With Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness set to start shooting in May, we’re expecting a flurry of activity surrounding the latest installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the coming weeks. Obviously, the main focus will be on finding a director after Scott Derrickson exited the project following creative differences with Kevin Feige, but there’s also a whole lot of casting to be done.
It remains to be seen whether or not the Sorcerer Supreme’s sequel will be getting any last-minute rewrites now that Derrickson is no longer involved, but we know that he’ll retain an executive producer credit, which is more ceremonial than anything else. Last we heard, the script was coming from relative unknown Jade Halley Bartlett, although the eventual replacement director might want to put their own stamp on things.
All we know plot-wise about Multiverse of Madness is that it follows directly on from the events of WandaVision, and that the use of multiple alternate realities has seen it labeled as perhaps the most important entry in the MCU’s Phase Four. Outside of the four leads, nobody else has been officially added to the ensemble yet, but there’s no doubt going to be a lot of supporting roles to fill.
Virtually every major character Marvel have at their disposal has been linked to a cameo at some point, including both Deadpool and Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine. Furthermore, yesterday brought the news that Marvel have put out a casting call for someone described very similarly to Miss America, and now the latest rumor indicates that the villainous Namor could be another name under consideration to pop up in the movie’s multiverse.
There’s been plenty of speculation about Marvel possibly getting the rights back to the Sub-Mariner from Universal, and even if they haven’t, the studio are free to use him as a supporting character in the same way as the Hulk. Besides, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is the ideal opportunity to debut a couple of new faces to see how both fans and general audiences react, especially when someone like Namor has a lot of superficial similarities to Jason Momoa’s Aquaman to the uninitiated.
