We’re just a few months away from the release of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the highly-anticipated new blockbuster within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The saga is expected to not only continue the story of Stephen Strange / Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), but showcase the next chapter for Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), following the buzzworthy Disney+ series WandaVision last year. The film’s newest trailer, which debuted during the Super Bowl 2022, leaned into the complicated idea of Wanda’s guilt from what happened in the events of WandaVision, and how the artificial reality she created in Westview made her a villain in the eyes of some. To make that even more emotional, one sequence in the trailer showed two versions of Wanda — one clad in her Scarlet Witch costume, the other in civilian clothes — in the suburban home that she and her family shared in Westview.
Not only is the scene visually striking, but the idea of Wanda returning back to her home in some capacity — which, despite its moments of domestic bliss, ultimately led to her husband and children’s death — is definitely sure to be emotional in some way.
Videos by ComicBook.com
“I didn’t know my part in Doctor Strange until right before we got back to filming during the pandemic,” Olsen confirmed with Variety last year. “We had two months left, and we’d filmed the majority of our show already. Really, I knew nothing until that moment when they pitched [Doctor Strange 2] to me verbally. So I tried, as much as I could, almost less so to have it affect WandaVision as have WandaVision affect it. I think that’s really been where the connection is. It’s almost like we’re trying to make sure that everything is honoring what we did [on the show].”
“Truthfully, the connection between WandaVision and where we leave Wanda and Doctor Strange 2, it was sort of fluid for a time, because we were very much under way before they were entirely underway,” WandaVision showrunner Jac Schaeffer added. “So it was a conversation. From where I’m sitting, it’s been very organic. The acceptance arc was was the point of WandaVision, but the falling action evolved. It’s a lovely way to do a handoff, and I’ve been over here wishing them well in Los Angeles, as they’re in the U.K.”
Multiverse of Madness will star Benedict Cumberbatch as Stephen Strange, Olsen as Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch, Benedict Wong as Wong, Xochitl Gomez as America Chavez, Rachel McAdams as Christine Palmer, and Chiwetel Ejiofor as Karl Mordo.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is set to be released on May 6th.
