Ever since it was announced, we’ve known that WandaVision was connected to Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, with Elizabeth Olsen set to reprise her role as Scarlet Witch in the mystical-flavored sequel. This led to a pretty firm belief that Benedict Cumberbatch would cameo as the Sorcerer Supreme in the series finale in order to tee up the two heroes’ teaming up in the following movie. As it happens, though, we were way off on that one.
While speaking to Deadline about the Disney Plus hit, showrunner and EP Jac Schaeffer was asked how come Strange never swooped down into Westview. Schaeffer made clear that if it was up to her he would’ve, suggesting that there were plans for him to appear at some stage. But as she explains, it just didn’t end up coming together in the end.
“I heart Doctor Strange just like anybody. Yeah, it’s one of those things, that’s how the chips fell, that’s how the cookie crumbled, is what I will say, but I look forward to seeing him on screen with Wanda in Doctor Strange 2,” Schaeffer said.
It’s interesting to analyze Schaeffer’s comments in light of a recent rumor from tipster Daniel Richtman which says Cumberbatch was initially set to cameo in the WV finale, but Marvel ultimately decided to hold his scene back until Doctor Strange 2. The EP is obviously keen not to go into details here, and it sounds like the decision to keep him out of the series could’ve come from above, so this rumor may be onto something.
Unfortunately, the WandaVision finale suffered from the sky high expectations viewers had going into it, with the cameo-free episode becoming the lowest-rated installment of the show on Rotten Tomatoes. Maybe that’s just the fault of the fans themselves, or maybe Marvel share some of the blame for hyping up the series’ connections to the wider universe beforehand. In any case, there likely will be things about it that pay off in time. We just have to be patient.
Doctor Strange 2 premieres on March 25th, 2022, while closer to home, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier debuts on Disney Plus next week.