- Of all the Marvel movies and TV shows planned for Phase 4, one really stands out.
- Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness might help Marvel fix all its Fox and Sony ‘problems’ while simultaneously advancing the main storyline towards another epic Avengers crossover movie.
- Google may have inadvertently confirmed some of those rumors with a listing that is hiding in plain sight.
Marvel fans craving new Avengers adventures will finally get a taste of the MCU Phase 4 in a few weeks. As soon as Disney’s Mandalorian reaches the end of season 2, the studio will release WandaVision on Disney+. The novel coronavirus pandemic altered Marvel’s timeline for Phase 4 and turned WandaVision into the first MCU TV series that will premiere on Disney’s streaming service. I’ve often explained that the Scarlett Witch mini-series is easily the most exciting TV series in Phase 4, given that it will offer Marvel a chance to advance a few key elements of the story. What’s even more exciting is that WandaVision ties directly into the Phase 4 film that might turn out to be the most important Marvel story of this stage.
Now, it looks like Google may have just accidentally confirmed some of the most exciting rumors about the movie, which happens to be Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Mind you, some spoilers follow below, so proceed at your own risk.
The COVID-19 health crisis has been the most discussed topic of the year, impacting all aspects of everyday life, including going to theaters and even filming new movies and TV series. But we’ve seen a relatively high number of leaks in the early weeks of the year, at a time when the illness had not reached pandemic levels. The Marvel rumors died down for a while, but then we kept hearing more and more interesting reports for the future of the Avengers, just as Marvel got back to work on Phase 4 projects.
One of the early Marvel rumors said that the series would turn the most powerful Avenger right now, according to Kevin Feige, into a surprise villain for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Separate reports said that all sorts of unexpected characters might appear in Doctors Strange 2, and many of them make sense given the sequel’s title and expected theme. You could throw every possible hero combination in there and it would still fit. That’s because Strange is about to further explore the multiverse, potentially setting up a massive story that might culminate with an epic Avengers finale of Endgame proportions.
After being further built-up in the Ant-Man movies, Stephen Strange explored the multiverse before, and the multiverse was clearly explained in Endgame. The multiverse will allow Marvel to introduce several heroes and further bridge the glaring gap between its glorious MCU andFox’s Marvel properties that aren’t necessarily that successful. And the multiverse might also link up Sony’s MCU present with its previous Spider-Man films.
More recent rumors said that Feige and Co. really want to shock fans with its upcoming multiverse project and beat Warner’s similar plans for the DC universe. Several reports said that Marvel is planning a few exciting cameos for the upcoming films, with Strange 2 an obvious candidate for them. Characters like Wolverine and Deadpool were rumored for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, with Marvel also supposedly looking to convince Hugh Jackman to return to one of his most famous roles.
All this background is needed to understand Google’s apparent blunder. Search for “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness cast” on Google, and you’ll end up with something similar to the results above. Google lists the entire cast of the film, including a few of the expected characters: Elizabeth Olsen (Wanda Maximoff), Benedict Cumberbatch (Doctor Strange), Chiwetel Ejiofor (Baron Mordo), Benedict Wong (Wong), Rachel McAdams (Dr. Christine Palmer), Tilda Swinton (The Ancient One), and Tom Hiddleston (Loki). Most of them are recurring characters in the franchise, and Olsen and Hiddleston were already confirmed for Strange 2. Or better said, Feige revealed that WandaVision and Loki both tie directly into the film.
But Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, and Ryan Reynolds get unexpected placement in the Strange 2 roster. We’re looking at Sony’s previous Spider-Man actors as well as Deadpool.
First seen by Small-Screen, this Google search result might have the simplest possible explanation. Someone, somewhere, made a mistake. Maybe it was Google’s bots that somehow misinterpreted rumors. But Maybe Google knows something the rest of the world doesn’t. At least, not yet.
There’s absolutely no way to confirm any of this right now. But it’s certainly exciting to see those three actors in the list above. And let’s not forget that Strange will appear in Spider-Man 3, so having other Spider-Men in Doctors Strange 2 does make sense.
