For the longest time, it's been reported that Shuma-Gorath will be Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness' lead villain. In the comic books, the monstrous bad guy is intent on conquering the entire Multiverse, and it sounds like his MCU counterpart will target the young America Chavez - who has the ability to travel between worlds - in order to make that happen.
Now, a first look at the villain has been revealed courtesy of official merchandise listed on Australian website booktopia.
While this is a stylised, comic book-style piece of promo art, it appears Sam Raimi's take on Shuma-Gorath will stick pretty close to what we've seen on the page. Something tells us the filmmaker, known for his horror work, will have a lot of fun bringing this creature to life on the big screen next year.
Arguably the biggest talking point here is the fact that what we do see of the villain appears to confirm he's the same creature teased multiple times in What If...? Given the monster's desire to take over the Multiverse, it makes sense for him to have appeared there, and could be what opens the door to those animated Variants making live-action cameo appearances.
While the sequel's release date was recently pushed back, it's highly likely merchandise like this will continue to find its way online over the next few months. Hopefully, that means more shots of Shuma-Gorath, because his introduction could be a game-changer for the Marvel Multiverse...
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is set to be released on May 6, 2022.
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