The Multiverse of Madness picks up exactly where No Way Home left off
After Spider-Man sought Doctor Strange’s help to make everyone forget who he is, Multiverse of Madness sees Stephen trying to make sense of everything that went wrong. Although No Way Home would make it appear that Strange’s spell during the film’s climax was enough to reset everything, Multiverse of Madness shows that this isn’t the case. Case in point, the MCU is on the verge of a catastrophe on a multiversal scale and it’s now up to Strange to stop it. Of course, Strange doesn’t just have to worry about multiple universes converging into one point, but he’s got other problems as well. Chief among them is Chiwetel Ejiofor, who will return as Mordo, as well as what appears to be an evil version of himself, which many theorize is Strange Supreme although it wouldn’t explain why he seems to have switched over to the other side. Thankfully, the former Sorcerer Supreme (Wong displaced him from his former post because of the blip) will get some much-needed help from Benedict Wong’s Wong and Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda Maximoff, who is donning a more comic-accurate Scarlet Witch costume following the events of WandaVision. It also appears that a newcomer in Xochitl Gomez’s America Chavez will be joining the good guys for the Multiverse of Madness. If this is a lot to take in for just the movie’s trailer, you’re not alone. A lot has happened to the Avengers since 2019’s Avengers: Endgame. Even though No Way Home is technically the only MCU movie sequel to explore already existing characters - no, Wong’s appearance in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings doesn’t count - the Disney+ shows have done a great job at expanding the universe. In Wanda’s case, he’s gone through quite the character development after he uses her magic to create the life she’s always dreamed of only to fix everything by the end of WandaVision. Since WandaVision set up the multiverse, the MCU has since doubled down on this with other Disney+ shows like Loki and What If…? as well as No Way Home and now, Multiverse of Madness. It will be interesting to see how Multiverse of Madness will try and weave a cohesive story while containing all the potential leaks and rumors about everything that’s going to be revealed in the movie. We’ve seen the MCU do this before with Infinity War, Endgame, and most recently, No Way Home. But, Multiverse of Madness feels like an entirely different beast. Having said that, all fans can do for now is to wait for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness to be released on May 6, 2022.
