Much has been said about Doctor Doom having a loyal group of followers in Avengers: Doomsday. The prevailing theory right now is that they'll be masked Variants of familiar faces, potentially including characters like Peggy Carter and the Scarlet Witch.
Today, we have an update from insider Daniel Richtman. He's reporting that Doom has a "wizard" as his second-in-command, and makes a point of noting that this mystery person uses a Sling Ring.
Joining the dots, this sounds a lot like Doctor Strange. There's been some chatter online about the former Sorcerer Supreme being in cahoots with Victor Von Doom, which makes sense in the context of the MCU and lines up with the comics.
In terms of the latter, when the Final Incursion happened, Strange was there when Doom stole the power of the Beyonders and reshaped the Multiverse's remains into Battleworld. With his friends and allies seemingly dead, Stephen spent years working alongside the God Emperor Doom, as what he'd created was the only thing left worth protecting.
When we last saw the MCU's Strange, he'd seemingly begun his descent into villainy, as a third eye opened on his head (similar to the evil Strange he faced on a world ravaged by an Incursion). He then set off into the Dark Dimension with Clea, and it surely won't be too hard for Marvel to reveal that he soon encountered Doom.
Benedict Cumberbatch previously revealed his reaction to learning of Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom casting was to reach out to Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige. "I texted, 'What the f***?' and then quickly added, 'Good what-the-f***. I mean, good what-the-f***.'"
The actor has gone back and forth on his Avengers: Doomsday involvement, saying his role changed when Jonathan Majors was dropped as Kang the Conqueror. He has, however, said he'll be "in a lot" of Avengers: Secret Wars, with Strange "quite central to where things might go."
How would you feel about Doctor Strange teaming up with Doctor Doom?
Avengers: Doomsday officially stars Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Mackie, Winston Duke, Tom Hiddleston, Sebastian Stan, Letitia Wright, Paul Rudd, and Robert Downey Jr. Wyatt Russell, Simu Liu, Tenoch Huerta Mejia, Mabel Cadena, Florence Pugh, Danny Ramirez, David Harbour, Hannah John-Kamen, Lewis Pullman, and India Rose Hemsworth all make their Avengers franchise debuts.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps leads Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Joseph Quinn join them, as do X-Men franchise stars Kelsey Grammer, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Alan Cumming, Rebecca Romijn, James Marsden, with Deadpool & Wolverine star Channing Tatum. The trades have pointed to Ryan Reynolds and Hayley Atwell also appearing in Avengers: Doomsday.
The Russo Brothers direct Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars from a screenplay by Stephen McFeely, with whom they previously collaborated on the Avengers and Captain America franchises. Loki and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness's Michael Waldron has also been enlisted to help.
Avengers: Doomsday is set to be released on December 18, with Avengers: Secret Wars scheduled to arrive on December 17, 2027.