After just premiering a couple of days ago, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is certainly changing the Marvel Cinematic Universe and how it will move forward in the following years. While it can be seen as a means to get from point A to point B, there are actually a lot of layers to this chapter of the MCU and a number of foundational pieces being laid out in the process. In turn, the seeds planted in this Marvel film will surely bear fruit sooner than later.
We take a deep dive down below at a number of potential scenarios the MCU can go for after the events of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Again, there'll be spoilers ahead for those who haven't watched the film.
Doctor Strange and the Illuminati
While their appearance in Multiverse of Madness was brief, the Illuminati was a big reason why the early hype for this Doctor Strange film soared through the skies. The use of Maria Rambeau as Captain Marvel, Professor Charles Xavier, Black Bolt, Reed Richards, Captain Carter, and Sorceror Supreme Mordo as the MCU's first foray into this secret collective.
In the comics, a gathering between Black Panther, Tony Stark, Professor Xavier, Namor, Black Bolt, Mister Fantastic, and Doctor Strange led to the formation of the Illuminati to secretly tackle massive threats without the knowledge of their peers or the nations of the world. Black Panther backed out but eventually joined a latter iteration of the group years after.
Although the alternate version of the Illuminati was killed off in the film, there's still a good chance one will form in the MCU. Since a lot of extinction-level threats have already occurred, it only makes sense for the most powerful heroes to gather in secrete here to take care of business without the whole world watching. If that does happen, expect Doctor Strange to be a part of it in the coming years.
Young Avengers
America Chavez's introduction in the Multiverse of Madness isn't just done for the story's sake. In the comics, the Latine superhero was part of the Young Avengers' second iteration, along with Kate Bishop, Speed, Wiccan, and Kid Loki, among others.
Over in the MCU, the seeds for this teenage version of Earth's Mightiest Heroes have already been planted. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier introduced Elijah Bradley, an African-American teenager who'll later become Patriot in the comics. Kate Bishop made his debut in Marvel's Hawkeye series while Hank Pym's daughter, Cassie Lang, is already existing in this universe. There's a Kid Loki variant who can show up if needed. Plus, there's a chance Wanda Maximoff's twins, Billy and Tommy, can come back as Wiccan and Speed.
These MCU characters, and potentially even more, are being groomed for one reason, and one reason only – Young Avengers. Since the studio is known for not leaving any threads hanging, fans can look forward to this group being introduced in the near future. This, of course, would be a welcome expansion of the Avengers as Marvel builds up toward the future phases of this franchise.
Introduction of Mutants and Inhumans
During Strange's appearance before the Illuminati, two of its members stood out for the implications they potentially hold for the Marvel Cinematic Universe – Black Bolt and Professor Charles Xavier.
The former signifies that Marvel is warming up toward the idea of introducing Inhumans into the MCU. In the comics, Inhumans are the result of Kree genetic experiments millions of years ago. These experiments on early humans imbued them with different abilities, similar to mutants. Since then, the Inhumans have lived in secret while they a monarchy oversees their welfare. At this point in time, Black Bolt is the designated Inhuman king.
The introduction of Professor X in this Doctor Strange film is also meant to warm the public up to the appearance of mutants in the MCU. With the rights to produce X-Men films returning from Fox, it only makes sense for Marvel to make plans ahead. But of course, with Kevin Feige in the driver's seat, fans can expect the introduction of mutants into the main Marvel Cinematic Universe to be done right.
With fans getting a glimpse of both Inhumans and Mutants in this Doctor Strange film, it will only be a matter of time before they make their way toward their respective Marvel projects.
Secret Wars
Without a doubt, Infinity War and Endgame lived up to expectations and rewarded fans with a fitting end to their patience and loyalty to the franchise. The question is, how would Marvel top that one out? The answer, it would seem, is Secret Wars. And the great thing about Doctor Strange's recent sequel is that it lays a lot of seeds that would act as the foundation for Marvel's next great arc.
There have been two events named Secret Wars that occurred in the comics. The first one happened in the 80s when a being called the Beyonder gathered a number of heroes and villains to battle against each other. The most recent one written by Jonathan Hickman saw the Marvel Multiverse cease to exist because of incursions, or alternate universes colliding with each other, destroying one or both in the process.
This, of course, was mentioned in detail when Reed Richards explained to the MCU's Doctor Strange what an incursion was. With Marvel going hard with the concept of the Multiverse, especially after the events of Loki, there's a pretty good chance the endgame here is Secret Wars.
The possible use of Secret Wars will open up tons of possibilities for Marvel, including bringing the big names back, such as Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans, albeit as variants of their characters. That, and resolving all the current storylines will potentially make this story arc bigger than what both Infinity War and Endgame achieved.
Without a doubt, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness brought a lot to the table when it comes to setting up the MCU's future. And with Feige announcing that they have already laid the next 10 years out, it won't be a surprise anymore to see those seeds bear fruit from the Master of the Mystic Arts' latest adventure on the big screen.
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