Marvel Boss Kevin Feige Confirms Loki Set Up Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

When it comes to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it really is all connected and when it comes to Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, we really do have Loki to thank. On the red carpet at the premiere of the Doctor Strange sequel on Monday, Kevin Feige confirmed that the events of Loki set up Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and put together how that Disney+ series, as well as Spider-Man: No Way Home, all lead into the upcoming film.

"You know, there's always a method to the madness even at the multiverse and to the Marvel.com fans who know that Loki and Sylvie did something at the end of that series that sort of allowed all of this to be possible," Feige said. "He Who Remains is gone and that allowed a spell to go wrong in Spider-Man: No Way Home, which leads to the entire multiverse going quite mad."

The idea of Loki setting the stage for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness really isn't a huge surprise — after all, both Loki and Multiverse of Madness were written by Michael Waldron — but the confirmation and the explanation that there are threads that tie through Spider-Man all just make the idea of what Doctor Strange is facing in the upcoming movie all the more interesting and certainly ups the ante. As fans will recall, the end of Loki saw Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) are faced with the choice of, essentially, saving the multiverse or letting all hell break loose with Sylvie ultimately choosing the latter by killing He Who Remains, unleashing a multiverse of alternate timeliness that the TVA cannot prune and contain.

Feige further explained how the film serves as a sequel not only to Doctor Strange, but to other stories in the MCU.

"This is absolutely a sequel to the first Doctor Strange, but also to Infinity War and Endgame and also to WandaVision," Feige said. "And that really just let us have an embarrassment of riches of like, such an amazing cast and amazing stories and then Sam Raimi tying it all together."

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 opens in theaters on May 6th.