WARNING: Major spoilers for Doctor Strange 2!
Concept art from Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness reveals alternate designs for zombified Defender Strange or what has become known as Dead Strange. Since releasing in theaters on May 6 and Disney/Marvel Studios’ Multiverse of Madness has earned $800 million worldwide, surpassing Warner Bros./DC Films’ The Batman to become the highest-grossing film of 2022. As the follow-up to Scott Derrickson’s Doctor Strange, the sequel sees director Sam Raimi (The Evil Dead, Spider-Man) make his grand return to the comic book genre. Its cast includes Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Rachel McAdams, Benedict Wong, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Xochitl Gomez making her MCU debut as the universe-jumping America Chavez.
With a script by Michael Waldron, Multiverse of Madness utilizes Phase 4’s multiverse concept to introduce multiple versions of its main characters as well as a few other surprise variants. That said, during the film’s opening sequence, audiences meet Defender Strange—an alternate version of the titular sorcerer who will do whatever it takes to keep America’s powers from falling into the wrong hands. Unfortunately for America, Defender Strange is killed before her and his corpse are transported to Earth-616. Despite remaining dead, Defender Strange proves vital to the film's finale: 616 Strange uses the Book of the Damned to “dreamwalk” into his corpse and weaponize the souls of the damned against the Scarlet Witch and save America atop Mount Wundagore. The sequence feels like quintessential Raimi thanks in large part to the design of Dead Strange and his not-so-friendly ghosts.
Visual Development Supervisor at Marvel Studios Ian Joyner recently shared some concept art for Multiverse of Madness. The posts give fans an exclusive look at alternate designs for Dead Strange, which likely coincide with an early decision to have Defender Strange sport a top knot rather than a ponytail. Check out the images below:
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Multiverse of Madness’ final sequence is reminiscent of scenes from Raimi’s comedy-horror films like Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness. If the horrific, heroic, and borderline campy Dead Strange didn’t land, Multiverse of Madness arguably wouldn't work. This, and its use of the Scarlet Witch, has led to many labeling Multiverse of Madness as Marvel Studios’ first horror movie—something that was very much the goal of Kevin Feige and company.
Waldron has said that he wrote Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness with Raimi in mind. When he came up with the idea for Dead Strange, Raimi approached the zombified finale with a certain amount of trepidation as he didn’t want viewers to write it off as his usual Evil Dead shtick. Not only is the character design and sequence the film's most memorable, but they're also narratively consistent as Doctor Strange once again ignores the rules and does whatever it takes—which is ultimately what got Raimi on board. Furthermore, using the spirits/souls of the damned should have implications on that third eye, the MCU’s afterlife, and the inevitable inclusion of the devil himself, Mephisto. Suffice to say, everyone, including Joyner, was excited to see Dead Strange onscreen.
Source: Ian Joyner
