Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: doctor strange in the multiverse of madness

  • EXCLUSIVE: ‘Multiverse of Madness’ Writer Teases More Rintrah in Future Installments 

    EXCLUSIVE: ‘Multiverse of Madness’ Writer Teases More Rintrah in Future Installments 

    Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was a big movie, but not everything Sam Raimi filmed could make the final cut. There were plenty of scenes that hit the cutting room floor with around 40 minutes of footage reportedly removed from the film during production. Among the casualties was apparently Adam Hugill’s Rintrah, a longtime ally of Stephen Strange from the comics who many fans had hoped would play a larger role in the movie’s story. The magical Minotaur does make an appearance in the movie, but he only shows up for a handful of quick scenes and speaks only a single featured line during the sequel’s runtime.

    In a recent exclusive interview with our own Charles Murphy, screenwriter Michael Waldron confirmed that more of Rintrah had indeed been intended for Multiverse of Madness, but his scenes had to be sacrificed for the greater good of the project. Luckily, the creative only sees this as an opportunity to do more with the character later on:

    There’s some Rintrah on the cutting room floor. But look, that’s just meat on the bone for the next go around.

    Michael Waldron

    In the comics, Rintrah is an inter-dimensional being from the planet R’Vaal with a gifted ability to use magic. He first encountered Doctor Strange in 1986, when the Sorcerer Supreme visited his master for a favor. He would go on to become Strange’s apprentice for a time and has grown to be a favorite cult character among longtime Marvel readers.

    In the MCU, Rintrah appears to have found his own way to Kamar-Taj and is already practicing to become a Master of the Mystic Arts when Scarlet Witch attacks the sanctuary. Mercifully, he survives the assault and can be seen continuing his education alongside America Chavez at the end of the movie. Hopefully, this means we get more Rintrah in a potential Doctor Strange 3, which seems like a good bet if Waldron ends up returning to the Marvel Studios fold.

  • EXCLUSIVE: Jonathan Hickman’s Run Inspired ‘Doctor Strange 2’s Take on Mr. Fantastic

    EXCLUSIVE: Jonathan Hickman’s Run Inspired ‘Doctor Strange 2’s Take on Mr. Fantastic

    Jonathan Hickman always had a way of reinvigorating stories with some of the most popular Marvel characters. While many will remember his amazing work on the crossover event Secret Wars, he also gave us quite the iconic run focused on the Fantastic Four. It brought a new life to Marvel’s first family and redefined their position within the Marvel universe for many. It seems that may have also been a big inspiration for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness writer Michael Waldron.

    In an exclusive interview with Charles Murphy, the writer talked about the many influences in the film and it turns out that Hickman‘s run with Reed Richards also played a key part in how he approached the Illuminati’s Mr. Fantastic, who was played by John Krasinski.

    Yes and I still have to be deliberately cagey for one more weekend about the specifics about these actors and everything, but it was really trying to draw on that Hickman version of that, of the Illuminati and how they dealt with Incursions. That specific character I love, deeply and was excited to collaborate with that actor on and how to bring him to life.

    Michael Waldron

    He once again highlights that he worked on bringing the character to life with Krasinski, and it’s great to see that the actor was also able to add to the character even if it’s just a brief appearance.. Though taking a strong Hickman direction is a noticeable addition to the character. Given the character’s long history, there are many iterations to choose from but many might point to Hickman‘s run as a modern definite of the character.

    It’s also interesting he made a point to highlight he can’t say much more at this time. So, we’ll see if there’s more information heading our way on Mr. Fantastic and the Fantastic Four in the future. Marvel Studios does have a film planned for the team and outside of Jon Watts dropping out as a director, we don’t know what exactly their plans are just yet.

  • EXCLUSIVE: ‘Doctor Strange 2’s Michael Waldron Teases the Growing Multiversal Threat of MCU’s Phase 4

    EXCLUSIVE: ‘Doctor Strange 2’s Michael Waldron Teases the Growing Multiversal Threat of MCU’s Phase 4

    Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is quite the self-contained story about Strange overcoming his need for control and Wanda accepting to finally let go. Yet, we can’t deny that it also sets up quite a lot of important elements for the franchise moving forward, especially when it comes to the multiverse that is part of the madness.

    The film introduces the concept of Incursions when two realities start colliding with each other and even teases how that ends up looking like when he faces off against a sinister version of himself. Yet, comic readers will quickly realize that the last time we’ve heard about Incursions we were building up to the Secret Wars crossover event. In an interview with our very own Charles Murphy, Multiverse of Madness writer Michael Waldron teases many threats that have been piling on throughout Phase 4.

    And there’s the threat. And it’s out there and now it’s out there. There’s a multiversal threat. In the same way that when the MCU first went cosmic many years ago, there was the teed up threat of Thanos. Now it’s probably a matter of you’re setting up some multiversal threats on the board. Whether it’s Kang, Incursions, whatever. It’ll be interesting to see how all those things come together.

    Phase 4 has been building up not one but multiple big threats that have the multiverse as a common trait. We technically got the Incursions teased in Loki, where we saw a cartoon hinting at an event where multiverses started fighting for dominance. At the core of all these events was Kang the Conqueror, whose Variant we first met in that very Disney+ series. Perhaps Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which will see Jonathan Majors tackle the role and could further set up where

  • ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ Surpasses $500M Worldwide

    ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ Surpasses $500M Worldwide

    Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has officially surpassed $500 million at the worldwide box office.

    On Monday, the latest Marvel Studios blockbuster crossed the $200 million mark at the domestic box office after earning $13.3 million. And now, the film has hit yet another major milestone. As of Tuesday, the Doctor Strange sequel managed to cross $500 million at the worldwide box office. More impressively, though, it is nearing $300 million at the international box office – a feat it looks likely to accomplish by the end of the day.

    Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is expected to dominate the box office in its second weekend with little to no competition outside of Firestarter. Experts predict the film will pull in approximately $74 million, for an estimated 60% decline in its second outing. The only true competition Strange faces is Top Gun: Maverick, which will fly into theaters over Memorial Day weekend. That film is expected to open with anywhere between $70-$100 million in its opening weekend.

    When Multiverse of Madness opened, it managed to score the second biggest worldwide start for a Hollywood movie in the Pandemic era with a stunning $449.4 million worldwide debut – $187 million domestically and $262.4 million internationally. The film also secured the fourth biggest opening ever for the Marvel Cinematic Universe behind Avengers: Endgame, Avengers: Infinity War, and Spider-Man: No Way Home. Not bad considering its predecessor finished its theatrical run with $677.7 million worldwide.

    Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is now in theaters.

    Source: Deadline.

  • Charlize Theron Shares ‘Doctor Strange 2’ BTS Image to Celebrate Joining the MCU as Clea

    Charlize Theron Shares ‘Doctor Strange 2’ BTS Image to Celebrate Joining the MCU as Clea

    It was exciting when we got our first look at the many members o the Illuminati throughout our time with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Yet, the film gave us one last surprise in the form of its post-credit sequence. After a surprisingly go-lucky Strange is wandering the streets, he is suddenly greeted by a mysterious person in the middle of the street. Eagle-eyed viewers instantly recognized the actress Charlize Theron. Comic fans also instantly realized that she is playing the Sorcerer Supreme of the Dark Dimension and Dormammu’s niece, Clea.

    To celebrate joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the actress took to Twitter and shared a small BTS image of her showing off her Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness make-up. In the comics, her costume and design were heavily focused on the color purple and it was great seeing those elements remain in their translation into live-action. Sadly, she didn’t give us a full look at the costume she wore in the post-credit sequence, which seemingly took a lot of elements from across the character’s vast comic history.

    It does seem like they are setting her up as a big part of the third entry of the Doctor Strange franchise, but we don’t have an official announcement on it even happening. They may even head out into the Dark Dimension in a different film altogether, but the fact she’s pretty much signed on is an exciting one either way. Her appearance was quite the treat for viewers, and hopefully will be the first of many appearances moving forward for the actress in the MCU.

    Source: Twitter

  • Leaked ‘Doctor Strange 2’ Listing Hints at Illuminati Funko Pops

    Leaked ‘Doctor Strange 2’ Listing Hints at Illuminati Funko Pops

    Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has been quite the ride. Not only does it embrace Marvel’s knack for character-driven storytelling but also gave Sam Raimi time to revisit his horror roots. While being quite a memorable film, it also gave us some iconic cameos in the form of the Illuminati. We were introduced to the remnants of the team that would eventually meet their fate at the hands of the fully unleashed Scarlet Witch after underestimating her abilities.

    We just got a leak that gave us our first look at Dead Strange’s Funko Pop. It included our first look at Captain Carter with her shield. This adds to another leak via scrooge_ducktales on Instagram, which includes a listing of upcoming Funko Pop additions in the form of the various members of the Illuminati. It includes Black Bolt, Charles Xavier, Mr. Fantastic, and Maria Rambeau’s Captain Marvel. There have been FUnkos of them in the past, it’ll be interesting to see their live-action designs brought to life in the collectibles.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CdYYDMvp3lG/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

    Keep in mind the Funkos included in the visual aren’t actually the ones that are getting released, as these are those that have already been made available in the past. So, we’ll see how different the designs may turn out. John Krasinski‘s Mr. Fantastic and Anson Mount‘s Black Bolt had the most comic-accurate designs we’ve seen on the silver screen. So, they’ll definitely make some great additions to anyone’s collection.

    Source: Instagram

  • New ‘Doctor Strange 2′ Funko Leaks Reveals First Look at Dead Strange’s Funko’

    New ‘Doctor Strange 2′ Funko Leaks Reveals First Look at Dead Strange’s Funko’

    A new leak has made its way online that reveals part of the next Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness Funko Pops. While we’ve gotten the tease of Sinister Strange in the past, this lineup includes our first look at the fittingly named Dead Strange, who we initially expected to be a zombified version of the character from the multiverse. It also includes America Chavez, who takes on a new role by the end of the film which was originally going to even lead into Spider-Man: No Way Home until the release dates got shuffled around.

    The additional reveal is Captain Carter, who already had one from her appearance in the What If…? series. Yet, the fact that an Illuminati member is getting a Funko could mean that the others aren’t too far behind, which would be some exciting additions to any collection. The fact they added the iconic ponytail and nightmare cape consisting of beings from hell just adds that extra flair to once again highlight just how insane the whole concept was when it happened in the film.

    If there’s already packaging out there, it means the official announcements shouldn’t be too far out. We still have to wait a bit until we get a clearer look at their designs, but it’s a fun tradition to explore new Funko Pops with each new Marvel series. We’ll see if the rest are also going to get announced at some point, as it would seem strange not to make use of the biggest cameos in the film for those interested to add to their collection.

    Source: Twitter

  • ‘Doctor Strange 2’ Writer on Working With John Krasinski to Bring Mr. Fantastic to Life

    ‘Doctor Strange 2’ Writer on Working With John Krasinski to Bring Mr. Fantastic to Life

    While the Illuminati have been heavily teased throughout the Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness trailers, a latter one getting a little too spoiler happy, they still managed to keep surprised when John Krasinski showed up on the screen as Mr. Fantastic. He’s been a fan favorite to take on the role for quite some time, and people finally got their wish even if Wanda turned him into string cheese. Doctor Strange writer shared what it was like working with the actor to bring the character to life.

    I’m not involved in the casting, but as with all of these performers, I worked really closely with him in bringing that character to life with him and Sam. And especially on that one, because that was the one character that had no real precedent ever in the MCU, at least. Figuring out how we want this guy to be — that was a lot of fun. That particular character is certainly one of my favorite comic book characters.

    Michael Waldron

    In the same interview with Variety, he hints that it was Kevin Feige that made the necessary calls to make this dream casting a reality. When asked though if he might have any idea if we’ll see him return in the role at some point, all he could really answer was that:

    It’s a question for somebody else

    Michael Waldron

    Of course, he’s not responsible for castings, and with Jon Watts exiting the Fantastic Four project, there are a lot of opportunities to let him bring the role to life. Of course, they may have a better chance this time around of actually exploring the character with the rest of the Fantastic family. Our very own Torjborn Frazier made his case for him continuing the role, which you can check out by clicking here.

    Source: Variety

  • Illuminati’s Fate in ‘Doctor Strange 2’ Was Always Part of the Script

    Illuminati’s Fate in ‘Doctor Strange 2’ Was Always Part of the Script

    In an interview with Variety, the writer behind Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Michael Waldron, opened up about their approach to the script and their overall goal going in. He highlighted that with the pandemic delaying the release, they had a chance to tackle the project with a fresh set of eyes, as he and director Sam Raimi reworked most of the script. He also reveals that the grizzly fate of the Illuminati has been part of his script since the first draft.

    Yeah, that was there in my first draft of the script. That was the madness of the multiverse to me, really. You introduced this superhero team that makes the audience feel like they’re finally safe, and then the Scarlet Witch eviscerates them. It was a great way to knock the audience off their feet. And then hopefully, you spend the rest of the movie terrified of Wanda and what she’s capable of.

    Michael Waldron

    It certainly did what Waldron set out to do, as the film managed to turn Wanda into quite the force of nature. The concept also gave Sam Raimi the chance to revisit his directing styles from the Evil Dead trilogy and Drag Me To Hell. Not only did it set up just how dangerous Wanda is but also highlighted the arrogance of the Illuminati to think they can take her own or even reason with her at that time.

    It also was an interesting meta twist on the concept of introducing these major characters from the characters as cannon fodder. Not only did it highlight just how dangerous the Scarlet Witch is, but gave viewers what they wanted with a brutal twist. Who knows if we’ll get some visceral deaths at this level again in an MCU project, but it does open up the possibility of some exciting horror elements in Blade.

    Source: Variety

  • ‘Doctor Strange 2’ Didn’t Connect ‘Loki’ As it Would “Have Complicated Things”

    ‘Doctor Strange 2’ Didn’t Connect ‘Loki’ As it Would “Have Complicated Things”

    When early fan theories went crazy over Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, everyone assumed that the events of Loki would directly lead to this film. Yet, those that left theaters might’ve been surprised that non of the story points from that series would lead into the film, besides the birth of the multiverse. Still, even with the series’ head writer on board, they purposefully avoided referencing or building their film with the Disney+ series in mind, as it would “have complicated things.”

    If it had been necessary, I think we would have. But as it was, it felt, even to me, like we were just reaching. Nothing would have made me happier than to get to write dialogue for Tom or Owen or Sophia. But it felt like this was a story happening separate of that TVA purview. And that might have complicated things. You know, this movie was already handling a lot, and that might have just confused things even further. So I think we were okay without it.

    He makes a good point, as it already was building upon the WandaVision Disney+ show with Scarlet Witch’s development. It would’ve also had to strongly focus on building upon the world that Loki set up with the TVA, which could potentially distract from the film’s overall plotline. They probably had to pick their battle on what they focus on, as they could’ve also given the Illuminati’s role to the TVA in some capacity, which may not have had the same impact.

    Waldron also highlights how they keep a strong focus on how they approach their stories and they aren’t just doing it to connect everything for the purpose of connection git. We’ll see what the future has in store for Loki with a second season underway. There’s also the fact that Kang will make his appearance in the upcoming Ant-Man and the Wasp sequel, which may actually connect the TVA with the Quantum Realm. We’ll see what the future has in store for them.

    Source: Variety