The pandemic had a huge impact on the MCU, resulting in significant release date delays and the place of Phase 4 movies and TV shows in this shared world's timeline being shaken up.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, for example, was supposed to be released before Spider-Man: No Way Home. America Chavez was going to serve as a supporting character in the latter movie, with her ability to open portals to different worlds what brought those wall-crawling Variants to Earth-616.
In a resurfaced interview, the Doctor Strange sequel's costume designer, Graham Churchyard, has confirmed plans for Tom Holland's Spider-Man to make an appearance in the movie for what sounds like a very small cameo appearance.
Based on early concept art, we'd have seen Peter visiting the Sorcerer Supreme while he was sick in bed, though we don't really have any context beyond that. However, their meeting may well have served as a lead-in for the wall-crawler's third movie.
Even if it had been out of costume, Spider-Man showing up in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness would have given filmmaker Sam Raimi the chance to once again helm a scene featuring the iconic comic book character and the fact we were robbed of this...well, it definitely stings a little. Here's hoping those Avengers: Secret Wars rumours pan out and give him a second chance, eh?
You can check out Churchyard's comments below along with our own interview in which he breaks down the look of The Illuminati and more.
In Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the Marvel Cinematic Universe unlocks the Multiverse and pushes its boundaries further than ever before. We'll journey into the unknown with Doctor Strange, who, with the help of mystical allies both old and new, traverses the mind-bending and dangerous alternate realities of the Multiverse to confront a mysterious new adversary.
The movie's cast includes Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Elizabeth Olsen, Benedict Wong, Xochitl Gomez, Michael Stühlbarg, and Rachel McAdams.
The film is directed by Sam Raimi, and Kevin Feige is the producer. Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Eric Hauserman Carroll and Jamie Christopher serve as executive producers. The screenplay was written by Loki Head Writer Michael Waldron.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is now streaming on Disney+.