Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is reported to have undergone significant reshoots, so it's not outside the realm of possibility that a very different cut of the movie exists somewhere in Marvel Studios' offices.
That may go some way towards explaining why the sequel essentially had two endings. One was a cliffhanger wth Strange realising he had been corrupted by the Darkhold, while the second came in the form of a post-credits scene showing the hero had grown comfortable with his third eye before happily embarking on a trip to the Dark Dimension alongside Charlize Theron's Clea.
Talking to Vanity Fair, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness writer Michael Waldron confirmed that Theron was cast before they even knew how Clea would factor into the movie.
"I think we cast Charlize before we even knew exactly what we were gonna do," he admits. "Then we settled on our ending of the third eye opening, the bill coming due for Strange, and you get your Sleepaway Camp-esque ending—the oh-my-God ending. I was thrilled to introduce her as Clea. Clea has been Strange’s counterpart in the comics for a long time. She’s an amazing sorcerer. She’s also his great love; she’s his wife at one point."
"We had to conclude his story with Christine Palmer—Rachel McAdams’s character—first, and at the end of that Strange walks away with this wisdom. He’s been able to face his fears and not be afraid to love somebody or let somebody love him," Waldron continues. "I think that’s the perfect place for him to be mentally to finally meet Clea, who’s gonna be a really important figure in his life moving forward.
Asked to better explain what that ending with Strange's new eye means, the writer strongly hinted that it's a key plot point we'll see explored in the former Sorcerer Supreme's next adventure.
"It’s like, well, what if Strange has embraced this darkness a little bit? He’s figuring out how to live with this. What does that mean for our hero? That’s an interesting question to pose on its own. Now here comes Clea saying, ‘You caused an incursion. You did the thing— perhaps the very thing—you were hoping Wanda wouldn’t do. Now we’ve gotta fix it together.’"
"So, yeah, it just felt like a nice little tease of adventures to come," Waldron concluded.
Marvel Studios has yet to announce plans for Doctor Strange 3. However, with the movie grossing nearly $1 billion at the worldwide box office, we find it hard to imagine a third outing not already being in the early stages of development. The threequel focusing on a team-up with Clea in the Dark Dimension sounds like a blast, and it could be where we see more of Dormammu and even Nightmare's debut!
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is now playing in theaters. It's also available on Digital platforms and Disney+, and hits Blu-ray, 4k Ultra HD, and DVD on July 26.