You don't need us to tell you that Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is shaping up to be a bonkers film, but the new trailer and TV spot released during the Super Bowl drove that point home in a major way. Marvel Studios is clearly letting Sam Raimi run wild, and the sequel promises to take us to a lot of wonderfully weird places.
The latest sneak peeks revealed a whole host of Variants, some unexpected plot twists, and the introduction - and return - of some characters who will be instantly familiar to fans of the Marvel Universe.
In this feature, we take a deep dive into the latest footage to bring you details on what the deal is with the Scarlet Witch, the worlds we could be visiting, the Illuminardi's big screen debut, and intel on that mysterious glowing figure (is it Iron Man or a new Captain Marvel?). We also single out some Easter Eggs that could have major ramifications for the wider MCU!
Be warned that there are some potential spoilers for the film that follow from this point on...
10. An Animated Reality And The Savage Land
As Doctor Strange and America Chavez fall through the Multiverse, we get a glimpse at what appears to be a whole host of different worlds. One of them is quite clearly animated; it's too brief a shot to say whether the animation style matches What If...?, though we'd argue it looks more akin to the Spider-Man series from the late 1960s.
We also see dinosaurs roaming in a jungle-like landscape, leaving us to wonder whether that might be the Savage Land!
A hidden prehistoric land in Antarctica, the Savage Land is closely associated with the X-Men. Spider-Man, The Avengers, and heaps of other heroes have had adventures there, however, and there's a good chance Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will be our live-action introduction to that iconic location.
We hope that it's not just a throwaway Easter Egg!
9. Iron Legion
In Avengers: Age of Ultron, Tony Stark created an Iron Legion in a bid to protect the world. Unfortunately, his plan went horribly wrong when Ultron was "born."
Part-Iron Man, part-Ultron, these robots are incredibly advanced and formidable enough to have put Doctor Strange in handcuffs and march him through a headquarters that doesn't look too different to somewhere the TVA (Time Variance Authority) might call home. This shot matches a leaked pre-vis image showing the hero arrested by the drones and brought before...
...well, we'll get to that.
It appears this sequence follows Strange's meeting with Mordo, a character we're assuming is a Variant and a member of the group that arrests the former Sorcerer Supreme (presumably for the damage he's caused and is causing to the Multiverse).
8. Scarlet Witch Breaks Bad
If you weren't already convinced that the Scarlet Witch is Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness' big bad, then this trailer should do the trick.
Whether it's the twisted reflection of her first conversation in that orchard where Wanda Maximoff wonders why she's perceived as the villain while Strange is not or her fighting pretty much everyone, the Scarlet Witch appears to be totally unhinged. This lines up with plot spoilers suggesting she uses the Darkhold to travel through the Multiverse, taking control of her Variants.
Wanda is hunting America Chavez as she needs her to "rescue" her children, Billy and Tommy, and we can't help but wonder what role her Variants will ultimately play here.
Is the Scarlet Witch past the point of no return? That remains to be seen.
7. Spider-Man: No Way Home Fallout?
Why is the Multiverse only now descending into madness? We're betting it's for a number of reasons.
It started with Avengers: Endgame, when alternate timelines were used to fix the universe and restore those Thanos wiped from existence. Those time-travel shenanigans resulted in Loki escaping 2012 and creating a branched reality ultimately erased by the TVA. However, brought into that organisation, the God of Mischief played a role in the eventual death of He Who Remains.
With that Kang the Conqueror Variant dead and gone, the Multiverse was reborn, and a spell gone wrong in Spider-Man: No Way Home cracked that open and started bringing beings from other worlds into the MCU. The problem was eventually fixed...or so we thought.
This trailer suggests that the fallout from Strange's botched spell will be what causes everything to start going wrong in this film, and with the Scarlet Witch using the Darkhold to search for her children, that should only make matters worse.
6. The Illuminati
No, that's not The Watcher or the TVA judging Stephen Strange for his apparent crimes against reality. It's the Illuminati. A group assembled of the Marvel Universe's greatest minds in the comic books, they manipulated events like the Kree/Skrull War to try and protect their world.
This iteration, however, has taken it upon themselves to watch over the Multiverse. Of the members we see here, it appears we can expect an Iron Man Variant (who controls the Iron Legion), "Master Mordo" as he's been referred to in merchandise, Captain Carter, a Captain Marvel Variant who isn't Carol Danvers, and possibly even Mister Fantastic.
Their leader? Well, that looks to be Sir Patrick Stewart's Professor X!
Leaked pre-vis showed Strange being brought before the leader of the X-Men, while another early VFX shot highlighted a battle between Charles Xavier and the Scarlet Witch. What else could he bring to the table here, though?
5. Professor X
It's a ballsy move by Marvel Studios to bring back such a beloved actor in a role he made famous right before they presumably reboot him and the rest of the X-Men for the MCU.
This Xavier will supposedly be in a wheelchair more along the lines of what the character used in the 90s and in X-Men: The Animated Series. With the plot of the latter said to revolve around Professor X's disappearance, perhaps they're meant to be one and the same? Either way, we don't anticipate this being the Charles we've previously spent time with on the big screen.
As for that battle with Wanda, her making short work of the X-Men leader would be an effective way to drive home just how formidable she's become as the Scarlet Witch. If the Avenger is just possessing another Wanda's body as she rips through the Multiverse, perhaps that's how she'll learn about mutants?
Might Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness end with a reverse of the "No More Mutants" scene from the comic books?
4. "Sinister" Strange
Ever since the first trailer for the Doctor Strange sequel was revealed at the end of Spider-Man: No Way Home, we've been convinced that the evil Strange was Doctor Strange Supreme from What If...? His words echo those said by the animated character, and he certainly looks similar.
Something didn't sit right, though, including the fact that his new Cloak of Levitation was M.I.A. and he appeared to have reverted to his villainous way despite appearing to find redemption in the show.
The closed captions for this new trailer name him "Sinister Strange," which may hinyt that this is yet another Variant. That would be a waste considering Captain Carter is seemingly set to appear, though we're definitely confused as to what's brought this Strange into the film.
Perhaps Mordo is just looking to show the MCU's Strange the sort of damage he's capable of unleashing? Remember, Doctor Strange Supreme wiped out his entire reality!
3. Maria Rambeau, Captain Marvel
There's been a lot of speculation about this glowing character, with some wondering if it might be Tom Cruise suited up as the Superior Iron Man.
It's a nice theory and all, but a closer look confirms this is a Captain Marvel Variant. That's not Carol Danvers in the suit, however, and it's not Monica Rambeau either. There had been rumours she would appear here as a Variant and member of the Illuminati, which made no sense as it would surely only serve to confuse fans.
Monica has only just made her MCU debut in WandaVision, so to introduce a superpowered Variant would likely leave a lot of people under the belief it's the same Spectrum who gained her powers in Westview.
Instead, her mom, Maria (played by Lashana Lynch), is Captain Marvel and quite a force to be reckoned with based on this clash with the Scarlet Witch. This is a fun way to show what sort of impact the Multiverse and alternate realities can have on familiar faces.
2. Return To Westview
Your guess is as good as ours when it comes to what the heck is going on here, but Wanda Maximoff is back in Westview...observing herself?
Looking at the plot leaks, we wonder if it's the moment the Scarlet Witch is rejected by Billy and Tommy Maximoff and gives control of this reality's Wanda body back to her Variant. Her doppelgänger likely shows sympathy for the grief she's facing, but if she's a mutant, the MCU's Scarlet Witch might find herself outmached and at the mercy of a far more powerful hero.
If so, this could be the moment we say goodbye to the one-time Avenger; broken after realising "her" children don't want her and the awful things she did to track them down, perhaps Wanda asks her Variant to put her down?
We're speculating now, but this feels like it could be an important exchange.
1. Marvel Zombies
While we see the creepy Doctor Strange Variant above in the trailer, the Super Bowl TV spot seemingly confirms that the film will take us to the reality inhabited by Marvel Zombies.
We see the undead Scarlet Witch and a Strange who has fallen to the zombie plague. We're assuming these are the same zombies introduced in What If...?, though it's hard to say how much importance that animated series is really going to have to what happens in the wider (live-action) MCU.
This feels a lot like Sam Raimi leaning into his horror sensibilities, and we'd bet on Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness getting extremely creepy and even scary in these moments.
As for the undead Sorcerer Supreme, perhaps he's another example of what a danger Strange is to the MCU?