The official trailer for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness sets the stakes for something of truly epic proportion. Everything from the ominous soundtrack to the stunning visuals of mysterious new worlds suggests we’re in for an outing that has never been seen before in the cinematic history of Marvel. Beginning with Strange waking from a nightmare of a decrepit Sanctum Sanctorum on a desolate plain immediately sets the tone for something of apocalyptic proportion. With Sam Raimi taking directorial reigns, Multiverse of Madness has the potential to push the traditional genre of a Marvel film, incorporating elements of horror which could prove to be an ominously refreshing turning point for the MCU. The trailer also contains some of the most beautiful yet terrifying imagery ever seen in a Marvel trailer; with one shot of Strange fragmented into square pieces as he crashes through a world with dinosaurs in the background… This truly sets the scale for something which will push the boundaries of a typical Marvel film.
The trailer suggests the film will involve the repercussions Strange must face after the events of Wandavision, Loki, and Spider-Man: No Way Home, all of which gave Marvel fans a taste of the Multiverse. It’s great to see Elizabeth Olsen returning in her full Scarlett Witch get-up, although her appraisal of Strange’s attempts to control the chaos of the multiverse doesn’t seem too positive, as she so calmly yet menacingly delivers the line “You break the rules and become a hero, I do it and I become the enemy. That doesn’t seem fair.“. Perhaps this means she will be fully embracing her Scarlett Witch persona and play a more antagonistic role in the film. The trailer contains several other appearances from returning MCU characters such as fan favourite Wong, Strange’s love interest Christine, and it seems we will finally be getting a pay off for the post-credits scene of the first Doctor Strange film with the return of Mordo. However, possibly the most intriguing aspects of the trailer are the hints it drops to the appearance of some very unexpected faces. Hearing Patrick Stuart’s voice immediately gave me chills as it was the last thing I expected to be in a Doctor Strange trailer. The possibility of Stuart reprising his role as Professor Xavier from 20th Century Fox’s X-Men films suggests the scale of Multiverse of Madness will be as a certain Sorcerer Supreme once said, ‘Hitherto Undreamt of‘. If that wasn’t enough, another substantial speculation surrounding the trailer is that the illuminated costumed figure fighting Wanda could be a variant of one of the MCU’s other heroes; the big theory being that Tom Cruise will be playing a variant Iron Man from another universe. We will have to wait until the film’s released to have any of this speculation confirmed, but given the number of surprise appearances from returning characters in Spider-Man: No Way Home, we can certainly expect there to be some surprises as Strange traverses the multiverse. Speaking of variants, it seems there will be several alternate variants of Doctor Strange himself appearing in the film. The first being a very sly, evil looking Strange which Marvel fans may recognise from Marvel’s animated What if? series. The other Strange variant which appears at the end of the trailer definitely hinges on the borders of horror. If a monstrous, dark, demonic looking version of Strange is enough to make Wong let out a terrified scream, then you know Sam Raimi will quite possibly be treating us to the closest thing to an MCU horror film to date. The trailer’s mysterious visuals and hints of returning characters leaving us to merely speculate only adds to the hype for the film. Whatever the speculation may be, one thing is for sure – we’re in for a plethora of surprises as the multiverse unravels in what could be one of Marvel’s craziest cinematic experiences yet.
G does Films 