When I first saw the Doctor Strange 2 Super Bowl trailer, I thought the firey-glowing cameo that smashed through a wall to fight Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) might have been the Human Torch. It made sense because we’re looking at a multiverse movie where anything is possible. On top of that, there’s the buzz around the MCU’s Fantastic Four reboot. Rumors say that an official cast announcement will happen soon since Marvel is getting ready to start shooting.
I then realized there are other, more logical explanations for that character, and you already know what they are. Rather than Human Torch, it’s probably Captain Marvel or an Iron Man variant taking on Wanda. Those were the initial reactions to the second Doctor Strange 2 trailer. We then settled on Captain Marvel being the likeliest explanation, especially considering what all the insiders said about the video.
With all that in mind, I’ll now tell you that we may still see a version of Johnny Storm in Doctor Strange 2. Mind you, some spoilers might follow below.
Given what Marvel showed in the new trailer, it’s likely that other MCU fans wondered whether that might have been the Human Torch in the highly anticipated Doctor Strange sequel. The seed is already planted, so it doesn’t even count as a spoiler anymore.
If you’ve seen all the Multiverse of Madness plot and cameo leaks, you already know that we expect Mister Fantastic to be one of the Illuminati members in the movie. Rumors say that Ioan Gruffudd will reprise his Reed Richards role from Fox’s Fantastic Four movies. Then there’s the more exciting rumor that says John Krasinski will play a Reed variant in Doctor Strange 2.
The Multiverse of Madness cameos
If we have one member of the First Family in the movie, we might as well get more of them. That’s an exciting prospect, even if these Fantastic Four variants will not be the Fantastic Four in the MCU’s primary reality.
A movie like Doctor Strange 2 is the kind of MCU adventure that can deliver the first Fantastic Four references now that Disney owns all the Fox Marvel characters. Seeing variants of Mister Fantastic and Human Torch will get us ready for what will hopefully be the best Fantastic Four franchise made to date.
But the cameos in the second trailer seem to be clear, especially one of them. There’s no question that we all heard Patrick Stewart’s voice telling the others that they should tell Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) the truth.
As for the Captain Marvel-Iron Man debate, we think we know that it’s Captain Marvel in the trailer rather than Tom Cruise playing a Superior Iron Man variant. But it’s not Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) or even Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) becoming Captain Marvel in the movie. It’s apparently Monica’s mother, Maria Rambeau (Lashana Lynch).
This brings us to a fresh discovery that seems to indicate that Human Torch is in Doctor Strange 2. The Cosmic Circus observed a change to the Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness IMDb page that occurred after the trailer’s premiere.
Is Human Torch in Doctor Strange 2?
Nicanor Mendoza III is now listed as a costumer for Human Torch in the IMDb credits. We’ll remind you that IMDb listings aren’t always accurate, and people can manipulate them. But assuming the credit is real, then the listing indicates that Human Torch is in the movie.
Mendoza worked on WandaVision as a set designer. He’ll do the same thing in the Agatha: House of Harkness spinoff. More excitingly, he’ll be a costume designer for Fantastic Four, according to his IMDb page.
That doesn’t mean the Human Torch variant from Doctor Strange 2 will resemble the MCU’s primary Human Torch. But having the same costume designer involved in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Fantastic Four would certainly suggest that is the case.
Now, if all of this is true, we can’t help but wonder who will play Johnny Storm in Doctor Strange 2. That’s because the previous Human Torch actors pivoted to even more prominent roles in the MCU. Chris Evans played an iconic Steve Rogers/Captain America, and we’ll surely miss him. Michael B. Jordan’s MCU career was a lot shorter. He was Killmonger, the main antagonist of Black Panther, but we expect to see him again.
Human Torch rumors aside, we’ll point out one other interesting detail in the Doctor Strange 2 IMDb credits. The page lists a stunt double for Lashana Lynch. This suggests that Maria Rambeau’s Captain Marvel does in fact appear in the trailer. Also, we’ll remind you that the same credits seemed to confirm a few exciting Doctor Strange 2 cameos several months ago.
Multiverse of Madness premieres on May 6th. That’s when we’ll know for sure whether any Fantastic Four members are in the movie.
