Warning: This article contains spoilers for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness writer Michael Waldron explains the movie's post-credits scene character. The Doctor Strange sequel is fresh off its stellar opening weekend in which it made $450 million at the worldwide box office, the fourth-highest opening for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Multiverse of Madness sees director Sam Raimi make his highly-anticipated return to the Marvel fold following the original Spider-Man trilogy starring Tobey Maguire, though Raimi seems to have drawn more from his work on acclaimed horror films like the Evil Dead trilogy for his MCU debut with Multiverse of Madness.
In what has now become a common tradition for new Marvel movies, Doctor Strange 2 features two credits scenes, one that plays during the middle of the credits and the other at the end. While the post-credits scene is merely a joke involving Raimi movie regular Bruce Campbell, the Multiverse of Madness mid-credits scene introduces a new important character and is clearly setting up a future Doctor Strange story. After years of rumors and fan-castings as Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel, Charlize Theron has finally joined the MCU as Clea.
During an interview with Gizmodo talking all things Multiverse of Madness, Waldron broke down the movie's mid-credits scene. The Loki season 1 and Doctor Strange 2 writer described Clea's history in the comics as Stephen's "love interest," and why it felt right to introduce her the end of the movie to signify him moving on from his failed relationship with Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams). Read what Waldron shared below:
"We knew that we wanted to introduce Clea. She’s Strange’s great love in the comics and it was felt to me like Strange wasn’t at the point at the start of our movie where he was ready to meet the love of his life. It felt like we had to close the loop with he and Christine Palmer. And so after she gives him her wisdom to not be afraid of loving someone, then it felt like we were right to tease what could be eventually with he and Clea."
For starters, the mere sight of Theron during Doctor Strange 2's mid-credits scene came as a shock to audiences, since the cameo (as with all Marvel secrets) was guarded very well. Known for her roles as Furiosa in Mad Max: Fury Road and Cipher in the Fast & Furious franchise, among others, the MCU is lucky to have another Academy Award-caliber actor like Theron on board willing to sink their teeth into a franchise role. Furthermore, Clea's introduction is even more exciting considering the character's history in the comics.
As Waldron mentions, Stephen and Clea are lovers, with the two eventually marrying in the Dark Dimension, where Clea hails from. In terms of their powers, Doctor Strange and Clea share all the same mystical abilities, which should make for an interesting dynamic moving forward. Portrayed by two Oscar-nominated actors in Cumberbatch and Theron, Strange and Clea should rival any pairing previously introduced in the MCU in terms of their chemistry and ability. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness' mid-credits scene is surely worth sticking around for, as it introduces a major new character in Stephen's life and teases his future adventures with Clea in the Dark Dimension.
Source: Gizmodo
