Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness: All the Cameos and Easter Eggs Explained

By Adam Barnhardt - May 9, 2022 04:45 pm EDT

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is on a tear at the box office. Over the course of its opening weekend in theaters, the Sam Raimi picture earned a whopping $187 million, making it the biggest weekend of the filmmaker's career. In fact, that haul more than doubled the opening weekend of the first Doctor Strange in 2017. Suffice to say, fans have flocked en masse to their local theaters to get their multiversal fix.

Because of its trip across multiple realities, the film is packed to the brim with various Easter eggs and nods, most of which we've compiled here in case you had a question or two on why the theater clapped at this moment, or gasped at another.

Keep scrolling to see explainers on all the most important Easter eggs within Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

Big Tuna?!

In one of the most surprising casting moves ever made by Marvel Studios, the Kevin Feige-led outfit actually cast John Krasinski as Reed Richards for a cameo role. One of the most popular fancastings on social media since the launching of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2008, it's unclear if Krasinski will return to the role beyond the Doctor Strange sequel. That said, Jon Watts has recently departed the director's chair on Marvel's upcoming Fantastic Four reboot, so if the stars align just right, Krasinski could technically appear in the flick and helm it at the same time.

Returning MCU Superstars

The Illuminati was one of the largest surprises of the film, putting Marvel actors fans have seen before into different roles. As teased by the studio's marketing ahead of release, the movie introduced a live-action version of Captain Carter (Hayley Atwell). It also brought back Lashana Lynch's Maria Rambeau as Earth-838's Captain Marvel. That's not to forget Chiwetel Ejiofor's return as Karl Mordo, the new Sorcerer Supreme of Earth-838 or Anson Mount's surprising return as Black Bolt, a role he last played on ABC's widely-panned Inhumans series.

Earth-616

According to the version of Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams) on Earth-838, the MCU is labeled as Earth-616 which, coincidentally enough, is the longtime moniker for the primary world in the Marvel Comics mythos. While this doesn't mean the MCU and the comics universe are one in the same, it is a fun little Easter egg for comics readers around the world.

Themes Galore

Danny Elfman didn't shy away from tying some very recognizable tunes into his score for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Not only did the composer include the fan-favorite WandaVision theme into the film when it first introduced Wanda, he also played a rendition of the theme to X-Men: The Animated Series as Charles Xavier was first introduced as a member of The Illuminati.

Bruce Campbell

It wouldn't be a Sam Raimi movie without a cameo from one of the filmmaker's best friends. Bruce Campbell appeared in the feature in two separate scenes, serving as a pizza vendor on Earth-838. In the first go-around, Strange casts a spell on Poppa, forcing him to repeatedly punch himself in the face. The character returns in a post-credits scene as well, showing the character thankful that the spell has worn off. Campbell has appeared in virtually all of Raimi's films in some fashion, so it's only fitting the actor made his MCU debut within a movie directed by his best friend.

Wundagore Mountain and Chthon

Mount Wundagore is the birthplace of Chaos Magic and often serves as the home base of Chthon — the writer of the Darkhold. For a time, the High Evolutionary also used the mountain as his home base, doing his experiments on various characters throughout the years from chambers within the mountains. Within the film, the mountain serves a similar purpose as its comics as Wanda has to travel to it to use lingering Darkhold energies.

Speaking of which, the movie also happens to name drop Chthon, even featuring Darkhold guardians demons that don the character's comics likeness. Though the beloved villain doesn't appear in the flesh, it has fans hoping.

Oswald the Lucky Rabbit

In a blink and you'll miss it moment, the Maximoff twins can be seen watching an episode of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit in their adventures on Earth-838. The cartoon is one of the first Walt Disney ever created and rights issues forced the animator to eventually replace him with Mickey Mouse. Now, the rights to the entire Oswald library — and the character himself — are back at Disney, so why not include the character in one of the biggest Disney movies of the year?!

*****

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is now showing exclusively in theaters around the world. What'd you think about the sequel? Let us know your thoughts either in the comments section or by hitting our writer @AdamBarnhardt up on Twitter to chat all things MCU!