Marvel Studios producer explains the influence and impact of Disney+’s Loki on Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Phase 4 has gradually been establishing its multiverse theory with projects like WandaVision, Loki, What If…?, and Spider-Man: No Way Home, which saw Peter Parker (Tom Holland) and Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) accidentally crack open the multiverse and bring a slew of variants into the MCU. The upcoming Doctor Strange sequel will see Cumberbatch reprise his role and dive much deeper into the unknown.

With a script written by Loki creator Michael Waldron, director Sam Raimi’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will pick up from the events in WandaVision, Loki, and No Way Home. In addition to Cumberbatch, the sequel will see Rachel McAdams, Benedict Wong, and Chiwetel Ejiofor reprise their roles from 2016’s Doctor Strange. Joining them is Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch and Xochitl Gomez in her debut as heroine America Chavez. The first official Doctor Strange 2 trailer was released earlier this month, unveiling alternate timelines, universes, and variants.

Related: All The Doctor Strange 2 Spoilers Possibly Hiding In Marvel’s Loki

In the Spring 2022 issue of Disney’s D23 Magazine (via The Direct), Doctor Strange 2 producer Richie Palmer talks about how the events of Loki influenced the making of the upcoming sequel. On top of also being written by Waldron, Loki introduced the idea of variants, as Tom Hiddleston’s character met alternate versions of the God of Mischief. With the multiversal concept already established, Palmer says, this next movie was free to dive into its story without having to set it up. Read the full quote below:

It was really exciting. We found that we didn't need to spend a lot of time recapping the rules; we felt the audience would get a lot of that by now. With Michael, we could jump into telling a good story within what's already been established. Michael's strength is the character stuff. As you saw in Loki, all the best moments involved the characters against the backdrop of those alternate timelines. It's kind of like that in our movie, too. Michael's script brought a lot of heart to sci-fi concepts such as the Multiverse.

A Doctor Strange variant uses his powers in Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness.

In the season 1 finale of Loki, its anti-heroic protagonist and his female variant, Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino), came face-to-face with the man behind the Time Variance Authority's curtain: He Who Remains (Jonathan Majors), a variant of Kang the Conqueror. He Who Remains gave the pair two options: kill him, which would liberate the Sacred Timeline and allow the possibility of multiversal war, or take over his life’s work. After Sylvie unilaterally chose the former, the episode ended on a cliffhanger. While Loki season 2 has already been confirmed and will reportedly start filming soon, Loki, Mobius (Owen Wilson), and Sylvie are all rumored to appear in Doctor Strange 2, which makes sense considering how relevant the series is to the overall multiverse.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will likely feature connections to a wide variety of Marvel projects, from Fox’s X-Men universe to various animated projects. The film’s trailer has already teased What If…?’s Doctor Strange Supreme, Defender Strange, Professor X (Patrick Stewart), and zombie variants, along with rumors suggesting appearances by the Illuminati. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is poised to be the culmination of everything audiences have seen so far when it arrives in theaters.

More: What Mobius & Sylvie In Doctor Strange 2 Mean For Multiverse of Madness

Source: The Direct

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