No Way Home Theory: The Real Doctor Strange Is Locked In A Prison Dimension

The first trailer for Spider-Man: No Way Home confirmed a couple of rumors about the story but also left a lot of questions that have made way for a variety of fan theories, including one that says the real Doctor Strange is trapped in a prison dimension. The Marvel Cinematic Universe is finally moving forward with its highly-anticipated Phase 4 now that the Infinity Saga is over, and what makes this new era more exciting is that it covers both TV shows and movies. In addition to that, the basis of Phase 4 seems to be the multiverse, with the TV shows WandaVision and Loki addressing it in different ways and Spider-Man: No Way Home exploring it a bit further.

At the end of Spider-Man: Far From Home, Peter Parker’s (Tom Holland) world was turned upside down when Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) framed him for his murder and revealed his real identity to the whole world. Spider-Man: No Way Home will see Peter dealing with the consequences of his biggest secret being exposed, and in order to protect those he loves, he will ask Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) for help. The trailer shows Strange will agree to cast a spell that will make everyone forget Peter is Spider-Man, but it won’t go as planned and they will end up messing with space and time, making way for the arrival of different villains from previous Spider-Man movies and making the multiverse madness more complicated than it already is.

However, as arrogant as Strange is, seeing him agreeing to cast a spell like that to help Peter (along with other details) has made fans wonder if this is the real Stephen Strange or someone has taken his place. Among the many theories floating around about what’s going on with Doctor Strange in Spider-Man: No Way Home are some that suggest this isn’t the real Stephen Strange, and the real one is trapped in a prison dimension.

Doctor Strange Seems Off In The Spider-Man: No Way Home Trailer

Spider-Man: No Way Home is the first time Peter Parker and Doctor Strange reunite after the Battle of Earth and Tony Stark’s funeral in Avengers: Endgame and they have a lot to catch up on with each other. While Peter has been dealing with his identity being public knowledge and being pointed out as the murderer of Mysterio, Doctor Strange has been repairing the Sanctum Sanctorum and dealing with a snowy problem as seen in the trailer, as the Sanctum is covered with snow, for some reason. When Peter arrives to ask Doctor Strange for help, the Sorcerer doesn’t seem to be himself, coming off as a bit too silly and a bit mischievous, promising Wong (Benedict Wong) that he won’t cast the spell to help Peter and taking it back as soon as Wong leaves. Surely, this can be attributed to his arrogance, which would only grow now that Peter is coming to him for help as he’s pretty much his only hope now that his mentor, Tony Stark, is dead, but his attitude still seems too out of character for some fans, who believe this isn’t the real Stephen Strange.

The Box Spider-Man Has Is Linked To Powerful Magic

Doctor Strange and Peter Parker's Astral Projection in Spider-Man No Way Home

Among the many moments teased in the trailer for Spider-Man: No Way Home is a conflict between Peter and Doctor Strange. Right after Strange tells the young hero that the problem is him trying to live two different lives, the trailer cuts to a scene where Spider-Man is holding a box and Strange is punching his astral form out of his body. Now, this mysterious box doesn’t seem to have a counterpart in the comic books, but it does have the Seal of the Vishanti, the same symbol that can be seen at the Sanctum Sanctorum and on the Eye of Agamotto, which held the Time Stone. Although the Time Stone has been destroyed, the box is being speculated to hold the remaining energy of the Stone in the Eye of Agamotto, so it could have some magical properties related to time that could come in handy to fix the multiverse mess the spell triggered – or, it could be a magical prison, and the real Stephen Strange could be trapped in it.

Prison Dimensions Exist In Marvel Comics (& Have Links To Strange)

Prison Dimensions aren’t new in the Marvel Universe, and there’s one in Marvel Comics that is linked to Doctor Strange: Dyzakk, best known as the Dungeon Dimension. Created by Dyzakk, one of the Principalities (mystical beings invoked for power), the Dungeon Dimension is set within the Archipelago of Anguish and Redemption and serves as a prison for sorcerers, witches, demons, devils, and angels who have been found guilty for crimes against the mystic principalities that form the Octessence. At one point, the fourth Ring of Raggadorr (a spell that summons a cylinder of magical force that separates into seven powerful rings) was freed from the Dungeon Dimension by Agamotto during his travels through the dimensions, so that’s yet another link to Doctor Strange and thus could be used as the place where Strange is trapped during Spider-Man: No Way Home.

How The Real Doctor Strange Could’ve Been Locked In A Prison Dimension

doctor strange 2 mysterio spideran far from home multiverse

If Doctor Strange is trapped in a prison dimension, whether the Dungeon Dimension or a dimensional prison represented by the box mentioned above, the biggest questions are how he got there and who sent him. Given how powerful Doctor Strange has become as he continues to study and train in the mystic arts, he would have had to be defeated and sent to a prison dimension by a very powerful villain or even an evil variant, more so now that the multiverse madness has been triggered after the season finale of Loki. However, there are two villains who are being theorized as the ones responsible for trapping Doctor Strange and taking his place.

First off is Mysterio, who the audience saw die at the end of Spider-Man: Far From Home, but many fans are not so convinced and believe that was another trick of his. Some suggest that it is all part of a bigger plan by Mysterio and his people to lead Peter to a much bigger problem as is the multiverse madness, and exposing his identity was only the beginning. With Stark gone, Peter would have to go to another experienced Avenger for help, and that’s Strange. Mysterio, then, could have outsmarted Strange and tricked him in order to send him to a prison dimension and take his place. However, the powers displayed by Strange in the trailer look too real, such as when he casts the spell, though that could be somewhat explained by the events of the season finale of Loki happening at that exact moment, making for a very unfortunate (to Spider-Man, at least) coincidence. It would also be hard for Mysterio to separate Peter’s astral form from his body, but that might be the real Stephen Strange now free and wanting to teach Peter a lesson.

Another candidate is none other than Mephisto (yes, again), who fans have been wanting to see in the MCU for a while now, to the point where many were convinced he was the real villain in WandaVision and later Loki. Doctor Strange’s odd behavior in the Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer has made fans believe again that it could be Mephisto posing as the Sorcerer, with the real one trapped somewhere else. Of course, the real question here would be why Mephisto would target Doctor Strange and how he managed to trap him, as well as what Mephisto’s intentions with the triggering of the multiverse madness could be.

What Doctor Strange In A Prison Dimension Means For No Way Home

Doctor Strange being trapped in a prison dimension in Spider-Man: No Way Home would pretty much be the trigger of the whole story, as the fake Strange is the one agreeing to “help” Peter and messing with time and space even more. This obviously represents a big danger for Peter, as this isn’t the Sorcerer he can trust and he’s the one responsible for making the multiverse madness even bigger, erasing the memories of those around them, and opening the gates for other villains to arrive at Peter’s timeline. Naturally, this would then shape part of the plot into Strange’s escape or rescue from the prison dimension, after which he can return to save Peter and the multiverse – or make it worse, thus paving the way for his next solo adventure, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

The trailer for Spider-Man: No Way Home confirmed a couple of rumors but it still didn’t share too much about the plot, leaving the audience with perhaps as many questions as before the trailer was released. Whether Doctor Strange’s sillier attitude and bad decisions are the result of director Jon Watts giving the character his own spin, Strange’s arrogance shining through, or him being a prisoner in another dimension remains to be seen, but it’s not outside the realm of possibility that the real Doctor Strange is somewhere else and a not-so-benevolent character is now taking his place.

Next: Spider-Man: No Way Home - Every Marvel Villain Teased By The Trailer