Just when we thought that last year's Spider-Man: No Way Home was the biggest Multiversal event of the MCU's Phase 4, Sam Raimi's Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness takes it to another level. Featuring the return of Benedict Cumberbatch's titular hero, the sequel follows Doctor Strange in the Multiverse, where endless possibilities exist.
Mutliverse of Madness follows Wanda and Doctor Strange as they explore the Multiverse which the MCU currently centers on. As the film progresses, both of them met a parallel version of themselves; Wanda met a version of her that lived happily with her twins Billy and Tommy, and Strange met a version of him that sacrificed himself instead of Tony Stark during the battle with the Mad Titan Thanos.
Now that MCU's Phase 4 revolves around character variants and parallel universes, what can we expect in the future of the MCU?
In an official press release for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (via The Direct), Elizabeth Olsen discussed more Multiversal stories and endless possibilities slated for the MCU.
Olsen explained that the Doctor Strange sequel "creates quite a big pandora's box of limitless possibilities," which definitely has a tremendous connection to the future of the MCU.
“Unlocking the Multiverse, as well as what happened in Spider-Man: No Way Home, creates quite a big Pandora’s box of limitless possibilities... How the MCU navigates all those options with this Multiverse feels endless,” Olsen said.
Director Sam Raimi also chimed in and furtherly explained how these Multiversal options give MCU characters a chance to meet another version of themselves and reflect on certain decisions they did in the original MCU universe.
“In the Multiverse, there are alternate versions of everything. So, it gives the characters a unique opportunity to meet themselves and see where they went right and where they went wrong," the director said. "They recognize qualities that they may have been blind to in themselves that are clearer to see in another. They also see better versions of themselves, people who they could be. That’s what movies, Super Hero movies especially, offer all of us: the chance to see possibilities. I could do good. I could be a better person. In this movie, the Super Heroes themselves get to see that.”
Now that the Infinity Saga wrapped things up, it's obvious that Marvel Studios is currently developing the next big Endgame event that the MCU heroes are headed. While fans speculate that this Multiverse arc is heading to a live-action adaptation of the Secret Wars, it's still too early to guess considering how the Infinity Saga took a decade before concluding in Avengers: Endgame.
While it's too early to foreshadow what's the next Endgame level event in the future of the MCU, what's certain is that Olsen's Scarlet Witch will return, but only Marvel Studios knows how.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is now showing in theaters worldwide.
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