In the process of filmmaking, many things get cut and left for dead in the editing room, and Baron Mordo found himself a literal target of such a thing in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Originally playing a bigger part in Doctor Strange 2 was Chiwatel Eijofor’s Mordo, who was originally to be beheaded by Scarlet Witch in an opening scene of the movie. Marvel must have faced a headache over having such a brutal decapitation so clearly ushering in Elizabeth Olsen as the villain of the film.
But, there’s still pieces left behind of this idea, with concept artist Jeremy Simser displaying a lost scene from the Kamar-Taj blockade of Wanda Maximoff summoning the decapittated head of Mordo in a threat to Doctor Strange. It’s quite likely that having a “sympathetic” villain kill so remorselessly so early on would lessen the impact of how much more unhinged she becomes as she gets more desperate.
The characterization of Olsen’s Scarlet Witch since WandaVision has leaned ever-so-slightly into the more sinister side of her, but Multiverse of Madness amped that up significantly. While she does get redemption by the end of the film, it’s fair to say that killing the entire Illuminati of Earth-838 aside from that universe’s Mordo probably means she’s in negative karma.
Scarlet Witch will undoubtedly return at some stage in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with Olsen expressing interest in a solo spin-off film at some stage. Until then, fans can watch Doctor Strange 2 on Disney Plus
