Spider-Man's Canceled Doctor Strange 2 Cameo Explains Disconnected Phase 4

Spider-Man's missing Doctor Strange 2 cameo is just part of how Phase 4 got jumbled.

By Aaron Perine

Spider-Man was supposed to cameo in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. This fun fact helps explain why Phase 4 might have felt a little more disconnected than some fans would have liked. Over on Twitter, ScarletWitchUpdates shared an interview with MCU prop master Graham Chruchyard. During that clip, the Marvel employee talked about how Tom Holland's Web-Slinger was supposed to appear in the Doctor Strange sequel. Also of note is the fact that Multiverse of Madness was supposed to occur before Spider-Man: No Way Home in the MCU's timeline. 

"Doctor Strange and his new costume and America Chavez were supposed to go into Spider-Man," Churchyard said. "And Spider-Man was supposed to come into for a very brief cameo appearance into Multiverse. Then COVID just shook it all up."

So, with all this shuffling at play, a lot of the cohesion that fans have lamented the loss of might have been planned for. But, it just couldn't be brought to fruition because of circumstances beyond the creative team's control. This is especially apparent because of the rumors and evidence from Spider-Man: No Way Home's production that backs this sort of observation up.

Spider-Man Would Have Been At The Heart of the Phase's Cohesion

With Tom Holland's Spider-Man, he would have been doing the heavy lifting with crossovers. (Some would argue that's already the case with Spider-Man: No Way Home.) Doctor Strange has been no slouch in that regard either. Early 2021 was full of rumors that Benedict Cumberbatch's magic user was supposed to show up in WandaVision. There's even speculation that there was footage shot. But, it's never materialized. One thing to keep in mind is the original order that Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was supposed to come first.

In that movie, America Chavez is mystified by the idea of Spider-Man. It seems like they would have met in there originally. A lot of the plot from Multiverse of Madness centered on The Book of Vishanti. Some concept art from Spider-Man: No Way Home shows America with some other book-like artifact helping summon other individuals from all over the Multiverse to help Peter. (In the full-version of the movie, this happens with Ned bringing Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire's heroes into the fray.) But, this makes both movies feel a little more connected to each other instead of that smaller reference. 

Even more interestingly, there was talk of having Sam Wilson appear at the climax of No Way Home, but the writers ended up deciding that Peter Parker had enough cooks in the kitchen for one fight. While that's probably true, seeing Anthony Mackie's winged Avenger would have made things feel very cohesive as well. There's tons of moments like this throughout Phase 4 where fans cried out for a little nod more than what they got. (No one knows how feasible any of those plans would be with complex schedules.)

Captain Marvel, Spider-Man, and Doctor Strange Look To Be Keys Going Forward

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(Photo: Marvel Entertainment)

The runaway cinematic success of 2019 feels like a distant memory for all the movie studios at this point. But, back then Kevin Feige was beating the drum for whatever was going to come next for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In some comments to the press at D23, the Marvel Studios president claimed that the standard-bearers going forward for the franchise would be Spider-Man, Captain Marvel and Black Panther. Well, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever wouldn't hit theaters until last year. And, the movie had to navigate the passing of Chadwick Boseman. So, that leaves Captain Marvel and Spidey. 

Carol Danvers has been spotted in Shang-Chi's post-credits scene and in the stinger for Ms. Marvel. She's hosting the first big team-up in The Marvels come November. But, some of the shifting schedule does make you wonder if Brie Larson's Avenger was supposed to crop up beforehand. With T'Challa's actor dealing with a health condition, it didn't make sense for him to appear anywhere else either. (Although, it would have been amazing to see him turn up in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier as the force trying to bring Zemo to justice.) It feels like both COVID-19 troubles and general logistics were working against some of these ideas.

With Phase 5 underway, the two last properties to close out the year will be Loki and The Marvels. One is a massive team-up that unites Disney+ heroes with their big-screen inspiration. With Tom Hiddleston's trickster god, it would seem that the Multiverse plot line is moving on down the tracks again with Jonathan Majors' Kang the Conqueror making another appearance that was teased at the end of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Cumberbatch's sorcerer is rumored to be the main hero to move the conflict between Kang and the Avengers into the spotlight too.

Do you think the next year of shows and movies will have more cohesion? Let us know down in the comments!

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