Now that Spider-Man: No Way Home is out, we have a much better idea of what’ll be happening in next year’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. While I’m not going to spoil anything that happens in Spidey’s new adventure, the next MCU entry will directly address the consequences of Strange’s spell and its effects on the multiverse.
The sequel isn’t out until May, but we’ve already started to see various pieces of promotional merchandise, including a potentially insightful LEGO set and some neat key art. Now a newly unveiled ‘Marvel Legends’ toy may tease Strange’s new look for the movie.
This is ‘Defender Strange’, which appears to be an almost exact replica of his costume in the 2011 ‘The Defenders’ comics run. Written by Hawkeye writer Matt Fraction, this sees Strange teaming up with Namor, Silver Surfer, Red She-Hulk, and Iron Fist.
Whether that run gives any hints at what’ll happen in the sequel remains to be seen, but as it seems very unlikely that any of those characters will appear in the movie, I doubt it. Plus, the MCU technically already has a Defenders, though solely relegated to the Netflix shows.
My bet is that Defender Strange will either be a variant from another universe or a new suit the character dons during the finale to show that he really has learned his lesson about tampering with the fabric of reality.
The first trailer for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness should appear online soon, with the film itself hitting theaters on May 6, 2022.