Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness Writer Reveals How the MCU Adapts After Thanos’ Attack

Marvel Studios writer Michael Waldron has a big new interview about this breakout phase of career, which includes shaping the storylines for two of the Marvel Cinematic Universe‘s most pivotal projects: Loki and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. When it comes to Doctor Strange 2, Waldron has to pick up the baton left after the reality-shattering events of Avengers: Endgame and convey how the MCU has changed since the events of The Snap and war against Thanosthat came with The Blip.

So how has the world of the MCU changed after Thanos’ time-hopping attack on Earth? Here’s what the writer Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness would reveal:

I think for all of the heroes in the MCU, in a post-Endgame world, how do you rally yourself to fight the stand-alone movie villains after you fought Thanos?” Waldron mused to Vanity Fair. “[Strange is] Indiana Jones in a cloak to me. He’s a hero who can take a punch… Look at Stephen Strange in the first movie. He’s really getting beat up but he’s very capable and everything.”

So it seems that Stephen Strange will get the motivation that he needs to rally and fight – especially if recent rumors prove true. What we’ve heard is that In The Multiverse of Madness will bring the Older God Shuma-Gorath to the MCU, as the malevolent entity hunts the multiverse for a young superpowered girl whose powers can complete he’s conquest (Marvel’s America Chavez). An interdimensional manhunt against an evil god with the entire multiverse at stake seems like big enough subject matter that helps a Marvel solo movie rival an Avengers film. It’s also perfect framework for the kind of darker toned movie that Marvel’s script supervisor promised fans.

As Waldron teases, director Sam Raimi is ready to deliver exactly the kind of big blockbuster movie that Marvel fans expect – and that the title Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness implies: “I can tell you that it’s a ride…very Sam Raimi. The film is incredibly visually thrilling. John Mathieson, our D.P., who shot Gladiator and Logan—I think the look of it is going to be unlike anything you’ve seen in the MCU before.”

The question of how Thanos has re-shaped the MCU after Endgame is something that Disney+ series WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier have only done on a cursory level, so far. Spider-Man: Far From Home dealt more with the loss of Tony Stark and the need for new protectors after the classic Avengers are gone. Eternals and Doctor Strange 2 will have to address some serious cosmic ramifications due to Thanos’ actions, which is a ball that Waldron will be largely responsible for carrying. Waldron is the writer of the Loki Disney+ series as well, which will start looking at the new cracks in the Marvel Cinematic Multiverse when it premieres next week.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness hits theaters on March 25, 2022.