We heard multiple reports about Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness undergoing extensive reshoots, and it's widely believed that they streamlined the story and added a couple of huge cameos. Even with The Illuminati we got, the sequel felt like it was lacking surprise appearances, and it's no wonder Bruce Campbell's Balder was switched out for Mister Fantastic and Black Bolt.
It was recently revealed that Deadpool was briefly considered for the Doctor Strange sequel, but some merchandise that first surfaced last month reminds us that we were supposed to see a Wong Variant.
We shared this on the site when it was first revealed, but now we've seen the movie, it seems apparent that there were once plans for "Defender Wong" to be in that opening scene. Once again looking back at early plot leaks, it appears he was going to be killed in that action-packed sequence before Stephen Strange's Variant also met his maker at the hands of the demon unleashed by the Scarlet Witch.
Rintrah, another character heavily featured in merchandise, was still part of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, but his role was reduced to the point that he made little more than a cameo. This also contradicts early reports that he was Strange's pupil and struck up a bond with America Chavez.
Ultimately, reshoots are a big part of how Marvel Studios makes movies, and it's not as if what we got here was as butchered as Justice League or Morbius. It's always fun to think about what might have been, though, and in this blockbuster's case, there are clearly a lot of deleted scenes on the shelf...
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