Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
is out in theaters on Friday, which means we’re currently witnessing Marvel’s final marketing push for the movie. And Marvel has upped its game significantly in recent days, releasing plenty of additional clips that contain big reveals. That’s on top of showing the film’s first 20 minutes at CinemaCon 2022 and practically confirming the big Multiverse of Madness leak from last winter is accurate. The film’s opening also delivers the first big battle in Doctor Strange 2, featuring the one-eyed, octopus-like demon Gargantos.
We saw bits and pieces of that fight in Marvel’s trailers and TV ads. And the CinemaCon description tells us exactly how Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Wong (Benedict Wong) defeat the monster. But now, you can watch most of it online, as Marvel released at least two different cuts from the sequence. Before you proceed, you should know that some big spoilers might follow below.
Is Gargantos the film’s big bad villain?
Gargantos has leaked several times in the past few months. Doctor Strange 2 plot leaks and merchandising gave us a look at the monster. Then Marvel showed Stephen and Wong fighting Gargantos in the trailer, prompting speculation about whether the beast is the film’s big villain.
Gargantos is certainly scary enough, and it’s certainly big. It could be the main villain of some future MCU adventure. But it’s not the main antagonist of Doctor Strange 2. We’ve known this for quite a while now, as plot leaks hinted that he’s just a weapon the real villain uses to chase America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez) and steal her power.
Moreover, Marvel showed Stephen and Wong defeating Gargantos during the ComicCon preview. This confirms that the octopus is not the main Doctor Strange 2 villain.
Marvel didn’t release the first 20 minutes of the movie online. But the company cut plenty of new TV promos for the film. It’s unclear whether Marvel actually intended to release them online this early, but they include plenty of scenes that confirm big details from the movie. Like showing Captain Carter in a fight against Wanda. And Professor X’s yellow hoverchair.
Those Doctor Strange 2 TV ads also contain scenes from the fight. Marvel removed some of the clips from YouTube, but you can’t really delete stuff from the internet. The clips are still making the rounds, and we’ll show you all the action below.
Now’s your last chance to avoid spoilers.
Watch the Doctor Strange 2 opening fight
Technically, the first fight scene in Doctor Strange 2 takes place in a different universe, and it does not involve Gargantos or Wong. You’ll need to keep the Doctor Strange 2 preview description handy to follow along.
The Gargantos fight is the second one in the movie and the first battle that involves the MCU’s superheroes. It all starts while Stephen and Wong are guests at Christine Palmer’s wedding.
The first clip you see below gives us Doctor Strange’s fantastic transformation. He jumps from the balcony and uses magic to transform his tuxedo into the Doctor Strange costume. The balcony scene is only a part of the TV spot below, which contains plenty of footage from other scenes.
New #DoctorStrange TV SPOT. #MultiverseOfMadness #MultiversoDaLoucura
Like share and retweet pic.twitter.com/qNNH7BGu7S— Cryptic HD QUALITY (@JosiahP4G) April 28, 2022
The next part is a Doctor Strange 2 clip that shows a major action sequence in the Gargantos fight that IMDb published. Marvel must have wanted this part to go out, and you’ll see why immediately.
It gives us a taste of what Raimi did with Doctor Strange 2 that goes well beyond the scenes in the trailer.
Doctor Strange battles Gargantos in this exclusive clip from #DoctorStrange in the Multiverse of Madness. 🦑 @DrStrange #NationalSuperheroDay pic.twitter.com/0nDPA79WEq
— IMDb (@IMDb) April 28, 2022
We’re looking at Stephen discovering the invisible threat that’s been chasing after America. That’s how we know this clip precedes the Wong action sequence below.
The beast will not go down without a fight, and Gargantos will land a few good shots. Wong is fighting alone in this scene because Stephen has been knocked out.
And by the way, notice how Gargantos responds to what he’s going through in the fight. It’s all in the eye:
Wong Vs Octopus #DoctorStrange #MultiverseOfMadness #MultiversoDeLaLocura pic.twitter.com/oHYuLny8LM
— Cryptic HD QUALITY (@JosiahP4G) April 29, 2022
The Doctor Strange 2 Gargantos battle is not over, as we don’t see how Stephen and Wong beat the monster.
But there is a promo that shows the immediate aftermath. They go for pizza, and then America tells them all about her superpower. Needless to say, that means Gargantos clearly isn’t the big bad villain of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
#DoctorStrange "Prove it" spot posted by Marvel Hong Kong"
Expect 4K stills later or soon.#MultiverseOfMadness #MultiversoDaLoucura #AmericaChavez @DrStrangeUpdate pic.twitter.com/vlqGozzrnw
— Cryptic HD QUALITY (@JosiahP4G) April 28, 2022
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