Warning: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness spoilers: If you left the theater before the Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness post-credit scenes, don’t worry because we have all the end-credits recapped below, and they included massive clues about the future of the MCU.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is the second movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Doctor Strange franchise after 2016’s Doctor Strange. The film—which is the 29th movie in the MCU overall—stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Dr. Stephen Strange, a neurosurgeon (also known as Doctor Strange) who, after a career-ending car crash, discovers magic and becomes a Master of the Mystic Arts to protect the earth. The character was first introduced in the Marvel Comics issue, “Strange Tales #110,” in 1963.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is set after the events of 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home, which sees Doctor Strange break open the Multiverse to help his fellow Marvel superhero, Peter Parker / Spider-Man, become anonymous again. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness sees Doctor Strange deal with the multiverse again as he learns of the repercussions that come with messing with time and space. In an interview with Rolling Stone in 2022, director Sam Raimi explained how Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is different than any other Marvel movie. “It’s a really complex movie,” he said. “It’s probably the most complex movie I’ve ever had anything to do with. Not just dealing with one character, or even five characters, but multiversal versions of those characters — and each one has a storyline.”
He also told the magazine about how the movie follows the storyline of Disney Plus’ 2021 miniseries, WandaVision, starring Elizabeth Olsen as Scarlet Witch / Wanda Maximoff. “I’m not really sure what the WandaVision schedule was or how it changed. I just know that halfway, or maybe three-quarters of the way into our writing process, I’d first heard of this show they were doing and that we would have to follow it,” he said. “Therefore, we had to really study what WandaVision was doing, so we could have a proper through line and character-growth dynamic. I never even saw all of WandaVision; I’ve just seen key moments of some episodes that I was told directly impact our storyline.”
While Raimi had to follow some of the story already told in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he also revealed to Rolling Stone that the studio gave him “complete creative freedom” to tell his own story in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. “Well, let me say — and this may sound like I’m talking out of both sides of my mouth — that Marvel allowed me complete creative freedom,” he said. “However, it had to follow so many things in Marvel lore, [so] even though I had complete freedom, the previous movies and where Marvel wants to go in the future really directed the path in an incredibly specific way. Within those parameters I have freedom, but I’ve got to tell the story of those characters in a way that ties in with all of the properties simultaneously. We had to make sure, for instance, that Doctor Strange didn’t know more than he had learned about the multiverse from No Way Home. And yet we had to make sure he wasn’t ignorant of things that he had already learned. So everything was dictated by what had become before.”
So…what happens in the Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness post-credit scenes? Read on for what the Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness post-credit scenes mean for the MCU and Doctor Strange’s future.
How many Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness post-credit scenes are there?
How many Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness post-credit scenes are there? There are two post-credit scenes in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. However, there is only one Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness post-credit scene in that teases what’s next in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The first Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness post-credit scene sees Doctor Strange meet Clea, a sorceress and Doctor Strange’s wife in the Marvel Comics, who asks for his help. The second Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness post-credit scene sees Doctor Strange’s spell on a Pizza Poppa vendor from earlier in the movie wear off. Read on for what each Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness post-credit scenes mean for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
What does the first Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness post-credit scene mean?
Image: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures / © Marvel Studios / Courtesy Everett Collection.
What does the first Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness post-credit scene mean? The first Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness post-credit scene features a cameo from Charlize Theron, who plays Clea. The scene sees Clea find Doctor Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) on a street in New York City to recruit him to fix the Multiverse. “You caused an incursion, and you’re going to fix it,” Clea tells Doctor Strange as she opens portal to another universe with. “Unless you’re afraid.” Doctor Strange responds by telling Clea, “Not in the least,” as he activates his third-eye, the all-seeing eye of Agamatto, which he received at the end of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness after using the Darkhold. Doctor Strange then follows Clea into the portal as they head into what looks like the Dark Dimension, a strange and hostile dimension in the Multiverse ruled by Dormammu, who was the villain of the 2016 Doctor Strange movie. In the Dark Dimension, which is also known as the Hell Dimension or simply Hell, time does not exist, which allows it to be the power source for life-extending, mortality-removing spells and gives sorcerers superhuman abilities beyond their magic.
Who is Clea? Clea is a Marvel Comics character first introduced in the Doctor Strange issue, “Strange Tales #126,” in November 1964. She is a human-appearing member of Faltine race of higher-dimensional energy beings. She’s also the daughter of Umar, a resident of the Dark Dimension, and the niece of Dormammu. In the Marvel Comics, Clea, a sorceress and a disciple of Doctor Strange, marries Doctor Strange and succeeds him as Sorcerer Supreme. Her powers include superhuman strength and resistance to injury, mastery of magic, energy bolts, teleportation, telekinesis, mind control and illusion generation. Clea also has access to the Flames of Regency, which allow her powers to reach their highest peak.
In an interview with Variety in 2020, Theron claimed at the time that she had never been asked to audition for a Marvel Cinematic Universe movie. “I swear to God. I’ve never gotten anything. No, I’m not lying to you. But that’s OK. You know what? I am paving my own way. I’m creating my own opportunities. So it’s all right,” she said at the time.
What does the second Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness post-credit scene mean?
Image: Jay Maidment /© Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures / © Marvel Studios / Courtesy Everett Collection.
What does the second Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness post-credit scene mean? The second Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness post-credit scene sees Doctor Stephen Strange’s spell on a vendor of a food cart named Pizza Poppa wear off. Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) cast the spell earlier in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness when America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez) takes the a bowl of pizza balls from the cart without paying. America, who has the power to travel through the Multiverse, mistakenly believes that people don’t need to pay for food in the universe she and Doctor Strange are in. When the Pizza Poppa vendor realizes that America took the pizza balls without paying, he becomes angry at her and Doctor Strange, who then casts a spell for the vendor to punch himself in the face as he and America escape. When America asks Doctor Strange how long the spell will last, Strange tells her that it’ll end in a couple hours to a few weeks.
The Pizza Poppa vendor isn’t seen again until the second Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness post-credit scene. The scene sees the vendor give himself a couple more punches before Doctor Strange’s spell wears off. The vendor then looks at the camera and exclaims, “It’s over!” The line is also a fourth-wall break and signals that Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is also over. Before the second Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness post-credit scene, the movie confirms that there will be a third Doctor Strange movie. “Doctor Strange will return,” a screen before the second post-credit scene reads.
The Pizza Poppa vendor is played by Bruce Campbell, a frequent collaborator of Sam Raimi, who directed Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Campbell and Raimi have worked together on movies likeIt’s Murder!, The Evil Dead, Crime Wave, Evil Dead II, Darkman, Army of Darkness, The Quick and the Dead, Oz the Great and Powerful, as well as Spider-Man movies, Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3—for which he also made cameos. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in May 2022, Raimi confirmed that Campbell’s cameo wasn’t an Easter egg for his other Marvel movies.“I can’t swear to you that Bruce Campbell is in the film because I’m not allowed to, but there’s no Sam Raimi Easter eggs. “My job this time was really to recognize where the continuing Marvel universe had been, understand the characters of Wanda and Doctor Strange and what was relevant to them as we last saw them, and bring that forward to a new tale where they meet each other for the first time, so the fans have a great experience with characters where they should really be, and also open up the door to the multiverse for future stories to take place,” he said.
Who’s in the Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness cast?
The Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness cast sees the return of Benedict Cumberbatch as Dr. Stephen Strange, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Karl Mordo, Benedict Wong as Wong, Rachel McAdams as Christine Palmer, and Michael Stuhlbarg as Nicodemus West from the first Doctor Strange movie in 2016. The Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness cast also includes Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch (who starred with Cumberbatch in 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War and 2019’s Avengers: Endgame), as well as introduces Xochitl Gomez as America Chavez. Patrick Stewart, who played role as Charles Xavier / Professor X in 20th Century Fox’s X-Men movies, also made a cameo in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
See below for the full Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness cast.
- Benedict Cumberbatch as Dr. Stephen Strange
- Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch
- Chiwetel Ejiofor as Karl Mordo
- Benedict Wong as Wong
- Xochitl Gomez as America Chavez
- Michael Stuhlbarg as Nicodemus West
- Rachel McAdams as Christine Palmer
- Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier / Professor X
- Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter / Captain Carter
- Lashana Lynch as Maria Rambeau
- Anson Mount as Blackagar Boltagon / Black Bolt
- John Krasinski as Reed Richards / Mister Fantastic
- Julian Hilliard as Billy
- Jett Klyne as Tommy
- Topo Wresniwiro reprises his role as Hamir
- Sheila Atim as Sarah,
- Adam Hugill as Rintrah
- Charlize Theron as Clea
- Bruce Campbell as a Pizza Poppa owner
In an interview with Rolling Stone in 2022, director Sam Raimi explained how Cumberbatch differentiated his variations of Doctor Strange in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. “Noticing the little nuances that Benedict would come up with to differentiate his alter-self. Subtleties, waves of movement, distinct style of speech,” he said. He really is an actor’s actor, and he uses all the tools at his disposal quite elegantly. You can call ‘Action’ and then just lose yourself in his performance over the next two and a half minutes. You just have to remember to call ‘Cut,’ because he’s so spellbinding.”
Raimi also told Rolling Stone about how Olsen played a part in how Scarlet Witch’s story was told in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. “She had just come from that Emmy Award-winning show all about her character and the character’s growth. So it would be foolhardy to try and tell her who her character is or what her character was feeling at that moment. I can craft the the story going forward with her, but she’s got to be an integral part of the storytelling or it wouldn’t make any sense,” he said.
As for the cast member he was most surprised by, Raimi named Wong. “I think Benedict Wong. I didn’t know how funny he was in person, or how lively of a presence he was on set. He’s really super creative, and a great joy to work with. He really brings an energy and a sense of fun to his work that the movie really needs,” he said.
In an interview with Moviefone, Cumberbatch also agreed with a past statement Raimi made about how Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will change how fans think about the character. “I like to think so. I mean, there’s an awful lot going on in this film. I hope that isn’t lost on people. There is some character development, which I think is pretty crucial to him. I think we’ve seen him in his first introduction to the Marvel cinematic universe, as he was an arrogant neurosurgeon and a man trapped in a gilded cage of his own making,” he said. “His ego was driving what he was doing, it was not out of a duty of caring. Then to have a duty of caring, the idea of doing things for others, being selfless and sacrificing, that came with his transition into a superhero.”
He continued, “I think since the last few films he’s been pretty omnipotent and unquestionable, and then a human relationship with Peter Parker has destabilized all that and creates the need for him to help someone he both admired as a fellow soldier on the battlefield, so to speak, but also as a human being who’d lost his mentor and someone he cared about by the end of the film. It opened up the problem that he still faces in his own character, which is this level of arrogance believing that his way is the only way and only he can actually solve the problem. I think what he learns in this is it’s better to act together than to act alone. That’s the big shift I’d say, without pointing too much in the direction of how that happens.”
Will there be a Doctor Strange 3?
Will there be a Doctor Strange 3? SPOILER: A third Doctor Strange movie was confirmed at the end of the Strange in the Multiverse of Madness credits, which read: “Doctor Strange will return.” However, it could be a while until Doctor Strange 3 comes out. In an interview with IGN in 2022, Cumberbatch was asked how he balances between acting and fatherhood. “It gets very multiversal in real life as well,” he said. (Cumberbatch shares sons Finn, 3, Hal, 5, and Christopher, 6, with wife Sophie Hatcher.) When asked if there’s a variant he’s like to be, Cumberbatch responded, “I guess one that’s less busy, maybe… I might be that variant very soon, which is nice – taking a bit of a break.” See below for the confirmed Marvel Cinematic Universe movies set to premiere after Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
- Thor: Love and Thunder – July 8, 2022
- Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – November 11, 2022
- Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania – February 17, 2023
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 – May 5, 2023
- The Marvels – July 28, 2023
- Fantastic Four – TBD
- Blade – TBD
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will be available to stream on Disney Plus between June 20 and July 14, 2022. Here’s how to watch it for free.
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