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''What wouldst thou know, my Queen?''
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Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is a 2022 Marvel Comics film and sequel to Doctor Strange, showing the further adventures of Dr. Stephen Strange, the Master of the Mystic Arts, created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. It was released on May 6, 2022. It is the twenty-eighth film of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the fifth film of Phase Four.
Synopsis
A book of forbidden magic has been uncovered and studied by Wanda Maximoff, who begins to threaten the Multiverse as she seeks to reunite with her children. As America Chavez possesses the power to travel across the Multiverse, she becomes Wanda's target, forcing Doctor Strange into a dilemma of good and evil in order to protect America and the Multiverse.
Plot
In the space between universes, America Chavez and Defender Strange race to the Book of Vishanti while attempting to evade a demon. Strange's attempts to contain the monster prove futile, leading him to try to steal America's power to travel across universes, knowing that the process would kill her. However, the demon kills Strange before he could do so, and America inadvertently opens a portal to Earth-616, which she and Strange's corpse fall into.
Doctor Strange wakes up, believing this to be a nightmare. He then dresses up to attend Christine Palmer's wedding as he remains sentimental about the time they were together, but Christine insists that the relationship would have failed regardless. During the celebration, a mysterious force begins to terrorize the streets of New York. Strange is forced to respond and reveals the entity as a gigantic tentacled monster. Also present is America, whom Strange recognizes from his "nightmare" and rescues her. Wong arrives at the scene from Kamar-Taj, and together they kill the beast by ripping its eye out. Strange and Wong consult America, and she explains that the demons were hunting her for her powers. As the two remains skeptical, she takes them to Defender Strange's corpse to prove that Strange's dream was actually a peek into his counterparts across the Multiverse.
Upon further inspection of Defender Strange's corpse, Strange discovers runes of witchcraft that were also present on the tentacled monster. Thus, he visits Wanda Maximoff at her farm to ask her about what she knows about the Multiverse, but discovers that the farm is a chaos magic conjuration. With the Darkhold in her possession, Wanda reveals herself as the one who sent the demons after America, believing that she can reunite with Billy and Tommy once she is able to take over the Multiverse. She also gives Strange before sundown to surrender America, otherwise she would hunt her down herself. However, Strange rejects her demands.
As Chavez is over at Kamar-Taj, the Masters of the Mystic Arts fortify the place in preparation for Wanda's assault with a magic shield and various other defenses. However, Wanda's telepathy targets one sorcerer and disables his magic, leading the shield to collapse, allowing her to shred through the resistance of Kamar-Taj. Strange entraps her within the Mirror Dimension, to no avail as she destroys it. Cornered, Chavez accidentally opens a portal, allowing herself and Strange to flee across the multiverse. They land in Earth-838 in a futuristic New York City, where they walk towards the New York Sanctum in search of his version of this universe, but as that version had died defeating Thanos, they are instead greeted by this universe's Sorcerer Supreme - Baron Mordo.
Mordo invites them to sit down for tea, and the two warn him of the Scarlet Witch. They soon pass out as Mordo had poisoned the tea, and awaken in a facility elsewhere where they meet that universe's Christine Palmer, who works there as a scientist to help with managing the multiverse. Strange is brought forth before the Illuminati for his trial, consisting of Mordo, Captain Carter, Black Bolt, Captain Marvel, Reed Richards, and Charles Xavier. They reveal that their version of Strange had used the Darkhold to look for alternate ways to defeat Thanos before turning to the Book of Vishanti, which the Illuminati used to kill him on Titan. However, Strange confessed that he had caused an incursion, an event in which a reality is destroyed, and thus volunteered to be executed to prevent further destruction by Black Bolt, who reluctantly killed him.
Meanwhile, Wanda deploys the Darkhold to "dreamwalk" into her version in Westview to interact with her children. However, one sorcerer manages to destroy the Darkhold, and she kills her in retaliation. She also threatens to kill other sorcerers if Wong does not reveal another method to dreamwalk, leading him to reveal that the book was a copy. He takes her to a castle on Mount Wundagore where the Darkhold was first transcribed. The Scarlet Witch uses the castle's power to dreamwalk back into her Earth-838 self and raid the Illuminati Headquarters in search of America. Before they could vote to execute Strange, Carter, Black Bolt, Rambeau, and Richards leave to respond, but Wanda easily kills them. Xavier enters Wanda's mind and attempts to liberate her from the Scarlet Witch, but fails as she snaps his neck. Mordo votes to kill Strange himself, who baits him into destroying his restraints before escaping.
The Illuminati's efforts have also bought Christine enough time to free America, and the two escape into the sewers where they rendezvous with Strange. Wanda continues to pursue them into the space between universes, where Strange retrieves the Book of Vishanti. However, Wanda destroys it, takes control of America, and uses her to send Strange and Christine into another universe. She takes America back to her universe and abandoning her alternate self, who returns home to Westview. Wanda then prepares a ritual to take her powers with the Darkhold. Strange and Christine land in a universe that is being destroyed by an incursion and head towards its New York Sanctum. There, they find a sinister version of him who had been corrupted by his copy of the Darkhold, possessing a third eye because of it.
When questioned about the Darkhold, his alternate version warns against using it, but Strange engages in a musical battle in order to retrieve the book and stop Wanda. The fight ends with Strange killing his evil version, and Christine reluctantly agrees to assist him as he dreamwalks into Defender Strange's corpse back on Earth-616. As he travels to Mount Wundagore, the spirits of the damned inhabiting the Darkhold attempt to attack Strange in both universes, but Christine is able to protect Strange as he binds them into a cloak. He reunites with Wong as they fight Wanda, and although they are easily defeated, Strange manages to inspire America into refining her abilities against Wanda, allowing her to use them to send Wanda back to Earth-838. There, she attacks her alternate version and attempts to comfort her kids, but they openly reject her. This causes Wanda to collapse into tears, but her other self comforts her, breaking her out of the Darkhold's corruption.
Realizing the destruction she had caused, Wanda destroys the castle and every copy of the Darkhold within the Multiverse as Wong and America return to Kamar-Taj. Strange is retrieved from the incursion-ridden world while Christine returns to Earth-838. Kamar-Taj begins to rebuild as America starts her training in the mystical arts, while Strange returns to New York and repairs the watch his Christine gifted to him. He takes a walk afterwards, only to collapse and cry out in pain as his third eye opens. On another day, Strange encounters a sorceress who warns him of an incursion that he caused. She opens a portal to the Dark Dimension and the two walk in to avert it.
Cast
- Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange
- Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch
- Chiwetel Ejiofor as Karl Mordo
- Benedict Wong as Wong
- Xochitl Gomez as America Chavez
- Michael Stuhlbarg as Nicodemus West
- Rachel McAdams as Christine Palmer
- Adam Hugill as Rintrah
- Julian Hilliard as Billy Maximoff
- Jett Klyne as Tommy Maximoff
- Sheila Atim as Sara
- Topo Wresniwiro as Master Hamir
- Ako Mitchell as Charlie
- Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier/Professor X
- Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter/Captain Carter
- Lashana Lynch as Maria Rambeau/Captain Marvel
- John Krasinski as Dr. Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic
- Anson Mount as Blackagar Boltagon/Black Bolt
- Bruce Campbell as Pizza Poppa
- Charlize Theron as Clea
- Ross Marquand as Ultron Sentries (voice)
Gargantos also appears in the film.
Production
On April 20, 2017, Deadline reported that Scott Derrickson would return to work on the film after he finished his work on the TV series Locke & Key.[1]
On October 19, 2017, Kevin Feige stated that the film would be released a number of years after its predecessor, Doctor Strange.[2]
On March 31, 2018, C. Robert Cargill revealed plans for the film to feature Karl Mordo and Nightmare as villains.[3]
On June 28, 2018, Kevin Feige revealed that there are plans to make a sequel to Doctor Strange.[4]
On January 25, 2019, That Hashtag Show announced that Cargill had signed on to write the script.[5]
On January 10, 2020, it was announced that Scott Derrickson had departed the project. The following month, Variety reported that Sam Raimi is in talks to direct the sequel, while also announcing that Rachel McAdams will not reprise her role as Christine Palmer.
On November 20, 2020, The Hollywood Reporter reported that the film had begun filming.[6]
On January 6, 2021, Olsen revealed that production is temporarily halted due to COVID-19 cases in the United Kingdom.[7]
Filming officially wrapped on April 23, 2021.[8]
On October 18, 2021, Deadline revealed that the release date for the film had been pushed back to May 6, 2022.[9]
Reshoots for the film happened between November and December 2021.[10]
Videos
Gallery
Reception
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness received positive reviews from critics, with Sam Raimi's distinctive horror-driven direction and the performances of the cast (Elizabeth Olsen in particular) being the focus of the praise. The film holds a 75% critic approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based off of 318 reviews and a 61 on Metacritic from 62 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". However, some criticism was directed at the pacing, and the film's PG-13 rating attracted controversy for its depiction of violent content. Audiences polled by CinemaScore graded the film "B+" on an A to F scale, tied for the second-lowest grade an MCU film has received after 2021's Eternals (B). PostTrak reported an 82% approval rating among the audience, with 69% saying they would recommend it.
Trivia
- This is the first MCU movie to be released in 2022.
- This is the first Marvel Cinematic Universe film to have horror elements[11] and is currently the darkest MCU film because of them.
- The events of the film ties directly into the Disney+ series WandaVision[11] and Loki,[12] as well as Spider-Man: No Way Home.[13]
- This is the fourth movie that Sam Raimi directs that is based on a character co-created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, the previous three being Sony Pictures' original Spider-Man trilogy.
- Elizabeth Olsen describes the movie as "an old Sam Raimi and that it is very scary". She even stated that the producers are trying to make it the scariest Marvel movie ever.[14]
- Sam Raimi almost refused to direct the film after the poor outcome of Spider-Man 3, starring Tobey Maguire.[15]
- This is the third MCU film to be released on May 6, after Thor and Captain America: Civil War.
- Due to Turning Red switching to a Disney+ release, this is the first theatrically-released Disney film since Death on the Nile.
- Due to rights issues with the estate of Robert E. Howard, the character of Shuma-Gorath from Marvel Comics was assimilated into Gargantos for the film.[16]
- Benedict Cumberbatch says this movie is a "big moment" for Strange.[17]
- This is the third film in the MCU to be shot entirely with IMAX cameras, after Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.
- Both Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and the Oswald the Lucky Rabbit short The Sky Scrapper can be seen playing on the television in Wanda, Billy, and Tommy's house.
- Captain Carter says "I can do this all day", which was often said by Steve Rogers throughout the MCU.
- Steven Strange's sister Donna is mentioned for the first time in the MCU. She was set to appear in the original film, portrayed by Lulu Wilson, but her role was cut from the film.[18]
- The prime MCU universe is confirmed to be Earth-616. This was already stated by Mysterio in Spider-Man: Far From Home, but it wasn't officially confirmed then due to Mysterio lying about where he was from. It is also the prime universe in the comics.
- Elizabeth Olsen said that the Earth-838 Wanda divorced Vision in that universe, which is why Earth-838 Vision is not shown.[19]
- There were talks about Deadpool appearing in the film.[20]
- Elizabeth Olsen said during a lie dector test inteview that she never met John Krasinski during filming of Wanda's confrontation with Reed Richards, implying they filmed their scenes seperatly.[19]
- Spider-Man is mentioned, but because of the ending of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Strange and Wong no longer know who he is and just describe his powers to America Chavez.
- The original openning scene was going to show Wanda killing 616 Mordo, until it was changed to Wanda dreaming about Billy and Tommy.[21]
- The film was banned in Saudi Arabia because of the inclusion of America Chavez, a gay character and the film had been set to release in several Persian Gulf countries on May 5, before advanced tickets were removed from cinema websites in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Qatar. Tickets were still available in the United Arab Emirates, which was stated was an indication that the film could still be released there.[22]
References
- ↑ ‘Locke & Key’ Drama From Carlton Cuse, Joe Hill & IDW Gets Hulu Pilot Order, Scott Derrickson To Direct
- ↑ Kevin Feige Teases Doctor Strange 2, Says We Won’t See It For A While
- ↑ Doctor Strange 2 Villain Plans and New Story Ideas Revealed
- ↑ 'Kevin Feige Confirms 'Doctor Strange 2' Is Definitely Happening
- ↑ EXCLUSIVE: C. Robert Cargill Penning the ‘DOCTOR STRANGE’ Sequel
- ↑ Marvel's 'Black Panther' Sequel Shoot to Begin in July (Exclusive)
- ↑ WandaVision channels Bewitched in new Marvel series clip
- ↑ ‘Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness’ wraps filming on April 23.
- ↑ "Marvel Movie Shift: ‘Doctor Strange 2’ To Kick Off Summer 2022, ‘Thor: Love And Thunder’ Heads To July & More". Deadline (October 18, 2021).
- ↑ Doctor Strange 2 Star Benedict Cumberbatch Announces Even More Reshoots
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 "'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness' Will Tie Into 'WandaVision'". Inverse (July 20, 2019).
- ↑ "‘Loki’ Series Ties Into ‘Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness’". ScreenGeek (November 8, 2019).
- ↑ "All the Disney Investor Day Announcements in One Big Post". Vulture (December 11, 2020).
- ↑ Fandom's tweet - July 15, 2021
- ↑ Sam Raimi Almost Didn’t Make ‘Doctor Strange 2’ Because of the Internet’s Reaction to ‘Spider-Man 3'
- ↑ Exploring Why ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ Renamed Shuma-Gorath
- ↑ Doctor Strange Updates on Twitter, February 17, 2022
- ↑ Scott Derrickson on What He Had to Do to Direct ‘Doctor Strange’
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 "Elizabeth Olsen on ‘Doctor Strange 2,’ Her Marvel Contract, and How She Never Met Some of the Cast While Filming". Collider (May 8, 2022).
- ↑ "Doctor Strange 2 Writer Confirms They Talked About a Deadpool Cameo (Exclusive)". Comicbook.com (May 12, 2022).
- ↑ Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness Cut Original Opening With 616 Mordo and Scarlet Witch
- ↑ Marvel's Doctor Strange 2 Gets Banned In Saudi Arabia
External Links
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness on Wikipedia- Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness on IMDb
- Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness on Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki
