Marvel Studios is leaning into alternate realities with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Several streaming series and movies have laid the groundwork for the Doctor Strange sequel, as Benedict Cumberbatch returns to reprise his role as the (former) Sorcerer Supreme. One Disney+ series that dealt with the growing multiverse was Loki starring Tom Hiddleston. Michael Waldron, a writer for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, also penned the Loki series on Disney+. According to a Marvel producer, the events in Loki had a direct impact on the making of Doctor Strange 2.
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The spring issue of Disney’s D23 Magazine (via The Direct) had an interview with Marvel Studios producer Richie Palmer, who spoke about Waldron helping to set up the idea of Variants in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Several Loki variants were introduced in the character’s Disney+ series, and Doctor Strange variants were shown in trailers for the upcoming film. With much of the variant legwork out of the way, it freed Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness to focus on its own story instead of getting audiences up to speed.
“It was really exciting. We found that we didn’t need to spend a lot of time recapping the rules; we felt the audience would get a lot of that by now. With Michael, we could jump into telling a good story within what’s already been established,” Palmer said.
He added: “Michael’s strength is the character stuff. As you saw in Loki, all the best moments involved the characters against the backdrop of those alternate timelines. It’s kind of like that in our movie, too. Michael’s script brought a lot of heart to sci-fi concepts such as the Multiverse.”
The season finale of Loki introduced Jonathan Majors as He Who Remains, a variant of Kang the Conqueror. A second season has already been confirmed, and there are rumors Loki will make an appearance in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. It would make sense for Loki to show up in the movie, especially considering how the Season 1 finale featured the fracturing of the multiverse and multiple branches forming after Sylvie killed He Who Remains.
Doctor Strange 2 will also have some direct connections to the What If…? animated series. “Things get pretty trippy. We love that episode of What If…?, and we hope to do it justice,” Palmer added. “It shows another version of Doctor Strange – one who let the universe he lived in be destroyed because of his love for Christine. If he was capable of that, for a selfish reason, is that something that our Stephen would be capable of doing, too? We’d like to think, ‘No, our guy’s the hero,’ but you never know.”
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness arrives in theaters May 6th. Let us know your thoughts on the film in the comments!
