Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness: release date, trailer and more

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is shaping up to be a really important cog in the Marvel Cinematic Multiverse (MCM) machine.

2016’s Doctor Strange may not be anyone’s favorite Marvel movie, but its sequel might be one of the biggest and boldest Marvel projects in a while. And that’s taking the likes of Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: No Way Home into consideration.

Why do we say that? Well, based on Doctor Strange 2’s first teaser, of course. That’s right, the next Marvel Phase 4 film has received an official trailer, which landed online ahead of the 2021 holiday season. Fans who went to see No Way Home in theaters will know that the teaser was that film’s second post-credits scene, but now we can officially begin to look forward to Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

So what do we know about Doctor Strange 2 before it launches in theaters? Aside from the trailer’s release, we’ve received a couple of other snippets of information that could tease what its plot may entail. Below, you’ll also find out when its release date is, which characters will appear, its potential plot and more.

We’ll be dealing with big spoilers from Doctor Strange, WandaVision, Loki season 1, Shang-Chi, What If…? and No Way Home from now on. So if you’re not caught up on the MCU’s latest entries (that’s what Disney Plus is for), turn back now.

Doctor Strange 2 release date

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness release date: May 6, 2022 

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will be released on May 6, 2022. It was supposed to arrive on March 25, but its release has been delayed for a third time.

Why? Because six weeks of reshoots were required. In November 2021, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that the movie’s cast and crew would return to work six-day weeks, over a period of six weeks, to ensure that extra footage and reshot scenes were in the can to aid the film’s flow.

Speaking to Empire Magazine (via ComicBook.com), star Benedict Cumberbatch said: “We’re working incredibly hard to make a schedule work to realise the full potential of the film – bits that we want to do better but also bits that were just impossible to do on the day because of logistics, COVID etc. We were so delayed in production, because of that. Luckily, not during production too much. Although everything is just a little slower.”

Those reshoots and extra scenes should have been completed by now, so fingers crossed that Doctor Strange 2 will be ready for May. If not, we could see it delayed again.

Doctor Strange 2 trailer

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness trailer: here’s the first teaser

A trailer finally dropped online on Wednesday, December 22 and, as we mentioned, the movie’s first teaser gives us a clearer look at what Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ story will entail. 

We get glimpses of Strange walking through a myriad of new and familiar places, although the latter locations have slight twists on them from what we’ve seen in the MCU so far. We also see Chiwetel Ejiofor’s Baron Mordo back in action (and sporting long hair, no less), Strange meeting Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) to ask what she knows about the multiverse, a first-look at Xochitl Gomez’s America Chavez (more on her later), and a few action set-pieces.

One of those sequences sees Strange cut a bus in half with a spell after what appears to be Shuma Gorath (again, more on this creature in a bit) turns up in New York. But it’s another big reveal in the final few seconds of the trailer that really piqued our interest.

Accompanying Mordo to another reality’s version of the Sanctum Santorum, Strange winds up meeting a variant of himself: yes, it looks as if Strange Supreme – the evil incarnation of Doctor Strange from Marvel’s What If…? animated TV series – will appear in the Multiverse of Madness movie. 

He tells Strange that “things just got out of hand” before the trailer cuts to the film’s official logo, so it’s unclear if he’s the one responsible for whatever mess is coming Strange’s way, or if he’s simply warning his counterpart about the effects of the multiverse. Either way, we’ll know soon enough.

Doctor Strange 2 cast

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness cast: who is playing who? 

Spoilers for Doctor Strange, Loki and WandaVision follow.

There are six confirmed cast members for Doctor Strange 2 so far:

• Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Stephen Strange/Evil Doctor Strange
• Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch
• Chiwetel Ejiofor as Karl Mordo
• Benedict Wong as Wong
• Rachel McAdams as Christine Palmer
• Xochitl Gomez as America Chavez

Cumberbatch, Ejiofor, Wong and McAdams are all reprising their roles from the first movie. 

Cumberbatch was last seen in Spider-Man: No Way Home, and he’ll have two roles to play in the Doctor Strange sequel. As noted above, he’ll be playing Doctor Stephen Strange and his evil variant, who seems to be the same character from Marvel’s What If…? animated anthology series.

Wong also had a cameo in No Way Home, while McAdams hasn’t been seen since the first Doctor Strange film – although she appeared throughout episode four of the What If…? TV show.

Ejiofor reprises his role as the villainous Mordo, who was last seen in Doctor Strange’s post-credits scene. Strange’s former friends was hunting other sorcerers and magic-imbued individuals to remove their powers if he deemed them unworthy, but there’s no official world on what role he’ll play here. It seems like he’ll continue to be an antagonist, even though he’s seen with Cumberbatch’s Strange in another reality’s Sanctum Santorum.

Olsen will co-star alongside Cumberbatch as Scarlet Witch, and she’ll have a big role to play in the movie’s plot (more on this later). The only announced newcomer thus far is Gomez (The Baby-Sitter Club) as America Chavez, who also goes by the pseudonym Miss America.

In the comics, Chavez hails from the Utopian Parallel, a dimension that exists out of space and time to the Marvel multiverse. When the Utopian Parallel is threatened by black holes, which would pull it in different directions across the multiverse, Chavez’s mothers Amalia and Elena sacrifice themselves to stop this from happening. The sole survivor of her race, Chavez uses her abilities to open an interdimensional portal to find a new home – leading her to Earth.

We don’t know if Chavez’s comic origins will carry over into Doctor Strange 2, or if she’ll be introduced in a different way. Still, it’ll be cool to see one of Marvel’s newest popular heroes make her live-action debut.

Two individuals who haven’t been confirmed yet are Wanda’s twin boys Billy (Jett Klyne) and Tommy (Julian Hilliard). The duo were last seen, or rather heard, calling out for their mother in WandaVision’s post-credits scene. However, it seems that Billy and Tommy will have some part to play in Doctor Strange 2.

According to UK newspaper Somerset Live, Klyne and Hilliard were spotted on set during the final week of filming. Scenes are said to have been shot on a large farm known as Burrow Hill Cider Farm, with one sequence reportedly costing £2 million (approximately US$2.8 million). Local residents say Klyne and Hilliard made appearances, but there’s been no leaked photographs to verify these claims. The film’s first trailer, however, shows that this farm will be used, with Strange meeting Wanda in a location with an orchard, even if Billy and Tommy don’t end up appearing in this flick.

We may also be visiting Earth-616, which is the main Marvel universe in the comics. According to the Spotlight actor page for Jon Prophet, who has appeared in Wonder Woman 1984, we’ll see him play someone known as “New Yorker 616”.

This could simply relate to the number of an extra – someone who is a background character in certain scenes – but the ‘616’ reference is more than just that, in our opinion. Earth-616 has been mentioned in the MCU, which is known as Earth-199999, on multiple occasions, such as Thor: The Dark World and Spider-Man: Far From Home. 

It isn’t a stretch, then, that we may see Strange, Wanda or other individuals travel to the 616 universe. And they may just do so, what with the film’s teaser trailer showing Strange, Wanda and Chavez looking out onto the multiverse from an undisclosed location.

There may be other characters who’ll make their live-action debuts, too. One rumor from The Direct concerns Adam Hugill (1917, The Watch), who may play an alien minotaur called Rintrah. 

In the comics, Rintrah hails from an alternate dimension planet called R’Vaal, and he has a comics history with Doctor Strange. Coupled with his moderately powerful magical abilities, Rintrah could be an ally of Doctor Strange here. And, based on a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment in the trailer at the 1:35 mark, it seems that a minotaur-like character is part of proceedings. So Rintrah could be part of the supporting cast.

Rintrah might not be the only unusual creature to make an appearance. A recent LEGO set leak lent credence to the fact that Gargantos – a giant octopus-like monster – will appear, although the movie’s first trailer suggests that this could be Shuma Gorath instead.

For those unfamiliar, Shuma Gorath is one of the Great Old Ones who has successfully conquered Earth in the past. In the comics, he’s also the ruler of multiple dimensions and has often clashed with Doctor Strange. He’s been beaten during those battles, but he’s seemingly undefeatable so always returns to try and conquer Earth again.

Shuma Gorath would play into the ‘unspeakable evil’ line of the movie’s synopsis, though the trailer makes out that it’ll have a smaller role in proceedings. A recent jigsaw puzzle leak appeared to have confirmed Shuma Gorath’s involvement anyway, so it’s more likely that this alien, and not Gargantos, will feature.

Bruce Campbell is also believed to be making a cameo appearance (per Collider). Campbell worked with Sam Raimi on the iconic Evil Dead series and had cameos in Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy. It’s not known who he will be playing, though.

THR has also claimed that Tom Hiddleston’s Loki will cameo in Doctor Strange 2. Given how integral Loki’s season 1 finale was to introducing the multiverse, this might have some truth to it. Another outlet in BGR has also suggested that Owen Wilson’s Mobius and Sophia Di Martino’s Sylvie might appear, too, but we’re taking these reports with a grain of salt, even though Loki head writer Michael Waldron has penned Doctor Strange 2’s script.

Meanwhile, Daniel Richtman has claimed that Wanda will end up fighting superheroes from Fox’s defunct X-Men universe, including Sir Patrick Stewart’s Professor X. Again, though, we advise you to be dubious on this rumor for now.

Doctor Strange 2 story

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness plot: what’s it about? 

We only have a brief official synopsis so far, but there are other rumors and Marvel projects that hint at where the story could go.

Per a November 2020 casting call on Backstage.com, Doctor Strange 2 will follow “the events of Avengers: Endgame. Dr Stephen Strange continues his research on the Time Stone, but an old friend-turned-enemy puts an end to his plans and causes Strange to unleash unspeakable evil.”

What can we interpret from this? There are only two options for this friend-turned-enemy – Mordo and Wanda. Sure, Evil Doctor Strange and Shuma Gorath should be more likely candidates, but neither are an old friend-turned-enemy, so that puts them out of the running.

We know that Mordo has turned to the dark side so we expect him to cause some havoc, but the main villain could be Wanda instead. As the WandaVision’s post-credits scene showed, Wanda is exploring her newfound powers using the Darkhold. Also known as the Book of Sins, the Darkhold is an ancient tome full of spells and unspeakable power, which links to the synopsis’ ‘unspeakable evil’ line.

WandaVision’s villain Agatha Harkness hinted that the Scarlet Witch would “destroy the world”, which may be a warning that Wanda will be consumed by the Darkhold’s influence. It’s possible that she’ll try and use it to get Billy and Tommy back for good, but that could spell trouble for the MCU and wider multiverse. We’ll dive into this more in our ‘villain’ section below.

Either way, it sounds like Doctor Strange 2 will be the most surreal Marvel movie ever. In an April 2021 Glamour magazine interview, Olsen said “It’s a bonkers movie, they’re definitely going for that horror show vibe”, which will no doubt be aided by Raimi’s filmmaking roots – comments that she backed up in another interview (via CinemaBlend).

Regarding Doctor Strange’s cut cameo in WandaVision, Feige told Rolling Stone that the Sorcerer Supreme was removed so he didn’t detract from the story that WandaVision’s team wanted to tell. Doctor Strange 2’s script, then, needed a rewrite that alters how the two sorcerers meet during its plot. Based on the movie’s first teaser, it seems that their reunion has been repurposed for Marvel’s next superhero flick.

Benedict Wong has also revealed that multiple versions of key scenes had been shot to stop spoilers leaking out. Per SlashFilm, Wong said: “I think it should be called Doctor Strange and the Multi-Schedule. You know, with the amount of…honestly, we literally didn’t know…sometimes you’d have, like, three versions of doing various different scenes.” Expect the cast and crew to be as surprised as us when Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness finally arrives, then.

Doctor Strange 2 villain

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness: who is the villain? 

There are a number of candidates. As we said earlier, Evil Doctor Strange and Shuma-Gorath would ordinarily be shoe-ins for this. However, given the film’s alleged plot synopsis, it has to be one of Mordo or Wanda. Strange’s variant and a tentacled interdimensional being can’t be considered to be allies-turned-antagonists of Cumberbatch’s Sorcerer Supreme, so we would expect either or both to be secondary antagonists here.

Some rumors suggest that Doctor Strange 2’s Mordo may not be the one we’ve previously seen. But, given that any multiverse variant would have no issues with the MCU’s version of Doctor Strange, we suspect that the Mordo we see is the MCU’s incarnation.

According to prominent Marvel Studios leaker MyTimeToShineHello, too, the film’s primary villain isn’t one of those new characters either. We’ll refrain from spoiling who they suspect Doctor Strange 2’s villain to be here, but you can check out these tweets from MyTimeToShineHello if you want to potentially ruin the surprise for yourself

One other possibility to consider is, strangely, Marvel heroine Clea. In March 2021, supposed concept art for Doctor Strange 2 leaked online and appeared to show Clea sitting on a throne:

While it’s unclear if this is official concept art, Clea has ties to Doctor Strange in the comics and the MCU. For one, she’s the daughter of Umar, who is the sister of Dark Dimension ruler Dormammu. We saw Dormammu in Doctor Strange’s first movie, so it’s possible that Clea could appear.

As for the source material, Clea was trained in the mystic arts by Strange and the pair soon become lovers. Clea often helps Strange to defend Earth from interdimensional threats, but returns to the Dark Dimension to lead a rebellion against Dormammu. She eventually becomes the Dark Dimension’s Sorceress Supreme, and continues to ward off Dormammu’s attempts to reclaim the throne.

This being the MCU, Clea’s role in Doctor Strange 2 could differ from her comic book counterpart. In Doctor Strange, the Sorcerer Supreme reached a deal with Dormammu to prevent the Dark Dimension from engulfing Earth. 

However – and this is us speculating – Strange’s unleashing of the ‘unspeakable evil’ could relate to the Dark Dimension. Dormammu could take a chance to destroy Earth if he considers his deal with Strange to now be null and void. Dormammu may ask Clea to deal with Strange this time around, given that the first film’s events will be fresh in his mind, which may install Clea as a secondary antagonist. 

This appears unlikely now due to what the first trailer showed. But, if we know Marvel Studios, they’re very good at conducing bait and switches on its audience. The Avengers: Infinity War and Spider-Man: No Way Home trailers, to name just two, had elements that were changed in the final edit, so Doctor Strange 2’s trailer may perform a similar trick. So we’ll have to see what plays out down the line.

Doctor Strange 2: MCU tie-ins

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness: how are other MCU productions affected?

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness may have a big impact on the MCU/MCM moving forward, but how does it tie into projects that preceded it?

In Spider-Man: No Way Home, Strange agreed to help Peter Parker make everyone forget he’s Spider-Man after Mysterio had revealed Parker’s identity at the end of Far From Home. However, Peter caused Strange to lose focus as he’s casting the necessary spell, which causes reality to break down and almost ushers in the multiverse. 

Meanwhile, in Loki episode 6, Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) killed one of Kang’s variants – the seemingly immortal He Who Remains (Jonathan Majors). Alongside Wanda messing around with the Darkhold to potentially bring her sons back to life, all three events seemingly connect together and cause the multiverse to become a far greater threat to the MCU than many realize.

It seems, then, that Strange will go on a quest to try and work out how the multiverse may affect the MCU. We had suspected that he’d try to undo his role in its arrival but, given how No Way Home ends, it seems that his curiosity is what leads him down the multiversal path, rather than Strange trying to rectify his errors in Spidey’s third MCU outing.

Away from those productions, upcoming MCU flick Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania could also have loose ties to Doctor Strange 2. According to director Peyton Reed, the threequel could explore the Quantum Realm, a place where reality is warped and doesn’t abide by the laws of physics, in more detail. 

So the Multiverse of Madness’ events may impact this dimension as well, though it’s unclear how. It may have something to do with the arrival of Marvel big bad Kang the Conqueror, who will feature in Ant-Man’s third movie. He Who Remains heavily teased Kang’s arrival in Loki’s season 1 finale, but there’s no plot details for Quantumania yet.

Marvel Studios’ Fantastic Four might connect to Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. This is speculation on our part, but the multiverse’s arrival could lead to their overdue introduction as part of Marvel’s Phase 4 slate. Kang and the Fantastic Four’s most famous villain, Doctor Doom, have a history in the comics. With Kang on his way to the MCU, Doctor Doom may not be close behind – and that would enable the Fantastic Four to arrive, too.

Finally, could we see the X-Men finally make their way to the MCU? If you believe the rumors of Professor X and other X-Men (from Fox’s defunct universe) appearing in Doctor Strange 2, as well as who the film’s primary antagonist could be, the X-Men might work their way over. 

Right now, we’d say this is the least likely option as Marvel hasn’t officially revealed that it’s developing an X-Men MCU movie. But it would be cool if Doctor Strange 2 finally ushers them into the MCU/MCM, and put those lengthy fan requests about their arrival to be once and for all.