It's no secret that Marvel Studios considered multiple characters for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness' Illuminati. After several rounds of reshoots, the sequel settled on Captain Carter, Mister Fantastic, Black Bolt, Master Mordo, Professor X, and Captain Marvel.
It was an undeniably impressive lineup, albeit one which was overshadowed by all those earlier rumours (Magneto was once expected to appear, as was Daniel Craig as Balder the Brave).
Now, The Cosmic Circus' Alex Perez has claimed that there was a version of the Doctor Strange sequel which featured Doctor Doom as a member of the Illuminati. It's unclear whether Julian McMahon would have reprised his Fantastic Four role or whether Doom would have been depicted as the "Infamous Iron Man" and the creator of those Ultron drones.
Marvel Studios instead decided to enlist John Krasinski to play Reed Richards, making those fan casts a reality, at last. Unfortunately, it was a one-and-done for the actor as Pedro Pascal has since been cast as Mister Fantastic in The Fantastic Four reboot.
As for Doctor Doom, rumour has it he'll make a cameo appearance in the movie. That's only expected to be a post-credits scene, meaning the Latverian dictator is unlikely to make his presence felt in the wider MCU until The Fantastic Four sequel or one of the upcoming Avengers movies.
Talking about his Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness cameo, Sir Patrick Stewart recently said, "I was alone. I think that the big scene, each one of the leading actors had the same experience. They were shot on their own." He'd go on to call it a "frustrating and disappointing" process and added, "That's how it's been...the last few years have been challenging."
When it was put to Stewart that Professor X has now died four times on screen, the Star Trek: Picard star all but confirmed he'll return in Deadpool & Wolverine. "I do now have every confidence that he's still around. [Deadpool 3] has come up. There's been a process."
Sam Raimi helmed the Doctor Strange sequel after the first movie's director, Scott Derrickson, parted ways with Marvel Studios over creative differences.
"The movie I wanted to make and how I wanted to make it was different than...it was just increasingly obvious that we were pulling against each other," Derrickson has since explained. "And that’s how you make a really bad movie, I think. When the producer or the studio and the filmmaker are making different movies, you end up with a monstrosity and, you know, that’s why I had to bounce."
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is now streaming on Disney+.