of Scarlet Witch, they know what she could do to attain her kids and break laws of reality in the attempt.
However, it might also be a trap set up by the Illuminati to arrest or even kill Wanda! Anything might be possible as we do not know their objective yet. We can only find it out in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness on 6th May.
What do you think – Is it possible that the Illuminati have caged Wanda’s Kids?
The rumoured list of Marvel’s Comicbook characters that are reportedly set to make their respective debuts in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is growing every day.
The appearance of Professor Charles Xavier (Professor X, played by Patrick Stewart) and Superior Iron Man (played by Tom Cruise) is almost confirmed by now. Disney+ has now teased the appearance of a “What if…?” character in Doctor Strange 2 as well.
“What If…?”was the first animated MCU series of Disney+. It explored the idea of the alternate universe and gave us a taste of different realities from the MCU storylines that we have seen in the past. For example – What if T’Challa became Starlord and Killmonger became the Blackpanther.
One of the most unique episodes of the “What if…?” season 1 was the first episode in which we witnessed the story of an alternate universe in which Peggy Carter was given the Supersoldier serum and she became Captain America instead of Steve Rodgers.
In the climax of the episode, she had to pass through a Multiversal portal and entered the current timeline. She was later summoned by the Watcher to join the Guardians of the Multiverse in the final episode. Alongside Black Widow, Hawkeye, Strange Supreme, Starlord T’Chala, Thor and Killmonger as Black Panther, Peggy Carter defeated Ultron.
Peggy Carter’s Captain America to make Live-Action MCU debut in Multiverse of Madness?
MCU’s Peggy Carter and “What If…?” ‘s Peggy Carter
According to rumours and the current teaser of Disney+, Peggy Carter’s version of Captain America can make her live-action MCU debut in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Hayley Atwell, the Peggy Carter from Captain America: The first avenger (2011) can be seen playing the role.
The rumours started when a sight of Peggy’s Vibranium shield from “What If…?” was spotted in one of the shattered glasses of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ official poster.
Peggy’s shield spotted in Multiverse of Madness poster
When Doctor Strange fell through universes and timelines with America Chavez, there was a scene when they moved from a prehistoric timeline to a universe that seemingly resembled Marvel’s comic-book world. This could be how the animated Peggy Carter could move from the “What if…?” universe to the live-action MCU. However, all these are just theories.
Fuelling the rumours, Disney+ just teased the appearance of Peggy Carter in Multiverse of Madness through a cryptic post on their Twitter account. They tweeted: “It seems that shield has recently reappeared somewhere … 🤔 doesn’t that sound like ‘Madness’ to you #CaptainCarter and all the episodes of #WhatIf are waiting for you on #DisneyPlus !” with a picture of Peggy Carter from “What if…?”.
