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Doctor Strange 2 Writer Addresses Far From Home's Earth 616 Plot Hole


Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is now dominating the box office and is predicted to reach the $600 Million mark on its third weekend. Alongside Benedict Cumberbatch’s monumental return as the titular hero, the sequel also celebrates critically-acclaimed director Sam Raimi's return to his superhero roots, with a script penned by Loki creator, Michael Waldron.

[SPOILER WARNING]

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In Multiverse of Madness, Doctor Strange and America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez) were transported to another universe later revealed as Earth 838. Later on, when Doctor Strange and Chavez were imprisoned in the Iluminatti facility, a Christine Palmer variant expounded a comprehensible lecture on how the Multiverse works and unveils that the original MCU universe is called Earth 616.


Even though this is the first-ever dive into the parallel universe's existence, this wasn't the first time that Earth 616 was mentioned in the MCU. In Spider-Man: Far From Home, Quentin Beck aka Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) claims that he followed an Elemental creature from Earth-833 to Earth-616 (Peter Parker’s MCU reality). As the movie progresses, it is later revealed that Mysterio tricked everyone into believing that he is a navigator of the Multiverse but rather just a former aggrieved Stark employee. But what's bugging the fans is how Quentin Beck, a mid-level villain who uses technology to create illusions, knows so much about the Multiverse?

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In an interview with Rolling Stone, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness writer Michael Waldron opens up about MCU's Phase 4 that is revolving around the Multiverse arc. Talking about the original MCU being designated as Earth 616, Waldron teased that maybe Mysterio knew more than he let on.

Waldron teased, "I guess it begs the question, What did Quentin know? He was a smart guy. Um, is it just a coincidence? That's… I don't know. But what's your out?"

Even though Waldron didn't fully disclose why Mysterio knows much about the Multiverse, several theories have tried to find out why. One theory suggests that a variant of Mysterio's dream walked to Earth 616, and informed the original MCU Mysterio about all these Multiversal phenomena. Is it just a coincidence? Could be. But knowing Marvel, it's pretty sure that they put this plot hole in there for a reason.

While it's plainly too early to guess how Mysterio comprehends the Multiverse, it could be later explained when the villain returned in future Spider-Man-related projects. Although Marvel hasn't yet announced anything regarding Mysterio's return, now that the Spider-Verse is expanding with several Sony standalone anti-hero projects, Mysterio could come back as a member of the live-action version of Sinister 6.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is now showing in theaters worldwide and Spider-Man: Far From Home is streaming on Disney+.

Also Read: Doctor Strange 2 Writer Reveals Why X-Men Mutants Never Made It to the Sequel

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