Doctor Strange 2 Villain Could Be One of Marvel's Most Horrifying Characters

Around this time next year, fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe will be thrust into the multiverse through Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Since we know the feature directly follows WandaVision, many have spent the duration of the Disney+ speculating about potential interdimensional threats that could serve as the big bad for the series and, in turn, the Benedict Cumberbatch-starring sequel. Names like Mephisto or Nightmare are frequently thrown about, but we're going to go down a completely separate rabbit hole.

Perhaps the villain for Doctor Strange 2 won't be those aforementioned nor will it be the Elder God Chthon. Instead, we suggest the baddie for the follow-up might be Dweller-in-Darkness, an obscure Strange villain that already fits snuggly in with what little we know of the feature so far.

On the surface, Dweller-in-Darkness — DiD for brevity's sake — looks similar to Chthon or even Shuma-Gorath, but he's a character much more dangerous than either of those villains. Like his cousin Nightmare, DiD is also one of Marvel's Fear Lords, characters that gain their power through fear. In fact, most of his kind disowned him after he chose to go down a path — following the Way of the Shamblu — that even those demons wouldn't.

Feeding off fear, naturally, would be a hallmark of a horror property — and new Strange director Sam Raimi is primarily known for his horror features the way it is. Better yet, it's very apparent the design of DiD is inspired by HP Lovecraft's Cthulhu, and the character has even been tied to the character at various points throughout Marvel canon.

That, combined with the fact Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is a clear homage to Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness, and maybe we already know who Strange and company will be facing off with over the course of the upcoming sequel.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is now expected to hit theaters on March 25, 2022.

Who do you want to see as the Doctor Strange 2 villain? What other characters do you hope to see appear? Let us know your thoughts either in the comments section or by hitting our writer @AdamBarnhardt up on Twitter to chat all things MCU!