It’s no secret that the Doctor Strangesequel that made its way into theaters in 2022 was miles away from the film that was originally pitched by the director of the first film, Scott Derrickson. When Derrickson and Marvel Studios parted ways, the rumor mill churned out the idea that departure stemmed from the director being told his pitch was “too creepy.” That rumor was squashed by Marvel Studios One Above All, Kevin Feige, and never really made much sense anyway since the studio went on to work with Sam Raimi, who inserted plenty of creepy stuff into Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. That doesn’t mean, however, that Derrickson, who has directed horror movies such as The Black Phone, The Exorcism of Emily Rose and Sinister, didn’t have creepy ideas in mind for the sequel.
In an interview with The Playlist, Derrickson opened up about the reasons he and Marvel Studios chose to part ways and his pitch for the film. “All I can say is that what we said publicly is exactly the truth,” said Derrickson. “We had real creative differences. You know, the movie I wanted to make and how I wanted to make it was different than–it was just increasingly obvious that we were pulling against each other. And that’s how you make a really bad movie, I think. When the producer or the studio and the filmmaker are making different movies, you end up with a monstrosity and, you know, that’s why I had to bounce.”
As for what the movie Derrickson wanted to make entailed, the director told The Playlist that is was an “extreme departure from the first film” and “a genuine horror film of sorts.” Concept art for Derrickson’s version of the sequel included designs for Nightmare, a Fear Lord who has served as one of Strange’s longest-lasting antagonists in the comics. So what becomes of all those concepts and ideas? As it turns out, Derrickson explains “there’s no bad blood” over his departure, backing up his previous comments about being open to returning to work with the studio. While it seems unlikely his pitch would line up with what Doctor Strange 3 seems to be about, it’s possible it might find life in whatever comes next for the MCU following the Multiverse Saga.
“I can do this all day.” For fans of the MCU, hearing alt-universe Peggy Carter utter one of Steve Rogers’ most memorable lines in her brief appearance in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was a react-out-loud moment. Haley Atwell, who first brought Peggy to life in Captain America: The First Avenger, also recently reacted out loud…except her reaction wasn’t as positive as most in the theater.
In an interview with EW, Atwell described Carter’s appearance in Multiverse of Madness as “a frustrating moment.” Atwell, whose latest film, Mission: Impossible-Dead Reckoning Part One, just hit theaters explained that the brief appearance in the Doctor Strange sequel was not her cup of tea. “I’m like, ‘That wasn’t my choice! When she was like, ‘I could do this all day’ and then followed by she’s immediately cut in half by a frisbee,” said Atwell. “And the audience being like, ‘She can’t do it all day. Apparently you can’t, so, egg on your face.’ That doesn’t really serve Peggy very well.“
Of course that Peggy isn’t THE Peggy, something Atwell certainly knows after having voiced another, other alternate version of the character in Marvel Studios’ first canonical animated adventure, What If…?. According to Atwell, her experience with that project was a little more enjoyable. “I felt like I had much more to do in the What If…? animation series,” explained Atwell. “I mean, any actor will tell you, to be able to go into a booth in effectively your pajamas and do an animation is great fun because you’re focused on the voice as the instrument and your main performative tool.“
With another season of What If…? still on the slate for Marvel Studios and plenty of other adventures left to go in the Multiverse Saga, there will likely be plenty of chances for Atwell to reprise the role of Peggy Carter. Given she’s voiced her displeasure with the particularly bad case of being cut in half the character experienced in Multiverse of Madness, it seems likely her next role will be more well-rounded.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness opened last year to a lot of fanfare box office-wise. While some may have not jelled completely with its horror elements, the film still had a lot to offer in building the future of the Multiverse Saga. We were introduced to what happens when universes collide and also get a tease of how other versions of the Avengers function.
The biggest reveal was the arrival of Clea, played by Charlize Theron, at the end of the film. She was part of the first post-credit sequence that sadly undermined the third eye reveal just seconds later, but still gave us a hint at what the future has in store with a major actress joining the franchise. Yet, it seems Marvel Studios has yet to get in contact with the actress as she revealed during Jimmy Kimmel Live.
I don’t. No, I haven’t gotten a call. I’ve not gotten a– Is that bad? Is that bad? Is that bad? No, I’m not lying… I haven’t gotten a call. Is that bad?
Charlize Theron
It’s not too surprising given that non of the upcoming projects really require a character like Clea in their stories. We’re taking a bit of a break from the sci-fi-heavy direction the franchise took with more “grounded” stories like Secret Invasion, Thunderbolts, and the new Captain America film. So, we might have to wait a bit until we see her return alongside Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange as they set out to correct the multiverse.
As Marvel Studios has grown into one of the most consistently successful production entities in Hollywood, the value of information about the studio’s upcoming projects has spawned an industry of its own. No other IP has the cachet of Marvel Studios IPs and those with information on those projects–the scoopers, leakers, insiders and influencers–have a major impact on how a small fraction of the audience perceives upcoming projects. If we’ve learned anything from WandaVision, it’s that Marvel Studios’ fanbase has a bit of an issue separating speculation from rumors and separating legitimate rumors from gobbledygook and no one example better illuminated that than a flatly false rumor that lingered around the direct follow-up to WandaVision: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
One year ago today, Marvel Studios released the official trailer for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness just ahead of Super Bowl LVI. Partly because of Marvel Studios’ overly intense secrecy and partly because of a new creative team taking over the film late in the game, an unusually high number of rumors sprang up around the film, most of which came from a new wave of “insiders” who hadn’t established any sort of track record in regards to being an accurate, trustworthy source of information. However, what was true then and is more true now is that a track record of accuracy isn’t necessary for “inside information” to gain traction online. Fans want to hear what they want to hear and if the “inside information” checks off a few boxes, it spreads like wildfire.
And so, the legend of Tom Cruise‘s Superior Iron Man was born. It’s not worth tracking down where the rumor began much less digging into how it was ever able to cross over from the small fraction of fans who typically follow the rumor mill so closely into mainstream media; it happened and fans wanted to believe it so desperately that when the Super Bowl trailer for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness debuted, thousands of fans took to Twitter to proclaim that the screenshot of Lashana Lynch‘s alternate universe Captain Marvel seen below was in fact Cruise‘s Superior Iron Man.
Even as higher-resolution screenshots from the trailer emerged, fans held strongly to their beliefs that they were seeing Marvel Studios debut Tom Cruise‘s MCU character in a trailer. Fans held so strongly to this belief, which was strongly stoked online by insiders old and new, that when the movie debuted and Cruise wasn’t in it, they were furious and shocked that they had been misled despite all the evidence they needed to know Cruise wasn’t in the film was quite literally right in front of them. Some convinced themselves that the actor filmed scenes for the movie but that Marvel Studios ultimately chose to cut them.
After the fact, Multiverse of Madness writer Michael Waldron explained that not only did the studio not cut footage of Cruise from the film but that there never was any footage because Cruise was, as anyone with access to the internet could have known, busy shooting back-to-back Mission: Impossible films. Though Waldron admitted he thought the idea would have been pretty cool because Cruise was offered the role of Tony Stark in 2008’s Iron Man before declining, it never progressed past the idea stage. Interestingly enough, rumors of a Superior Iron Man appearing in Avengers: Secret Wars (which doesn’t even begin filming for at least another 18 months) have already begun popping up online and you can bet it won’t be long before Cruise’s name gets associated with them again and fans take the bait…again.
A Brand new concept art from Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has caused quite a stir among fans. The artwork reveals an intense, graphic scene that wasn’t in the final cut of the film, as it showcases the death of our beloved Wong with his brain scattered on the ground. That is not all, as it also includes Mordo with a huge scratch mark on his face after fighting Scarlet Witch.
The level of detail in the concept art is sure to leave a lasting impression and has fans speculating about what the movie would have looked like if this stayed as part of the original vision. This new piece provides a glimpse into the intense world of Doctor Strange and certainly leaves us wondering what mature Marvel films will be able to offer to viewers in the future.
The head from Mordo is actually part of a deleted sequence that would’ve featured the Scarlet Witch decapitating the 616 version of the character as her way to intimidate Strange. It definitely would’ve made for an interesting way to set up the character but also would limit the use of Mordo in future projects as a result.
It’s definitely interesting to see just how much Multiverse of Madness has changed since its original vision. We don’t know if the decapitation was part of Scott Derrickson’s original take on the character or ifthis is more in line with Sam Raimi‘s usual gory take on horror. It’s not uncommon for early versions of the scripts and artwork to push the boundary as much as possible, but it makes you wonder what didn’t make it past the brainstorming stage.
We’ve come to learn over the months after Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness‘ release that the film originally had many more cameos planned besides the already great additions we got. Among the many Illuminati members was the fact that Daniel Craig was going to play the role of Balder the Brave, a Thor stand-in for the multiversal group. We know that he couldn’t join the production and they ended up adding John Krasinski as Mr. Fantastic.
Now, a new Instagram post has found a way online from Elizabeth Olsen‘s stunt double, CC Ice, who took to her personal Instagram account to look back at the filming of the brutal takedown of the team group at the hands of Wanda Maximoff at a rampage. In it, we get a good look at someone lying on the floor impaired by a sword. Going by the design, it’s clearly Balder the Brave.
For those wondering how there is a BTS image of him on the floor even though they couldn’t get Craig in the film, they used stand-ins for various roles before they could finalize who would eventually become a part of the production. It’s one of the results of the chaotic rumors being spread online due to how many eventualities they prepared for in case they could get some cast members to join the production.
It’s always interesting to see what may have been and it’s once again impressive how they made this team work together even though they didn’t film them all around the same time due to COVID restrictions. Plus, they managed to make the environment look as impressive as they did with the use of a green screen. It makes you wonder if we’ll get BTS images of other cameos that never made it into the final product.
Marvel Studios’ is no stranger to attracting fresh and veteran talent to become part of their Marvel Cinematic Universe. No matter the discussions online, they still have attracted some amazing talent throughout the years, such as the recent addition of Charlize Theron as Clea in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. It wasn’t a major role, but they definitely set the seeds for some massive storylines featuring the sorceress.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the actress revealed just how she ended up being inspired and getting into the franchise. Surprisingly, it seems that she’s just a recent joiner of the franchise, and has seemingly been pushed by her Old Guard crew to check it out. Not only did she give it a chance, but it seems that she’s fallen for the franchise and ended up binging it to catch up.
The simple answer to it is that it’s everything that I’ve said about Old Guard. If I can find the anchor, then I’m never going to be a snob about, like, ‘Oh, does this make me less of a powerful actor?’ I was ignorant, I didn’t know those [Marvel] movies well enough until a family who I consider, like, my adopted family had me watch them. They’re crazy Marvel fans, and I always used to make fun of them. Like, ‘Oh my God, you guys are such f-cking nerds.’ Then one spring break we rented a house and our kids were in a camp and they were like, ‘You need to fucking sit down and watch.’ So, we watched all the movies, and I was like, ‘Oh my God, they’re so fucking good.’ And the kids got in on it, too, and it was such an enjoyable ride. And there’s a mythology around it and it’s been thought out over decades with Clea, and I’m challenged by that. Like, how do you reinvent that? So, I’m excited, but I honestly don’t know what the fuck it’s going to be.
Charlize Theron
The experience Theron is sharing is surprisingly not uncommon for those that didn’t join the hype train early on and ended up only recently becoming part of its development. It’s interesting to see that her binging may have also become an inspiration to join the franchise, and here’s hoping that we’ll see more of Clea in the near future after her introduction in Multiverse of Madness.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to grow with many new iconic characters from the comics making their debut throughout the Phase 4 entries. While there are still quite a few questions on what the future has in store for them, there are a few that seemingly may have a bigger connection to the overarching plot of the Multiverse Saga. One of those characters is the recently introduced Clea, who appeared as a surprise cameo in the post-credit sequence of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Charlize Theron is taking on the role, but there hasn’t been any announcement or hint on when we might expect her in a future project. In an interview with Jimmy Kimmel, she didn’t give away any details but did play around teasing that she is definitely going to return to the MCU at some point in the future.
Let’s just say I have some work to do… I don’t quite know who she is yet, but I will.
Charlize Theron
Her introduction in the MCU was certainly a random addition that many might not have quite understood, especially with how fast the post-credit followed up the events that finished the film. It’ll be interesting to see how they explore her ties to Dormammu or even if we get a sequel to Doctor Strange that leads into the new Avengers films. The Multiverse Saga has only just begun and there are many possible routes where she could return.
It feels like an eternity ago that Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness wasreleased in theaters. Time truly flies when you’re having fun, as we got a bunch of iconic new entries into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Yet, there still is something special about the latest multiverse-focused storyline as Benedict Cumberbatch got to take on his iconic role in different variations, and as it turns out, he also got to write some of the scenes himself.
I absolutely loved it, and it sounds so egotistical – but there we go, that’s what actors are – but I loved doing the scenes with myself because of the challenge of it. And I got to write some of those scenes … I suggested that it needed to get darker at a point. There was a slightly more saccharine version at one stage and I’m really happy with the way it evolved.
Benedict Cumberbatch
He goes on to highlight in an interview with Prestige Online that director Sam Raimi and the film’s writer, Michael Waldron, were quite supportive of letting him add his own voice to the script as well. He also highlights his hope to further explore the multiverse and the many Variants that exist out there.
Sam Raimi was so game for it and Michael Waldron really supported me to write it as well. We turned what was a very small combat between the two into a sort of very bizarre and inventive battle in that moment. I really loved it. It was how the original was pitched to me a long while back when Scott Derrickson was still working with us: Strange would meet versions of himself. It was something I wanted to lean into. We could have gone even further, and maybe it will go into the future. Who knows what other versions we might need in the multiverse chapter of the MCU? But it was very enjoyable to play all the variants of myself.
Benedict Cumberbatch
It definitely would be a shame if we doesn’t get to play around with the concept of Variants further in the MCU. Loki‘s upcoming second season might take a crack at it again after introducing a few versions of Loki and we did get the iconic Spider-Men in No Way Home. Who knows just how much we’ll venture out into the multiverse once Phase 5 arrives?
With the official announcement that Michael Waldron will be writing Avengers: Secret Wars, a large swath of reactions has been formed. Fans have questions as to what this will mean for what has the potential to be Marvel Studios’ most ambitious projects. With his previous experiences working on the first season of Loki and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Waldron feels primed to take this next step in telling the story of the Multiverse Saga. By dissecting Michael Waldron’s previous works in the Marvel Cinematic Univers, one might be able to Inuit how they can inform the directions audiences should expect from Avengers: Secret Wars.
Centralized Focus
Arguably the most distinct aspect of Michael Waldron’s writing for Loki and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is creating a centralized focus on the main characters and their arcs. Despite the expansive stakes and scope of the multiverse that surrounds them, the main characters are never lost within the script. One of the many praises sung about Loki was the amount of character building for the titular protagonist. As the story moved to numerous vastly different locales and settings, Loki and his interpersonal dynamics with the likes of Mobius and Sylvie remained at the forefront.
When it comes to Multiverse of Madness, both Doctor Strange and Scarlet Witch had complete arcs that were logical for where they had been prior to the film. For Strange, the narrative was crafted of him being able to not be in the driver’s seat and trusting others, such as America Chavez, to ultimately save the day. Wanda’s arc was the continuation of her themes of teetering between morally just and unjust while dealing with the grief seen in WandaVision (or at least the themes that were present for most of the series).
Writing an Avengers film, the centralized focus will of course need to expand to fit whatever the team roster will be for Secret Wars. This is certainly doable for Waldron if he follows the general style that Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely used when writing Infinity War and Endgame. After managing to do so in the back two-thirds of the Captain America trilogy, the duo also adeptly managed to keep the focus on individual characters in the foreground of universe-shifting events in their films. Theoretically having at least a year to write Avengers: Secret Wars with the same studio behind the duology wrapping up the Infinity Saga, there shouldn’t be much doubt Michael Waldron can do the same as his predecessors.
Expansive Multiversal Background
While the foci for his two previous Marvel Cinematic Universe projects were micro-level of character studies, it shouldn’t be ignored that Michael Waldron has indeed helped create an expansive multiverse for Marvel Studios. That universe feels primed to be much further extrapolated in Avengers: Secret Wars (among other multiverse-based projects). A misunderstanding seems to have been propagated that the events of Loki and Multiverse of Madness are incongruous with the rules of the multiverse; however, there aren’t any tangible instances of the two projects contradicting themselves. If anything, the partially disparate nature of the series and film feels intentional in creating the understanding of how vast the Marvel Cinematic Multiverse is.
Waldron’s writing on Loki was focused on building the framework and the primary core of Marvel’s multiverse. Usage of the Time Variance Authority helped to introduce the general concepts and histories of the multiverse that, at points, seemed intentional to allude to the upcoming Secret Wars event. Meanwhile, the Doctor Strange sequel moved towards providing viewpoints of distinct alternate universes and how they’ve been dealing with the maddening multiverse. The threat of Incursions being introduced continues Waldron’s trend of planting seeds for one of the next two major “Avenger-level” events. There’s likely to be a combination of these writing themes in Avengers: Secret Wars. Interpersonal conflicts between the different universe fragments mixed with the chaos of quite literally everything breaking around them.
Deep Marvel Lore
Michael Waldron has also shown a penchant for including deep-cut references out of Marvel historical lore, from both on-screen and comic versions. Two distinct examples from both of Waldron’s writing credits best symbolize how he could very well implement these references. The Void in Loki is home to a vast array of references that add to the background atmosphere for casual viewers while being enjoyable treats for the more hardcore superfan (ie. Qeng Tower, the Living Tribunal, and the infamous Thanos-Copter). Though in the foreground of The Void, audiences meet characters such as Kid and Classic Loki, both of which resonate with both casual and hardcore fans at the same time. This is something that may be critical for the writing of Secret Wars to succeed. In Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Earth-838-specifically The Illuminati-represent what to potentially expect for the second-to-next Avengers film. First and foremost, the writing of the alternate New York City and secret council quickly created the concept of a lived-in world that has a history some audience members will want to learn all about (namely, the alternate version of Infinity War including The Illuminati and various teams yet to form in the main Marvel Cinematic Universe). In addition, Waldron balances both a reverence for the alternate legacy characters involved, especially Patrick Stewart’s Professor X reprisal, while also being willing to aggressively mess with the status quo to highlight the fragility of multiversal conflict. Expect Avengers: Secret Wars to combine and expand on these different types of lore establishments for a potential Battleworld.
Inspiration From Classic Media
While his knowledge base for Marvel history has shown to be expansively deep, Waldron certainly has found additional inspiration from various classic pieces of media. For Loki, many have found the narrative and aesthetic similarities to stalwarts of science fiction such as Brazil, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and Doctor Who. Meanwhile, with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Waldron’s script provides Sam Raimi the semi-Lovecraftian basis for the director to create a film visually akin to his work on the Evil Dead franchise (while being accessible as a PG-13 Marvel Cinematic Universe entry). While the argument can be made that these elements are more so from the directors of said projects, filmmaking is inherently a collaborative process and it’d be errant to believe that Waldron didn’t also have a hand in establishing the visual identities of these properties. And that type of perspective can be even more beneficial for helping whoever directs the sixth Avengers film to create their vision.
When it comes to Avengers: Secret Wars, it certainly will be interesting to see where inspiration may be drawn for this type of story. Based on Jonathan Hickman-written 2015 version, and even the more basic 1984 story, there are numerous cinematic and literary epics that could be used to inspire Marvel Studios’ Secret Wars.
Conclusions
All in all, the hiring of Michael Waldron as the writer for Avengers: Secret Wars seems to indicate a massively high concept and fast-paced ride of a film. Much like the process for Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely on Marvel films, Waldron has been writing projects with elevated stakes and scope for Marvel Studios’ central saga. If the positive momentum and seed planted from season one of Loki and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness can be followed through upon, the script of Avengers: Secret Wars has real potential to successfully culminate Phases Four through Six in a majorly impactful fashion.
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