After building up in series like WandaVision and Loki, Spider-Man: No Way Home was the first MCU project to really introduce the multiverse in all of its live-action form and lay out the consequences of what can happen when multiple universes collide. However, Doctor Strange 2, like the rest of phase four, is looking to take things even further.
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After sharing his thoughts on Spider-Man: No Way Home (which feature Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man from Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy), Raimi spoke with Variety regarding where he and the rest of the crew are at in the process of completing the Doctor Strange sequel, sharing that he is unsure if filming is really done or not. “I wish I knew the answer to that question,” Raimi responded. “I think we’re done, but we just cut everything. We’re just starting to test the picture and we’ll find out if there’s anything that’s got to be picked up. If something’s unclear or another improvement I can make in this short amount of time left, I’ll do it. One thing I know about the Marvel team is they won’t stop. They’ll keep pushing it until it’s as close to being great as it could.”
There are several characters rumored to make a cameo in Doctor Strange 2, including Ioan Gruffudd’s Reed Richards from Fox’s Fantastic Four, James McAvoy’s Charles Xavier/Professor X, and Tom Cruise as a variant of Iron Man, the actor Kevin Feige and Marvel Studios almost went with instead of Robert Downey Jr. So, it’d be no surprise if Raimi and the rest of the team continue working on reshoots in order to incorporate all of these characters into the film. Even Maguire is rumored to make an appearance in the film, which makes sense since he played a larger role in Spider-Man: No Way Home and was around Doctor Strange, so anything is up in the air.
While all of those appearances of course are not confirmed, what is known about the sequel is that it is headed down a much darker route, that is according to Elizabeth Olsen. From Olsen’s Wanda Maximoff being in the film to also introducing the live-action version of an evil Doctor Strange known as Strange Supreme, Doctor Strange 2 will include many horror elements while the titular hero tries to restore the multiverse before more evil is unleashed. Until the film’s theatrical release, all the rumored cameos and speculation will continue to grow, making Doctor Strange 2, similar to No Way Home, one of Marvel Studios’ most secretive yet hyped projects.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is set to release in theaters on May 6, 2022.
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Source: Variety
