As Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness gets closer, fans seek out more and more tidbits, plot points, and character reveals before the film hits theatres next month. But one thing the trailers have not made clear at all is who the main antagonist is. Within the multiverse, the possibilities are, of course, endless, and that opens a whole can of worms in regards to the dangers that our Strange may face, including perhaps an alternate version of himself.
Director Sam Raimi is at the helm of this Marvel offering and has the credentials to deliver something truly awesome, having worked on the original Spider-Man Trilogy starring Tobey Maguire and also experienced working in horror with the Evil Dead franchise. In an interview with Fandango, Raimi discusses how he will bring together these genres to make Doctor Strange 2 just a little chilling.
“Doctor Strange in the comics has always dealt in universes and dimensions that were quite spooky, so we tried to bring some of that into this film. It is spooky at some times and scary at others. It’s unknown what you’ll find in the multiverse. It’s within that unknown that suspense and darkness exists. A tool to titillate the audience’s fear.”
Who’s the scariest of them all, though, is what many fans would like to know. Will it be Chiwetel Ejiofor’s returning character Mordo, a former student of Kamar-taj and mentor to Strange who, in the Doctor Strange post-credits scene, sets out to rid the world of sorcerers? Will it be Wanda, a powerful witch who has been pushed to the edge of despair over and over again and has only just discovered the potential of her true powers at the end of WandaVision? We saw in the Marvel Disney+ series What If…? just how terrifying their alternates could be, zombie Wanda was truly horrifying, and in the depths of his depravity, an alternate Strange sought dark powers strong enough to destroy his universe.
Raimi is obviously limited in what he can discuss when it comes to spoilers, ah, that good old Marvel gag order, but when questioned about who or what the main villain may be, he responds, “there’s iterations of our characters throughout the multiverse. So, if I were to say Strange … I’m not really supposed to answer this question, but I might be saying altered Strange. Same with Wanda and Mordo. But I would say, at different times, all of the above.”
Alongside all those options, we also have a slew of scary and frankly absurd-looking beasts and monsters that make an appearance in the trailer, including this weird-looking creature.
It looks like our heroes will be fighting multiple battles on multiple fronts against multiple versions of themselves… well that’s what you get when you delve into a multiverse! The villains look set to change throughout the film, but maybe one of them will rise to the top as the greatest threat our heroes face. Fans can only wait and see, but as Raimi stated in the interview, “I’ve come to realize after making Doctor Strange that anything is possible, really anything in the Marvel universe.”
Tickets for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness go on sale today, and the movie will be released in theatres on May 6.
