‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ art reveals a bedridden Doctor Strange

Warning: This article contains major spoilers for Spider-Man: No Way Home.

Spider-Man: No Way Home has quickly established itself as one of 2021’s most popular and successful films. It has also cemented itself as one of the most beloved movies in the massive Marvel Cinematic Universe. And now, new information about the film’s production is coming to light.

One recurring theme of this information has been cut content, as, during the various cast and crew interviews, we’ve learned about many things planned but cut from the final movie. This includes a Discussing Film interview where the writers of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Chris McKenna & Erik Sommers, explained some of the cuts by saying: 

“There were definitely a lot of what we call ‘little darlings’ – little moments and things that you really just love – but sometimes you have to let them go,” Sommers said.

Recently, some new art has come to light, and it suggests that things might have gone very differently for Doctor Strange. Senior Concept Designer Sean Hargreaves uploaded an image to their ArtStation profile. This image shows the inside of Doctor Strange’s opulent bedroom.

However, the most intriguing detail is that Strange appears to be bedridden, while a street-clothes-wearing Peter stands next to the bed, looking concerned. At the foot of the bed, Strange’s cloak stands guard, protecting its owner. 

The description confirms this, as it says: 

“Inside Doctor Strange’s bedroom. Peter talks to a sick Strange as Strange’s cloak sits as a guard at the foot of the bed. Struck from the final film.”

The second image uploaded by Sean Hargreaves shows a second look at Doctor Strange’s bedroom. This black and white image shows a much healthier Strange, and the description says: 

“Doctor Strange’s bedroom. This scene was struck from the final film.”

It is currently unknown what these cut scenes would have contained or why exactly Doctor Strange is shown to be bedridden. Obviously, fans have quickly started to speculate, with many thinking that this could mean that Peter was planning to injure Doctor Strange rather than trapping him during the Mirror Dimension scene.

Others have argued that this cut scene would have taken place at the start, with Strange’s mystery illness being the explanation for why his spell goes catastrophically wrong.