The film is a sequel to Scott Derrickson’s 2016 film, which grossed more than $677 million worldwide and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Visual Effects. This time, Sam Raimi directs the sequel, and the cast includes Elizabeth Olsen returning as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch, Benedict Wong as Sorcerer Supreme Wong, Rachel McAdams as Dr. Christine Palmer, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Karl Mordo, and Xochitl Gomez as America Chavez.
Raimi took over from Derrickson, who stepped down over creative differences, but Raimi already has a pedigree in the Marvel universe, directing the original Tobey Maguire Spider-Man trilogy for Sony back in the 2000s. The “Multiverse of Madness” script comes from “Loki” scribe Michael Waldron and Jade Halley Bartlett. As the structure of the Marvel Cinematic Universe got turned inside out in “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” which is currently killing it at the box office, here’s what we learned from the post-credits trailer, courtesy of IndieWire’s Kate Erbland:
And what a trailer, as we see Strange cycle through a whole range of emotions (most of them very bad indeed) as he dips in and out of a similarly fracturing Mirror Universe. The implication is clear: Whatever the hell Doctor Strange has done in “No Way Home” might have temporarily fixed the cracks between worlds, but it’s not going to hold for much longer. An addled Strange goes looking for a compatriot, and finds it in Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen), hiding out in an idyllic spot after the events of the series “Wanda-Vision.” And though Wanda initially thinks Strange is there to admonish her — “I’ve made mistakes,” she tells the sorcerer — that’s not what he’s after. He needs help, the kind of cosmic-level help only a witch like Wanda could provide. Soon, it’s obvious why, as the trailer cuts to a final banger: our very own Doctor Strange, facing off against a fresh nemesis, in the form of a decidedly evil-looking, other universe Doctor Strange. Uh oh. Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.
