Chiwetel Ejiofor made his MCU debut as Mordo in 2016's Doctor Strange. While the character was initially introduced as an ally to Stephen Strange, the final act saw a despondent Mordo take a dark turn and start hunting down those he felt were abusing magic.
Originally, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness opened with Mordo confronting the Scarlet Witch, losing his head in the process. Marvel Studios cut the scene and Ejiofor ended up playing only a Sorcerer Supreme Variant of the character on Earth-838.
Talking to Josh Horowitz, Ejiofor was asked if he knew what the plan was for Mordo when he was cast.
"Sure, there was sort of broad - like with any of these things that develop over time - ideas which always felt like they would be subject to manipulation, change, or reinvention," the actor explains. "In a way, who knows? [Laughs]"
"There's still the opportunity for different aspects of that to come to fruition and, to be honest, there were completely new areas for Mordo that didn't exist in the conversation at that time which also have all this capacity and potential. It definitely depends, which I think is exciting, on the vision. An individual or the team's vision for those stories as they move forward. I'm excited about [that]."
"I feel like there are some extraordinarily engaged and talented people within the context of that," he continued. "It's a world that still holds a lot of excitement for me."
As for how he felt about Mordo's story arc in the Doctor Strange sequel, Ejiofor responded, "Like I [said], it was something new. It was something I hadn't predicted at all. In that context, I thought it was fascinating. I felt like there was something potentially really exciting about where that could go. I like that broadly. I like the idea these characters and worlds can be explored in these really incredible ways."
"I think there's a beautiful open door there and just finding the moment to tell those stories where it's genuinely the most exciting part of that story you can tell and focus a light on," he later said of a possible MCU return as the original Mordo. "I think has the potential to be really remarkable."
We'll next see Ejiofor in Sony Pictures' Venom: The Last Dance. It's widely believed he'll play the villainous Orwell Taylor, but the interviewer wondered if the actor is concerned about fans being confused after seeing him in the MCU as Mordo.
"I feel the best thing to do there is just watch the film," he replied with a smile. "The important conversations happen once everybody can see the films and then engage. The pre-engagement conversations are not quite as important at this point [Laughs]. It was fantastic to work with Kelly [Marcel] in that world and to engage with a really special character that Tom [Hardy] has danced with."
"When you see on set when Venom arrives, you're like, 'Wow.' It's a real sort of moment," Ejiofor noted. "Tom can be standing next to you and you'll say, 'Venom's here!' He's created something pretty remarkable."
It's pretty obvious that his Venom: The Last Dance character isn't a Mordo Variant but, between this and Rhys Ifans' unexpected role, it appears Sony is eager for the cast to lean into the speculation to drum up interest. After all, the studio did the same with Morbius and Madame Web, only for the MCU's Multiverse to be largely irrelevant to both.
You can watch the full interview with Ejiofor below.