When we last left Doctor Strange, he was un-dusted and assisting in the fight against Thanos and his armies at the Avengers compound in upstate New York. Wong (Benedict Wong) was fighting at his side, providing vital magical support to the combined force of Earthlings, Asgardians, and others. Dormammu was still abiding by his pact with Strange to not interfere with this dimension. Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor) was still on his crusade to rid the world of extraneous sorcerers. The Time Stone, a.k.a. the Eye of Agamotto, was destroyed (in this timeline, at least). This situation has led to a number of fan-generated rumors, ranging from the plausible to the...less so. Then again, this is a Steve Ditko creation, so is anything really out of the realm of possibility?
The Rumors
Prior to the Comic-Con 2019 reveal of Marvel’s next slate of movies and television shows, rumors abounded of what a Doctor Strange sequel would entail: mystical new allies, incomprehensibly powerful villains, exotic worlds. Here is a list of the more prevalent theories:
Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Rachel McAdams would ALL return in their roles as Dr. Stephen Strange, Karl Mordo, and Christine Palmer.
WWE superstar Titus O’Neil will have a role, specifically Jericho Drumm/Brother Voodoo.
Keanu Reeves will have a role.
The character of Clea will be introduced.
The character of Nightmare will appear, possibly as the main villain.
Doctor Strange will briefly turn evil.
The Facts
Marvel confirmed the following details at SDCC just this week:
The title of the film will be Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) will feature in the film.
WandaVision (on Disney+) will lead into the events of the film.
Scott Derrickson will return as director.
This will be Marvel’s first foray into the horror genre.
And now for every MCU nerd’s favorite pastime: speculating based on scant details!
The Speculation
Most obviously, the title is reminiscent of H.P. Lovecraft’s At the Mountain of Madness. Considered the father of cosmic horror, Lovecraft wove a series of disparate stories into a vast interconnected mythos of incomprehensibly powerful and ambivalent (if not utterly malevolent) cosmic entities with absurdly hard-to-pronounce (and spell!) names. Many of those stories describe in detail the fracturing of the human psyche that results when these incomprehensible beings are encountered by foolhardy human beings. Doesn’t that sound like it would fit Doctor Strange’s corner of the MCU like a bright yellow sorcerer glove?
If you’re still not convinced, what if I told you that a sizable portion of Doctor Strange’s comic stories were heavily inspired by the cosmic monstrosities of the Cthulhu Mythos? Yep, the ties are strong. With that established, Lovecraft’s work may provide clues regarding the details of the film.
Of the potential extra-dimensional threats that Doctor Strange could go up against in his second franchise outing, the smart money is on Nightmare, a powerful demonic entity that menaces sleeping humanity from the Nightmare Realms within the Dream Dimension. Director Scott Derrickson wanted to introduce him as the main villain of the first film, being one of Strange’s oldest foes, but the production team ultimately chose to feature Dormammu instead. He is known to feed on the fear of others, being one of the Fear Lords (other members of whom may also be included on screen), and he has numerous parallels with Lovecraft’s Nyarlathotep, the Crawling Chaos. Both are supremely malevolent beings of incomprehensible power that nevertheless have a predatory fascination with humanity, dedicating themselves to corruption and destruction with morbid amusement. On top of similarities in personality, a number of Lovecraft’s works reference the dream world or feature it as a primary setting (The Dreams in the Witch House, The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath, Beyond the Wall of Sleep, etc.), and often with Nyarlathotep as a major antagonist. On the other hand, the title card for the film features crimson lettering, but Nightmare has traditionally been associated with shades of green. One highly speculative way to reconcile this would be to merge the characters of Nightmare and Mephisto (Marvel’s "Devil" who is invariably drawn in red ink) into a single mystical villain. If this is indeed the route to be taken, Willem Dafoe would be an ideal choice for the role with his expressive face and expansive range.
Another Lovecraftian option, and a deeper dive into the Marvel comics universe, would be Chthon, an Elder God of the primordial Earth that first learned to manipulate mystical energies. His interest eventually led him to become Earth’s first master of dark magic, which corrupted him into a demonic entity. Chthon would later escape into another dimension before he could be destroyed, but he left behind a spellbook of incredibly powerful, albeit wicked magic that served as a means for him to continue to influence this reality. This book, known as the Darkhold, has already been featured in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., so his existence is all-but-canonical in the MCU already.
Furthermore, since it has been confirmed that Scarlet Witch will be accompanying Doctor Strange in his yet-to-be-revealed quest, it's worth noting that Chthon has a connection to her character as well. In the comics, he used his mystical influence to modify Scarlet Witch’s innate powers (which MCU chief Kevin Feige seems intent on retconning to emphasize the magical aspects) to make her a suitable host body for his return to our world. He is also frequently drawn with reddish tints, and glowing red eyes, similar to the lettering of the title card. Finally, in the comics, the Darkhold was used by sorcerers in Atlantis to create the first vampires, and we now know that Blade is on the way to the MCU. All of these facts make a compelling case for Chthon as the central villain of this sequel, though still not as likely as Nightmare.
A final, albeit less likely candidate for the big bad of Doctor Strange’s second solo outing is Shuma-Gorath. Possibly the most Lovecraftian of all of Doctor Strange’s antagonists, Shuma-Gorath is an evil deity of chaos, a would-be conqueror of all realities, and a leading member of a race of beings known as the Many-Angled Ones (which have been explicitly equated to Lovecraft’s Old Ones). He appears as an enormous, tentacled eye, and he checks all of the major boxes of cosmic horror: vast telepathic abilities, fondness for human sacrifice and enslavement, indestructibility, and a true form that is incomprehensible to mortal minds (possibly inducing *madness*). So, while Shuma-Gorath may be a longshot, it would be very interesting for Doctor Strange (and likely other sorcerers) to tangle with him in a future film. He is definitely at a power level where more than one hero will be needed to defeat him.
Additional Theories
It would be very interesting for this film to expand the ranks of Doctor Strange’s mystical allies. With the Ancient One dead and Mordo taking a turn to the dark side (possibly as a minion of a greater cosmic threat), Doctor Strange’s magical friends currently include the following: Wong. If the early rumors are true, then audiences can expect to see two more join the club by the end of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Clea, known to comic book fans as Strange’s long-term love interest (not to mention the daughter of Dormammu), would be a fantastic addition to "Team Mystic Arts," as she would wield tremendous power. Jericho Drumm (a.k.a. Brother Voodoo) would be another interesting introduction, as his brother Daniel was killed by Kaecilius while defending one of the sanctums in the first film (look up the cast list on IMDB and see for yourself). In the comics, Brother Voodoo has formidable mystical abilities, and even inherits the title of Sorcerer Supreme of Earth from Doctor Strange (interestingly, after the Eye of Agamotto leaves Strange).
As for the “multiverse” of the film’s title, it remains to be seen what the precise definition entails. On the one hand, there are various dimensions that are anchored to our reality, such as those seen in the first Doctor Strange film (e.g., the Dark Dimension). On the other hand, there are other realities that were spawned from changing past events in Avengers: Endgame. The latter are complete with alternate versions of Earth and (presumably) each of the associated dimensions, too. It was strongly hinted (by the Ancient One, no less) that any new timelines would likely be much darker versions than the main continuity. At this point, there is no telling whether the Scarlet Witch that joins Strange on his adventure is the one from the primary timeline or whether she encounters him while hopping between universes. Clea, if her comic book parentage is kept intact, should be coming from one of the Dark Dimensions. Alternate Earths would also provide a way for the Ancient One to make another appearance, as well as the possibility that Jericho Drumm became a sorcerer instead of his brother in an alternate timeline. Alternate Earths also provide Mordo more opportunities to steal powers from other sorcerers.
Conclusion
All signs point to Nightmare as the most likely antagonist, but don’t sleep on Chthon (especially with the expected retcon of Scarlet Witch’s powers). Let's hope the "madness" doesn't overtake us as we patiently await the Sorceror Supreme's return in 2021.
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