Warning: SPOILERS lie ahead for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Though ending on an interesting note, writer Michael Waldron reveals that Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness' scrapped original ending took things in a darker direction. The Marvel Cinematic Universe sequel leaned in to many of the strange and exciting possibilities of its titular concept as Benedict Cumberbatch's eponymous hero traveled through the multiverse with America Chavez, a teenager from an alternate dimension with the ability to jump through the multiverse. Strange must protect the troubled young heroine from Wanda Maximoff, who seeks to use America's powers to travel to a dimension in which her children are still alive.
Penned by Loki creator Michael Waldron and helmed by Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man trilogy vet Sam Raimi, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness tied together the story threads from its predecessor as well as WandaVision, Loki season 1 and Spider-Man: No Way Home. Critics were generally favorable on the film, with praise aimed at Raimi's stylish direction and Elizabeth Olsen's performance as the corrupted Scarlet Witch, though many were divided on the overstuffed plot and rushed pacing. In spite of the lower reviews, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was a box office smash, grossing over $947 million worldwide and only just being dethroned by Top Gun: Maverick as the highest-grossing film of the year.
As part of the film's Disney+ release, audiences were treated to an audio commentary from Sam Raimi, Michael Waldron and Richie Palmer for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Waldron, writer of the film, revealed that the details for the scrapped original ending, which showed that the Strange that returned to Earth-616 was actually that of Sinister Strange and the primary version of the hero was still trapped in the incursion-destroyed universe. See what Waldron shared below:
"Strange gets trapped in that [incursion] universe … and then [Sinister Strange] turns around, and the third eye opens."
While Waldron kept mum in the commentary on further details for the scrapped original ending, his tease of what could've been for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is sure to be an interesting one for audiences. The ending that ultimately made the cut for the film saw Xochitl Gomez's America Chavez training to be a sorcerer at Kamar-Taj while Strange developed the same haunting third eye as his Sinister counterpart after using the Darkhold and dream-walking into a corpse to help defeat Wanda. Many audiences found themselves further confused by this tease when the mid-credits scene indicates Strange has gotten a handle on his third eye powers and travels to the Dark Dimension with Charlize Theron's Clea to fix an incursion he has kickstarted.
Though it's unclear whether Theron's MCU debut would've been retained with the Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness scrapped original ending, it would've set up an interesting hurdle for Cumberbatch's titular sorcerer moving forward. Not only would he have to find a way to get back to his original universe, but there's no telling the damage Sinister Strange could have inflicted on Earth-616 if given the opportunity, namely after the two's musical battle halfway through the film. While their original ending may not have come to be, audiences can revisit Raimi and Waldron's ultimate final cut with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness now streaming on Disney+ now.
Source: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness audio commentary
