Doctor Strange 2 Rumor: Scarlet Witch Battles Major X-Men Character in Multiverse of Madness

Rumors that 20th Century Fox's X-Men movie universe could crossover with the Marvel Cinematic Universe got a fresh shot in the arm last night. A couple of sources appeared to suggest that Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) will come face to face with Professor Charles Xavier in the forthcoming Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The reports, which originated with scoopers Daniel RPK, That Hashtag Show, and ViewerAnon, suggest that a version of the Marvel Comics Illuminati will appear in the film. These claims were bolstered at least somewhat when former Variety writer Kris Tapley shared some images from the comics that correlated to the rumors.

In addition to Xavier, the rumors place characters like Balder the Brave and Captain Carter at the center of the story. Some of the characters have already been rumored previously, making this feel like a confirmation, although that assumes that the sources aren't building on existing rumors and adding what they know.

Viewer Anon suggests that The Illuminati will appear, represented by Professor X, Captain Carter, Balder the Brave, Monica Rambeau, and Mordo. Last month, speculation ramped up that Hayley Atwell would return as a live-action Captain Carter after her appearances on What If...?, while longtime X-Men franchise star Patrick Stewart admitted he has chatted with Kevin Feige about the possibility of reprising the role at some point. That interview came in early 2020, and suggested that the conversations had been recent.

Tapley tweeted out shots of Wanda and Professor X, followed by an image of The Illuminati (from the comics -- featuring Xavier, Reed Richards, Black Bolt, Namor, and Iron Man) and a separate image of Captain Britain.

The Marvel multiverse is still a mysterious animal; while it was glimpsed in Avengers: Endgame and seen in a tiny bit of detail in Loki, fans still have a lot of questions. The What If...? animated series currently airing on Disney+ gives fans a look into alternate Marvel Universes, but since it's animated, and thus untethered from the production limitations of most movies, it's impossible to know which, if any, of those worlds are likely to show up in a future live-action movie.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is set to be directed by Sam Raimi, who first helmed a trilogy of Spider-Man movies between 2002 and 2007. In the trailer for Spider-Man: No Way Home, which was released this week, fans got their first glimpse at Doctor Octopus -- played by Alfred Molina from Raimi's Spider-Man 2 -- in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.