With the secretive Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness swiftly approaching, marketing and press for the MCU film is ramping up. With fan expectations all over the place, still one of the most anticipated elements of the sequel is a known character. Actress Xochitl Gomez will be bringing comics superhero and Young Avenger America Chavez to life in the film. Chavez’s dimension-hopping powers will obviously come in handy in the multiversal adventure, and it looks like she will be teaching the stubborn Doctor Strange plenty of things.
Virtualy no Marvel character makes it to live-action exactly how they were written in the comics and often for good reason. In a recent interview with Marvel, Gomez revealed a difference between her live-action Gomez and the source material that has clear implications for the future of the character. Gomez explained that Chavez is about 14-years-old in Multiverse of Madness, which is years younger than the comics Chavez who fell in with the Young Avengers around 17. The actress explained the implications of the character’s age on her future in the MCU:
You can definitely see the beginning stages of what future America might become…I took stuff that was in the comics, and kind of lightened it up since she’s less experienced. She’s younger than any of her known appearances in the comics, and I think you can see that. It was a fun challenge exploring what a younger and less experienced America might be, but also hinting towards the serious leader she would soon become. I wanted to keep that kid energy and a little bit of that fake-it-till-you-make-it confidence.
Xochitl Gomez
Considering a potential Young Avengers project might still be years away, making Chavez younger in the Doctor Strange film would make it easier for her to be a more comics-accurate age when she appears in a related project. Because the character is appearing now, allowing an extra few years of development not only suits the long-term development of the character but also potentially the real-life aging of the young actress.
Fans can meet America Chavez when Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness when movie hits theaters on May 6, 2022.
Source: Marvel
