MCU Phase 4 is finally underway, although we’re hardly getting to the juicy parts. WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier are showing us the aspects of “superhero life” that go unseen in movies, but they’re not meant to advance the main MCU storyline in any significant way. Black Widow was supposed to open Phase 4, but the pandemic forced
Marvel will slowly unveil new overarching storylines with the help of the upcoming films, which will hopefully lead to a massive Avengers crossover. And while there’s no new Avengers movie announced for Phase 4, we’re approaching a few movies that should offer some impressive team-ups. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will be one of them, and a series of crazy leaks seem to suggest that the movie will be a massive crossover similar to an Avengers movie or Civil War. Mind you, a few major spoilers might follow below.
Launching in late 2021, Eternals and Spider-Man: No Way Home both promise to be spectacular movies, featuring ensemble casts that could very well rival Captain America and Avengers movies. Eternals will bring many additional stars to the MCU, who will play a different race of superheroes. Spider-Man 3 is rumored to feature other Spider-Man versions and several villains from Sony’s previous movies.
But of all the MCU movies announced so far, it’s Doctor Strange 2 that has the potential to be the pivotal event in the first stage of Phase 4. As the film’s title suggests, it will introduce the multiverse, which is expected to be at the center of the Phase 4 storyline. Several rumors claimed that the movie will feature several cameos from a number of superheroes from alternate timelines. Some reports say that Doctor Strange 2 will be the direct continuation of Spider-Man 3. Add the following leaks into the mix and you’ll quickly see why this sequel could be the next big crossover movie like Endgame.
Doctor Strange’s face
I thought Benedict Cumberbatch was trolling fans when he appeared in a video interview a few days ago where nobody else could see his face.
Benedict looked good during that zoom meeting 😍 I just know it.
He did the video while looking like Doctor Strange and it’s all embargoed, ofc. pic.twitter.com/4ax9mEkhT0
— Quilloughby stan account (@SmilingBenedict) March 26, 2021
The whole thing was real. The actor appeared on a panel with The Concordia Forum, showing everyone else the room’s ceiling rather than his face. Here’s what he had to say about it:
By the way, you’re looking at a ceiling because I can’t show you my face because I’m filming Doctor Strange and it’s all embargoed
What could be so secret about his look that Cumberbatch can’t risk showing his face? ComicBook says some rumors claim Strange is getting a new costume in the sequel, but that’s a detail you wouldn’t see in interviews. Cumberbatch is also growing his own goatee for the film, rather than wearing a prosthetic, as was the case before.
The Eternals cameos
A different rumor circulating this week says that Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will feature characters from Eternals without revealing who these characters are.
RUMOR 🚨 Segundo @DanielRPK (via patreon), ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ contará com personagens de ETERNALS. pic.twitter.com/1XGzZOoWLn
— ४ Nação Marvel 🏳️🌈 (@NacaoMarveI) March 29, 2021
The rumor originates from Marvel insider Daniel Richtman, who revealed the detail on his Patreon.
Eternals is also a prequel of sorts, explaining how this class of powerful beings was defending the planet against all sorts of evils. We’ll supposedly also learn what they were doing during the dawn of the Avengers and why they didn’t help out in Endgame. Marvel will likely want to have some of the new superheroes featured in other films. The Multiverse would be a great place to start.
The Spider-Man surprise
Cumberbatch will appear in No Way Home, so it makes sense for Spider-Man to cameo in Doctor Strange 2. But it might not be Tom Holland wearing the Spider-Man costume in the film. A leak claims that it’s Tobey Maguire’s Peter Parker who shows up in the movie. And it’s supposedly “almost mirroring Jake Johnson’s Peter B. Parker from Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse.”
According to a production assistant at Marvel, the sequel to Doctor Strange (Multiverse of Madness) will heavily feature Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker. Almost mirroring Jake Johnson's Peter B. Parker from Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse. pic.twitter.com/kLSduDDKIo
— Screen Leak (@ScreenLeak) March 28, 2021
As with all the other Marvel leaks, there’s no way to verify any of these new rumors right now. But we do expect to see Maguire in No Way Home alongside Holland and Andrew Garfield.
Avengers toys
The last leak in the series comes in the form of concept art from Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness that will be used to create toys based on the movie. We expect to see some of the characters featured in the following image in Doctor Strange 2, while others seem like very strange choices — no pun intended.
In the first row, we have Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), Wong (Benedict Wong), America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez), Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor), Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), and a character who might be Clea, a role that hasn’t yet been cast. These are all expected characters for the sequel and most of them have already been confirmed.
The next two rows include other main Marvel characters who we wouldn’t necessarily associate with Strange 2. We have Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner), Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld), Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), and Miss Marvel (Iman Vellani). The mysterious character next to Pugh might be Echo, YouTube channel Everything Everywhere speculates.
Spiderman, Hawkeye and Ms. Marvel all filmed on the exact same street at the exact same intersection. I wonder what that is going to look like on film?
— Atlanta Filming (@AtlantaFilming) March 21, 2021
How do these characters fit in the story? We have no idea, and we can’t vouch for the authenticity of the concept art image above. That said, a different leak from a few days ago said that Spider-Man 3, Hawkeye, and Miss Marvel all filmed at the same intersection. That’s the kind of madness that only Marvel movies could pull off. If accurate, those titles will feature some tremendous Strange 2 Easter eggs.
