The Marvel Cinematic Universe keeps rolling along, with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness which continues Phase 4 of the MCU that officially began with Black Widow.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is number 28 in the Marvel movies and is now reaching streaming services after being released at the cinema. Here's how to watch the Marvel movies in order in case you're wondering!
With Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness there's so much to talk about, so let’s just dive right into it and discuss the Marvel movie.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness Disney Plus release date
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is released on Disney Plus on Wednesday, June 22, 2022.
#DoctorStrange in the Multiverse of Madness arrives on Disney+ this Wednesday! Which scene are you most excited to watch/rewatch in HD? pic.twitter.com/8Ib9mLOY8qJune 20, 2022
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness reviews — what the critics said
Read What to Watch's full Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness review right here, but in brief, the movie is a fun black sheep to fellow MCU entries for its horror bent and Sam Raimi quirks, even with a few bumps along the way.
The overall consensus for the latest MCU entry has Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness scoring a decent 74 percent on Rotten Tomatoes as of June 2022.
Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange
Though it seems like Marvel gets just about every big name actor they want, it was a pretty big get when they landed Benedict Cumberbatch to play Dr. Stephen Strange for 2016’s Doctor Strange. The Oscar-nominated actor became a major star thanks to his role as Sherlock Holmes in the BBC series Sherlock, though he has given a handful of critically acclaimed performances in The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug, The Imitation Game (his first Oscar nomination) and 2021’s The Power of the Dog (his second Oscar nomination), just to name a few.
Having seen Doctor Strange pop up in other Marvel movies like Thor: Ragnarok, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: No Way Home, it’s weird to realize that Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will be the character’s first standalone movie since he made his debut in 2016.
Cumberbatch previously teased some details of what it was like making the Doctor Strange sequel.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness cast
Having been more than five years since Doctor Strange, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness brings back a number of characters alongside Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange that we haven’t seen since 2016.
The two big ones are Rachel McAdam (Wedding Crashers, Spotlight) as Dr. Christine Palmer, a friend of Doctor Strange, and Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave, The Lion King) as Mordo, a sorcerer and former ally of Doctor Strange who went off on his own at the end of the first movie. Michael Stuhlbarg (Dopesick, Call Me By Your Name) is also expected to reprise his character Dr. Nicodemus West.
Of course, Benedict Wong’s character Wong is also in the movie, but we’ve seen Wong around about as much as we’ve seen Doctor Strange. Wong has appeared in Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, Shang-Chi and No Way Home.
However, the most exciting bit of casting news was that another Avenger was joining the cast of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness — Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda Maximoff, aka the Scarlet Witch. Marvel fans last saw Wanda in the Disney Plus series WandaVision, but she has a big part in Doctor Strange in Multiverse of Madness, as Strange needs her help as he explores the mysteries of the multiverse.
Another newcomer in the film is Xochitl Gomez (The Baby Sitters Club). Gomez plays a brand new character in the MCU, America Chavez. In the Marvel comics, America Chavez is also known as Miss America, so it will be interesting to see how her story is integrated into the MCU and the potential future for her character.
The biggest pre-Doctor Strange rumor was that Patrick Stewart would feature and that proved to be true!
A teaser trailer also revealed that Peggy Carter was joining the line up, as it showed her iconic shield was amended to look like the Great Britain flag.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness plot
Here's the official Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness synopsis:
"In Marvel Studios' Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the MCU unlocks the Multiverse and pushes its boundaries further than ever before. Journey into the unknown with Doctor Strange, who, with the help of mystical allies both old and new, traverses the mind-bending and dangerous alternate realities of the Multiverse to confront a mysterious new adversary."
If you want to know more before watching the film watching the official trailer (below).
What’s clear from that is that after the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Doctor Strange decides to learn more about the multiverse, for which he recruits Wanda’s help. However, amid all of the psychedelic surroundings, creatures and spells that fill the trailer, the most dangerous thing in the story, as Mordo says, is Doctor Strange himself — or, perhaps more accurately, an evil version of him.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness trailer
After debuting its first trailer as a post-credits scene in Spider-Man: No Way Home, the second trailer for the sequel was shown during Super Bowl LVI. The trailer during the big game was only about 30 seconds, but the full trailer was shared online and can be watched below.
Also catch up with the first trailer released for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness right here:
Marvel also released a brand new feature with Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Benedict Wong and director Sam Raimi discussing what's in store in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness:
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness director
Marvel brought in a superhero veteran to direct Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Sam Raimi. Raimi previously directed all three of the Tobey Maguire Spider-Man movies.
Raimi’s other directing credits also made him a particularly good choice for a movie that features “Multiverse of Madness” in its title. Raimi directed the original Evil Dead, Evil Dead II (Kevin Feige told Empire Evil Dead II fans will be happy with the movie) and Army of Darkness, as well as other horror movies like Drag Me to Hell.
