Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is set to hit theaters this week, and all eyes are on what big thing Marvel Studios will do in the film. The film is expected to feature some big cameos from around the multiverse like Patrick Stewart as Professor X and some other big surprises. Loki executive producer Michael Waldron also penned the script for the sequel, and it turns out that the rules he set for the multiverse in the series may have stopped him from doing certain things in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. During a new interview with Digital Spy, Waldron explained why creating such definitive rules about the multiverse in Loki caused some minor headaches.
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“We worked pretty hard on Loki to make it as airtight as possible. But there were times when I was like, ‘Oh, shit, I wish I hadn’t have defined that so clearly. I don’t know why I had to be so specific in my time-travel television show about the rules of the multiverse’,” Waldron said. “But, I was glad that I came in with institutional knowledge of the multiverse and was able to get the creative team of Doctor Strange on the same page as me on everything. Because like with Loki, that’s the most important thing when you’re dealing with this. You have to all have a shared language of all this stuff, otherwise it can get pretty confusing.”
The writer has previously spoken out on his issues with Marvel Studios’ use of the multiverse, and he reveals that he thinks we should proceed with the multiverse very cautiously. During a recent discussion with SFX Magazine via Gamesradar, the Loki and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness writer explained how Marvel Studios use of the multiverse could be a double-edged sword.
“The danger is you can expand your scope too wide, and you can actually reduce the stakes if you don’t make it personal as you go bigger and wider. But the opportunity in the multiverse is to have characters confront literal ‘What ifs?’ and alternate versions of themselves and perhaps others in their lives. It’s an interesting way to hold up a mirror to characters,” Waldron said. “In every way, it shapes the emotional heart of the story. It has to. The multiverse isn’t just a MacGuffin where we’re like, ‘Okay, this is just a kitschy thing that we’re playing with in this movie.’ If you’re faced with alternate realities and with alternate versions of yourself that has to become the emotional heart, exploring who you might be if you were a different version of yourself, if you made other choices, the right choices or the wrong choices. It’s complex stuff, emotionally, and that’s exactly why it’s so thrilling and so great for a cast as dramatically talented as this one.”
Marvel Studios describes Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness as follows: “To restore a world where everything is changing, Strange seeks help from his ally Wong, the Sorcerer Supreme, and the Avengers’ most powerful Scarlet Witch, Wanda. But a terrible threat looms over humanity and the entire universe that no longer can be done by their power alone. Even more surprising, the greatest threat in the universe looks exactly like Doctor Strange.”
The film is directed by the legendary Sam Rami and will star Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange, Benedict Wong as Wong, Rachel McAdams as Christine Palmer, Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff/ Scarlet Witch, Patrick Stewart as Professor Charles Xavier, Xochitl Gomez as America Chavez and Chiwetel Ejiofor as Baron Mordo. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is set to hit theaters on May 5th, 2022!
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