With huge anticipation from fans around the world, Marvel Studios' Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is on it's way to potentially becoming the biggest cinematic release of 2022. The sequel to the 2016 Doctor Strange film, was originally due for it's cinematic release back in March of this year, however due to a number of reshoots having to be filmed the movie was pushed back to 6th May 2022. Of course this news filled the hearts of big Doctor Strange fans with angst and disappointment. Myself being one of those people. However in all honesty, I agree that this was the best option to make the film the best than it can possibly be. I'm sure many fans would prefer it to be perfection rather than being rushed out for release just so they can experience it a few months earlier.
There are so many questions and fan theories surrounding the film and have been for quite some time. However one question that we are hoping to give an answer to is this...
What character/actor cameos might we expect to see make an appearance in in the film?
I would like to clarify, this of course is NOT confirmed by any sources linked to Marvel Studios, but this is simply me giving my opinions on who I think may just show their face in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
1. Professor Charles Xavier/Professor X
(Patrick Stewart)
Ok, so this one has pretty much been confirmed by the trailers. However there hasn't been an official word about it. In the trailer, we were teased with the possibility of this beloved character making a comeback when we see Strange being apprehended and brought in front of what looks like The Illuminati (a secret society of superheroes from the comics). It is at this point in the trailer when we see the side of a blurred head that many fans were able to identify straight away, which was then further confirmed when we heard the familiar voice of Patrick Stewart's character stating "we need to tell him the truth" as he looks down on Stephen Strange who is still in what appears to be electronically or even magically controlled handcuffs. There are many different opinions and theories surrounding this appearance in the sequel's trailer. Of course Professor X is known belong to the Fox universe X-Men films, up until Ryan Reynolds' Deadpool, there were yet to be any other 'official' mutants that could be seen within the Marvel Cinematic Universe due to character ownership rights. Before this we had seen Wanda & Pietro Maximoff aka The Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver after they were introduced to the MCU in a post credit scene for Captain America: The Winter Soldier, although they were only referred to by their names rather than their superhero personas. Back to Professor X! One theory we have is that he could be a variant of the original character, so this means he may look and sound the same, but he may not be the same Charles Xavier that we are already accustomed to. Variants were introduced in the Loki series, so this is highly possible. Another could be that Strange has been found by The Illuminati via a portal from another universe which DOES contain the mutants, meaning this still could be the our Professor X after all.
2. Reed Richards aka Mr. Fantastic
Much like Professor X, this is another character we have already seen on the big screen in many adaptations of The Fantastic Four. The role has already been played on screen by both Ioan Gruffedd and Miles Teller. But why should we anticipate his arrival in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness? Again like Charles Xavier, Reed Richards is a known member of The Illuminati within the comics. Another reason for him to make an appearance is that there have been hints that another Fantastic Four film could be in the works and on the horizon within the MCU. With many sources already reporting that the role of Sue Storm (Richards' wife) has been offered to actress Jennifer Lawrence. But this is yet to be officially confirmed. The majority of the fandom are tirelessly campaigning that the role of Richards should now be played by actor John Krazinski, who in all honesty I think would be a perfect casting choice. If Krazinski does show up in MOM, I can only imagine that cinema audiences will go wild! A little extra theory linked to this is that if we do see him, then many are also speculating that Chris Evans could reprise his role as Johnny Storm aka The Human Torch. This could be a brilliant and fun cameo, considering fans of the MCU relate the actor to being Steve Rogers/Captain America. I won't lie, a part of me wants to see this happen as I'm a big fan of Evans.
3. Namor
Namor is a mutant, born to the Princess of Atlantis and a human sea captain. The character is also known to have a place in The Illuminati like the characters mentioned prior to this paragraph. Another reason for making us believe that he will make his MCU debut is because the role has already been cast for the upcoming Black Panther sequel 'Wakanda Forever'.
4. Captain Carter/Agent Peggy Carter
(Hayley Atwell)
This is one character that I am probably the most excited to see in Multiverse of Madness!
We are all aware of Captain America (Steve Rogers and now Sam Wilson in the MCU). However in an alternate timeline within the What If? series on Disney+ it was indeed Peggy that received the super soldier serum instead of Steve. We have previously seen Hayley Atwell portray Peggy in the films including appearances in Captain America: The First Avenger, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Ant-Man and Avengers: Endgame. But she was also given her own Agent Carter TV series (which ran for two seasons) and also made appearances on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D and as previously mentioned the animated Disney+ series What If? It is expected that Peggy will be another member of The Illuminati, plus the we have already seen the biggest hint at her arrival in a live form action to the MCU as one of the Multiverse of Madness posters shows broken fragments of her Union Jack shield.
5. Deadpool/Wade Wilson
(Ryan Reynolds)
So this one is a bit of a long shot. But bare with me, I have my reasons as to why he is on the cameo list. There has been a lot of speculation in general as to why this bonkers anti-hero may appear in MOM. However my reasoning for adding him to this list is that a short while ago, an image surfaced online (I believe on one of Ryan Reynold's own social media accounts) showing him all suited up as Deadpool and the interesting thing about this image is that there is a woman standing behind him. The woman is said to be the costume designer for Doctor Strange 2. The image was also taken down very quickly after it was initially made public. I mean, it could be just purely coincidental but I'm a tad suspicious. Hmmm...very strange...(pun intended)
6. Loki Laufeyson & Sylvie Laufeydottir
(Tom Hiddleston & Sophia Di Martino)
Despite being a well developed villain, we all love the brother of Thor and God of Mischief Loki played by Tom Hiddleson. The character was first introduced into the MCU in Thor back in 2011, then shortly after appeared in Avengers Assemble in 2012 as the film's main antagonist. He has since made appearances in many other films including Thor: The Dark World, Thor: Ragnarok, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame before then starring as the titular character in his own series on Disney+ in 2021. It was in that same Loki series where we were introduced to Sylvie. A variant of Loki himself (played by Sophia Di Martino). Sylvie is one of the characters that we can essentially 'thank' for breaking the sacred timeline, causing it to branch off into multiple timelines, which may have had an effect on causing mayhem in the multiverse, after killing a variant of well known comic book villain Kang The Conquerer (another character we can probably keep our eyes peeled for in MOM). Because of hers and Loki's roles in breaking the sacred timeline, it can be quite likely that both characters could both show up in the Doctor Strange sequel. This may also set up a further plot for season two of the Loki series quite nicely.
7. Monica Rambeau/Photon/Captain Marvel
(Teyonah Parris)
The character first appeared on the big screen as a child in Brie Larson's solo Captain Marvel film. Although the daughter of the late Maria Rambeau most recently appeared in the series Wandavision as an agent of S.W.O.R.D (a division that her mother founded). Due to making multiple trips through the wall of Wanda's hex, Rambeau's DNA was altered leaving her with some apparent superpowers. In the comics she is also referred to as Captain Marvel and most commonly known as the heroine, Photon with similar powers to that of Carol Danvers. In the trailers for multiverse of madness a flying, glowing figure can be seen hurtling towards Wanda Maximoff. Although the images do not show a clear view of the character's face, once again leaving us all playing guessing games. Actress Teyonah Parris is due to reprise her role as Monica Rambeau in 2023 in The Marvels alongside Brie Larson and newcomer Iman Vellani as Ms. Marvel, who we will also see in her own show on Disney+ in a few months time. Considering we have previously seen confrontations between Monica and Wanda in Wandavision, it is highly likely that this mysterious glowing figure will be played by Parris.
8. Superior Iron Man
So who on earth is Superior Iron Man? Some won't be familiar with this name. However most will be familiar with the name Tony Stark (infamously portrayed by Robert Downey Jr.).
Long story short, this character is probably the darkest version of Tony. In the comics he created a free app that hugely grew in popularity, but this app was actually a virus that infected all of it's users. But sadly at the end of Avengers: Endgame, Tony sacrificed his own life to save the world. So how can Superior Iron Man appear in MOM? Since the Loki series introduced character variants, it could be possible for a variant of Tony to appear. The glowing figure in the MOM trailer does look a lot like Monica Rambeau and is probably more likely that it is her, although in one shot of the character in particular, it does look remarkably similar to the appearance of Superior Iron Man. A metallic head piece can be seen and it even looks like there is a moustache on the figure too. This could simply be a shadow on the face of Rambeau, but on the other hand it could be Tony. The most interesting fact about this character appearing is that when the role of Iron Man was originally in the casting process for it's first film, Tom Cruise was actually considered to portray the playboy, billionaire, philanthropist. Cruise has also been recently seen on a mysterious film set where many photos have been leaked showing him in a similar looking costume. Although these aren't always reliable sources of information and it is all speculation at this point. But this could be an amazing twist on the character.
9. Agatha Harkness/Agnes
(Kathryn Hahn)
Agatha is a character that is well associated with The Scarlet Witch/Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen). In the comics she is Wanda's mentor. We saw the brilliant Kathryn Hahn take on the role of Agnes/Agatha in Wandavison in 2021, where we only got a small taste of her power and abilities as a witch. We also got a brief look at her origin story dating back to the Salem Witch Trials and being part of a coven. Wanda left Agatha residing in Westview under a mind control spell at the end of the Wandavision finale with Agatha expressing her last words being "you need me", this leaves the door wide open for the character. It has already been confirmed by Marvel Studios that Hahn is going to be starring in her own Disney+ show House of Harkness, so we know that we are already going to be seeing more of her. As she has unfinished business with Wanda she could easily have a spot in Multiverse of Madness. I personally think that we may see her in a post credit scene with Wanda rather than in the actual film. This could also lead into a Scarlet Witch solo film, which has many people speculating that The Harbinger of Chaos herself may even get her own film trilogy.
10. The White Vision
(Paul Bettany)
At the end of the Wandavision series the world was given The White Vision. An enhanced sentient weapon brought online under the authority of Director Tyler Hayward of S.W.O.R.D. White vision was built upon the Vibranium shell that remained of The Vision after the A.I. perished at the hands of both his love, Wanda Maximoff and The Mad Titan, Thanos in Avengers: Endgame. In the graphic novels, The White Vision was created very differently, so on film this is a character that we still know very little about as he disappeared flying off into the distance in the Wandavision finale. So where did he go? We can only hope we get to see more of him in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Vision actor Paul Bettany has also recently been interviewed after being asked if he is in the film. His response was "Yes, No, Yes, I don't know". This is not the first time the actor has messed around with us fans with this character, so that's got to be a yes right? We'd better keep our fingers firmly crossed.
11. Cthon
This well known graphic novel demon like villain is yet to appear on our screens. Here's a few things you may not know about this being. Cthon is known as a mythical being of unimaginable power. He is an powerful Elder God who is responsible for creating the Darkhold (The book of the damned seen in Wandavision) and forging The Scarlet Witch. This means he has a huuuuge link to Wanda and basically is her backstory. In the trailers for Multiverse of Madness there are a couple of beastly type creatures that can be seen situated behind Wanda and Wong inside what looks a lot like The Scarlet Witch's temple with runes all over the stone walls. Many speculated that one of those beasts is Cthon himself, but upon closer inspection there are two identical beasts with glowing red eyes (potentially under the control of Wanda). These beasts in question could actually be the N'Garai (basically The Eldar God's henchmen). This further gives us reason to believe we may be seeing a form of Cthon on screen pretty soon.
12. Nightmare
Nightmare is an antagonist strongly linked to Doctor Strange in the graphic novels. He has also been voiced in an animated series (I think a Spiderman series perhaps, sorry I can't be sure) by none other than Mark Hamill. I won't lie, I was hugely expecting Doctor Strange and Nightmare to show up at the end of Wandavision with Hamill in a live action role of the character. Sadly this did not come true. But then again, I was also very much on board the Mephisto train too. Choo! Choo! Much like most of the other cameo clues we've been gifted with, the trailers again refer to the word "Nightmare" on multiple occasions with both Stephen and Wanda expressing it eerily. There is definitely an emphasis in the word when it is used, so this leads me to believe once more that we may just get even a glimpse at Nightmare within the MCU. Even if it's just a small flicker of the character in a post credit scene then that will be enough for me.
And finally, a bonus one.....
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The big guy himself! You may laugh and sneer, but I have to include Marvel's most demonic being! Yes, I'm throwing Mephisto into the mix. I'm not just adding this one in because I really wanted to see his appearance at the end of Wandavision. I have a valid reason for adding in him. If you're a fan of the Scarlet Witch comics in particular you will be very aware of this name. Wanda and Vision are physically incapable of baring children together. And we know that their twin boys Billy and Tommy (aka Wiccan & Speed) are featured in both Wandavision and in MOM (as shown in the trailers). But if you're not familiar with the graphic novels, then you may not know how the twins were brought to life in the first place. They were born from the fragments of Mephisto's soul and puppeted by another villain known as Master Pandemonium. In Wandavision the twins were even referred to as "Demon spawn" by Fietro (fake Pietro that actually turned out to be an amateur actor named Ralph Bohner - Played by Evan Peters). There have been so many hints related to the demon, so it's not surprising that it is something that fans are speculating and even craving.
There are so many rumours circulating about Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, it can be so hard to keep up with every single one. I know there are possibly tons more! But this is the list of the ones that I believe that are most likely to make their returns or debuts within the Marvel Cinematic Universe in what will be an absolutely hugely successful movie!
Roll on May 6th!
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