Benedict Cumberbatch will be back as Doctor Strange in 2022 withDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, but what starts the titular multiverse of madness? Doctor Strange was last seen returning from the dead inAvengers: Endgame, helping the combined heroes take on Thanos and his forces as the Mad Titan pursued the Infinity Stones for the last time.
Shortly afterAvengers: Endgamehit theaters, Kevin Feige - President of Marvel Studios - announced the upcoming slate of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the enigmatically-titledDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madnesswas among them. The film's title has created palpable intrigue as fans debate what 'Multiverse of Madness' actually means for the character and the MCU at large.
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Marvel fans will already be familiar with the concept of the Multiverse; a series of alternate Earths and parallel universes, where the differences can be infinitesimally small or devastatingly huge. Marvel Studios' first animated showWhat If?will explore a number of these divergent timelines, including Peter Parker becoming Hawkeye and Peggy Carter becoming Captain America.Doctor Strange2presumably sends Doctor Strange hurtling through the multiverse, fighting and finding his way back to his own earth, most likely saving said multiverse in the process. But what will cause Doctor Strange's journey through the multiverse? What starts the 'multiverse of madness'? Here are all the established theories so far.
It's already been announced that Wanda Maximoff - the Scarlet Witch - will be appearing alongside Doctor Strange inDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, following herappearance in Disney+ showWandaVision.From the brief glimpses ofWandaVision that audiences have already seen, Wanda seems to be living multiple lives with her deceased lover Vision in some kind of warped reality/dream state.
This has led to the theory that Wanda is either already jumping through the multiverse inWandaVision, or she has been trapped in a dream by an enemy (see Nightmare, below) or that she has lost hermind with grief and begun to create alternate realities all by herself. It's likely that Scarlet Witch is the cause of the multiverse of madness due to her marquee appearance in the sequel, in addition to her history of creating alternate timelines - like the House of M - in Marvel Comics, thanks to her reality-warping powers. If Marvel Studios were to utilize the House of M alternate reality, they could even finally bring the X-Men into the MCU.
Other evidence attributed to Scarlet Witch being the cause of the multiverse of madness stems from Doctor Strange's indirect responsibility for Vision's death inAvengers: Infinity War. After giving up the Time Stone to Thanos, the Mad Titan immediately headed to Earth where he ripped the Mind Stone from Vision's head, killing him. Wanda Maximoff could desire revenge for Doctor Strange's hand in her boyfriend's death,which may then lead to the Multiverse of Madness.
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Loki is due to appear in his own Disney+ show Loki, following the events ofAvengers: Endgame; could that be a stepping stone to becoming the villain ofDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness?News has already broken that his self-titled show will center around the 2012 version of Loki that escaped with the Tesseract after the Avengers' time-travel flub, and with the Space Stone unwittingly in his possession, 2012 Loki can jump around the universe wherever he wants.
Recent images have shown Loki as a prisoner of the Time Variance Authority - the police in charge of protecting the timestream from meddling - after moving through time.Concept art has shown Loki in New York in the 1970s, and the time cops are likely not too happy with his interference with the time/space continuum. Could such meddling result in a multiverse of madness? What's certain is that 2012 Loki is not meant to exist outside of that timeline. 2019 Loki was killed by Thanos, and Captain America returning all the Infinity Stones to the points where they were taken means that Loki never should have escaped. Loki's continued survival means chaos for the multiverse, as explained by the Ancient One inAvengers: Endgame; consider him a strong contender for the cause of the titular madness inDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
The Avengers themselves may have been the cause of the events ofDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.As the Ancient One explained to Smart Hulk inAvengers: Endgame during their 'time heist' of the Infinity Stones, if one of the Stones is removed from its place in time it can cause that reality to branch off and lose balance. This would create a darker, splinter reality. Smart Hulk counters this ominous prophecy by suggesting that the Avengers return the Stones to their original place in the timeline when done with them in their present, thereby restoring balance. TheAncient One is finally persuaded when informed that Doctor Strange willingly surrendered the Time Stone to Thanos, as he wouldn't have done that if there were no other way.
Regardless of the fact that Captain America returned all the Infinity Stones to whence they came followingAvengers: Endgame (resulting in a presumably awkward interaction with Red Skull), each stone was still removed from the place in space and time they were supposed to be.It could be possible that the removal of the Time Stone -not to mention the others - led to the fracturing of realities that the Ancient One warned of. Disturbingly, this would mean that the Avengers might be responsible for the start of thefracturing of the multiverse inDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
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The Ancient One warns Smart Hulk that the removal of the Time Stone (as well asthe other Infinity Stones) leaves the universe defenseless against any number of threats. What would she have to say when she learns that Thanos decided to destroy all the Stones after successfully using them to wipe out half of all life in the universe?One theory is that Thanos' destruction of all the Stones removes the very bedrock of creation, thus potentially leading to chaos and danger in the entire multiverse. If Thanos' destruction of the Infinity Stones leads to the multiverse collapsing in on itself - a true Multiverse of Madness - Doctor Strange will need all the help he can get in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
InDoctor Strange, the Sorcerer Supreme was able to best the Dread Dormammu by trapping him in an endless loop of being confronted by Strange and murdering him, over and over again. This forced Dormammu to promise never to attack Earth again, and the multidimensional being is bound by his word; that doesn't mean that fans will never see him again. If Dormammu returns forDoctor Strange 2,he could be getting revenge on him by way of causing the multiverse madness.
When Scott Derrickson was still due to direct the then-unnamed sequel to Doctor Strange(he has since been replaced by Sam Raimi)he was vocal about havingNightmare be the villain. Nightmare was intended to be the villain ofDoctor Strange, but was considered tooexposition-heavy. Marvel fans will recognize Nightmare as the ruler of the Dream Dimension, and is rather fond of putting Strange through all manner of trials and tribulations for his own amusement. Scott Derrickson may have managed to install Nightmare as the villain before his amicable departure from thedirector's chair; he is remaining on as an Executive Producerso it's possible he can still exert some kind of influence overDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.Nightmare would make sense as the cause of the Multiverse of Madness.
If the events ofDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of the Madnessare a follow-on fromWandaVision, onetheory (further explained onMovieWeb) goes that Nightmare is responsible for sending Wanda Maximoff into repetitive fantasies of a picturesque life with her dearly-departed Vision. The brief footage seen fromWandaVision show Wanda and Vision in a number of different sitcom-esque scenarios. This could be the Dream Dimension in action; when combined with Wanda's reality-altering powers, it could be the start of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. However, with Derrickson gone from the director's chair, Nightmare's inclusion now looks less likely.
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Following the Disney acquisition of 20th Century Fox, the cinematic rights to the Fantastic Four and their villains are finally back home at Marvel Studios. This means that fan-favorite villain Doctor Doom can finally be introduced to the MCU, especially considering his previously-announced solo movie under Noah Hawley's direction is "in limbo"after the merger. With production onDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madnesspaused due to the COVID-19 outbreak,it's not too late for Marvel to retroactively include Doctor Doom as the cause of said madness now that they have him back in their stable.
At this point, any theory pointing to Doctor Doom being the villain inDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madnessis pure speculation. The emphasis on Doctor Doom as a sorcerer first and a scientist second in his currently ongoing comic book series suggest that an appearance in theDoctor Strangefranchise could be a fitting first step forDoom in the MCU. His magical abilities could certainly assist in ripping through the multiverse, but time will tell if Doctor Doom is the cause of the events ofDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
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Daniel Woburn has been a contributor to Screen Rant since 2018. Before this, he wrote for What Culture and was a Deputy Editor at Close-Up Film. He's been consuming comic books, movies and Buffy the Vampire Slayer like they were sunlight, ever since he was a sapling. Daniel obtained a BA in American Studies from the University of Kent, Canterbury. Prior to that, he was a student at the BRIT School in Croydon, where he studied Media & Moving Image. Former alumni Adele once offered to roll him a cigarette. It's been 13 years, and he won't shut up about it.
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