Several years ago, Marvel Comics revealed that a clandestine group known as the Illuminati had assembled to play a secret role in keeping their world safe. They'd later be reimagined as a team looking to stop the Marvel Universe from being destroyed by incursions created by the Multiverse, but the MCU's take will be a little different.
It appears this iteration of the Illuminati is going to be made up of Variants who have to come together to protect not just their realities, but the entire Multiverse. Seeing as the titular hero is travelling from world to world with America Chavez in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (no doubt causing chaos along the way), you can see why they might like a word with him!
After that latest sneak peek, we know of at least some confirmed team members and a handful who are rumoured to be showing up. As a result, we can quite confidently put together the Illuminati roster most likely to grace the big screen this May. However, that does mean we're going to be getting into some heavy spoilers in the slides below.
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8. Superior Iron Man - Rumored
Once upon a time, Tom Cruise was eyed to play Iron Man. We have no idea how close that came to happening, but the casting has become the stuff of legend, with fans wondering what it might have looked like to see the Mission: Impossible star take the place of Robert Downey Jr.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness could finally answer that question, introducing a "Superior Iron Man" Variant who managed to protect and take over his world with an entire Iron Legion. We've even seen those Ultron-style drones in the trailer, so why would be there if not for an Iron Man Variant being part of the Illuminati?
This feels like wishful thinking to some extent, but it would be one of those jaw-dropping reveals that brings Cruise into the MCU for a memorable, one-off cameo.
7. Professor X - Confirmed
Arguably the biggest reveal in the latest trailer was the presence of Sir Patrick Stewart's Professor X, which confirmed previous rumours that we'd see the X-Men leader make an appearance. It's believed he'll be from a totally different world unconnected to what's previously been seen on the big screen.
Supposedly, he'll be seen in a wheelchair based on the one from the comic books and X-Men: The Animated Series. Moving away from rumours, though, and this sneak peek strongly suggested that Xavier could be the leader of the Illuminati.
How this factors into the MCU and its introduction of mutants remains to be seen; at this rate, it feels like reality will need to be rewritten to include them in this world, but that might be where the Scarlet Witch comes in. Either way, we expect this to be Stewart's final farewell to the X-Men leader.
6. Balder The Brave - Rumored
With reshoots supposedly adding some big cameos, we wouldn't be remotely surprised if this member of the Illuminati ended up on the cutting room floor. However, longtime Sam Raimi collaborator Bruce Campbell is rumoured to make an appearance as Asgardian hero Balder the Brave.
He'll also be from another Earth, though this feels a little random all things considered. We've never met Balder in the MCU, so the significance of him showing up as a member of the Illuminati is likely to be lost on anyone who is unaware of his importance in the comic books (or who Campbell is, for that matter). It could still be a fun cameo, but one we wouldn't be too upset to see cut.
There are rumblings that the Scarlet Witch makes short work of Balder, so perhaps he's just there to die in a suitably gory fashion? That could be pretty cool, to be fair.
5. Captain Carter - Confirmed (Mostly)
In What If...?, Captain Carter joined the Guardians of the Multiverse and ultimately returned to her world ready to be reunited with Steve Rogers. However, it appears her stint protecting every reality in existence didn't end there as Hayley Atwell will reportedly be given the chance to suit up as a live-action Variant of this superhero.
We have to assume this Captain Carter is the one we've met in animation, and the reason this is only "mostly" confirmed is that her shield was quite blatantly featured in the latest poster for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Season 2 of What If...? will expand on Carter's dynamic with The Watcher, but we are curious whether Uatu might have factored into Peggy being added to the ranks of this Illuminati. Either way, this feels like a doomed endeavour, and we just hope that the good Captain is able to survive the experience...
4. Master Mordo - Confirmed
We're pretty confident that the Mordo featured in the Doctor Strange sequel's trailers is a Variant, and not the Mordo who set off on a mission to kill those he deemed unworthy of utilising magic at the end of the first movie.
Your guess is as good as ours when it comes to what that means for the MCU's Mordo, but if he makes the mistake of going after the Scarlet Witch...well, we'd bet he doesn't make it out the other side. A closer look at the footage from the previews suggests Mordo arrests Strange for his crimes, likely using Doctor Strange Supreme as an example of the damage he can do.
The "Master" Mordo moniker indicates that this Variant is the Sorcerer Supreme of his world, thereby making him a worthy addition to this Illuminati. Regardless of whether this world had a Stephen Strange, we are very intrigued to see how much this Mordo differs from his MCU counterpart.
3. Mister Fantastic - Rumored
Many fans are convinced they've spotted Mister Fantastic in the new Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness trailer, and we tend to agree with them!
It wasn't too long ago a big rumour started doing the rounds that John Krasinski had agreed to play Reed Richards in the sequel, leading to a lot of debate among fans. This presumably won't be the MCU's Mister Fantastic, so is the actor being wasted on a meaningless cameo that will be forgotten about after a few months? Making those fan casts a reality would be fun, but we'd like more.
After Krasinski potentially plays Reed in this movie, it will be hard for anyone to live up to him. Also, if he is set to return, playing a Variant first is only going to risk confusing some moviegoers when they're reintroduced to his MCU counterpart. We just need to have faith in Marvel Studios pulling this off.
2. Captain Marvel - Confirmed
We can't discount the possibility that this Captain Marvel Variant is the Illuminati's muscle, but Lashana Lynch returning to the MCU as a Maria Rambeau who gained Carol Danvers' powers is a compelling and fascinating idea. She clearly gets to see some action in this sequel, battling the Scarlet Witch and pushing the Avenger to her limits.
It's still early days, but we'd actually like to see a future What If...? episode explore this Maria Variant's backstory. Why? Well, a world where she received those abilities would be vastly different and the fact that she's a member of the Illuminati is a good sign Maria is a truly great hero on her world.
Going toe to toe with the Scarlet Witch also proves this Maria is a powerhouse, and this Illuminati member being a Maria Variant makes much more sense than the previously rumoured Monica cameo (and after her role in No Time to Die, we cannot wait to see more of Lynch in action).
1. Black Bolt - Rumored
Of all the rumoured characters listed here, this is one we hope doesn't become a reality. Marvel Studios was once set to develop an Inhumans movie, but those plans fell by the wayside and Marvel Television instead developed a poorly received (and thoroughly terrible) TV series for ABC.
The Inhumans well doesn't appear to be one Kevin Feige is overly keen on returning to, hence why Ms. Marvel's powers appear to hail from Kree Nega-Bands. Despite that, it's been widely reported that Anson Mount is getting another shot at playing Black Bolt for what would no doubt be a fun cameo.
The actor donning a comic accurate costume would be a nice nod to the source material, while Mount is a bigger name now thanks to his time in the Star Trek Universe. Even so, this feels like a waste and we're not sure who it would actually be for, especially as that TV show plain sucked.