Spider-Man: No Way Home concept art reveals Peter Parker (Tom Holland) visiting a sick Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch). After their initial team-up in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, the pair reunited to fight interdimensional villains in the Jon Watts-directed flick. Peter and Strange shared several scenes together throughout Spider-Man: No Way Home, as their botched collaboration at the film's beginning by means of Doctor Strange's spell caused former Spider-Man movie characters to infiltrate Peter's world.

Doctor Strange found himself involved in Peter's problems after the young hero sought him out for help on the heels of his secret superhero identity getting out. The sorcerer was eager to help, perhaps because he felt responsible for looking after Iron Man's (Robert Downey Jr.) mentee. However, his attempt to undo Mysterio's (Jake Gyllenhaal) confession backfired. The tampered spell brought in several interdimensional villains in the MCU, but he and Spider-Man had conflicting views about approaching the predicament. This resulted in a brief altercation that forced Strange into an unknown mirror dimension and allowed the wall-crawler to team up with Andrew Garfield and Toby Maguire's Spider-Men instead.

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Despite their differences, Spider-Man: No Way Home ended with the pair being on good terms. Based on a new concept art for the film, however, there may have even been a plan to reunite them in a different way. Created by Sean Hargreaves, the art was shared on his official Art Station page and shows an illustration of Peter visiting a Doctor Strange who is sick and bed-ridden. Meanwhile, the Cloak of Levitation "sits as guard at the foot of the bed." According to Hargreaves' description, this scene was "struck from the final film," although it's not clear why.

Doctor Strange casts a memory spell in Spider-Man: No Way Home.

Ultimately, Spider-Man: No Way Home ended with Doctor Strange casting a new spell that essentially stripped Peter of his identity. While tragic, this served to keep everyone who knew Peter Parker's identity from coming to the Sacred Timeline, and prevent the multiverse from collapsing. Even the sorcerer himself no longer has any recollection of his relationship with Peter after the enchantment was executed in Spider-Man: No Way Home, which makes this scrapped scene more interesting. Initially, one might think that this was supposed to take place after the interdimensional villains, alongside Garfield and Maguire, were sent back to their respective worlds. However, given the wizard's final spell, it's highly unlikely that Peter would be easily let into the Sanctum Sanctorum. Considering all of this, it's possible that this image could have been the pair's original first encounter, when Peter came to Strange for help.

After Doctor Strange's close involvement in Spider-Man: No Way Home, fans are wondering if Spider-Man will show up in Doctor Strange 2, titled Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, to help the sorcerer. Granted that the wizard doesn't remember the wall-crawler, he may be up for a difficult battle given the presence of Evil Strange in the film, and could use all the help that he can get. The threequel also confirmed that its events set up Doctor Strange's next mission, almost mandating Peter to return the favor and help his fellow Avenger in his time of need.

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Source: Sean Hargreaves

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