Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness underwent what sounded like a lot of reshoots, and director Sam Raimi and writer Michael Waldron have both talked openly about the script being written on the fly. Last August, a detailed plot leak for the sequel found its way online and has now resurfaced due to the fact that it was about 95% accurate to what we ended up watching in theaters.
For the most part, the differences are minimal. It's clear Marvel Studios felt the need to better explain some moments or to just trim some fat from the story, such as Rintrah's expanded role and Wong being in attendance at Christine Palmer's wedding. However, one of the biggest reveals comes in the form of an alternate opening for the movie that would have explained the fate of the MCU's Mordo.
He was completely absent from the Doctor Strange sequel with the spotlight instead put on a Variant, Master Mordo, from The Illuminati's reality. However, in an earlier cut of the movie, we'd have seen the MCU's Mordo hunting Wanda Maximoff through the forest with a magic bow in hand. She beheads him, making it clear from the start that the Scarlet Witch is the lead villain here.
Marvel Studios may have decided that Doctor Strange learning Wanda's true intentions was a little more impactful, and we're hoping this means they could have future plans for Mordo.
The other big reveal in this plot leak is that Bruce Campbell was indeed set to play Balder the Brave before Thor's brother was swapped out for Mister Fantastic. Wanda impaled the Asgardian in this version of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and as there's no mention of Black Bolt, we're assuming that both John Krasinski and Anson Mount were added during the reshoots that took place last year.
It's always fun to find out what might have been, of course, and we hope these deleted scenes see the light of day when the sequel arrives on Digital and Blu-ray a little later this year.