Everything We Know About Doctor Strange 2 So Far

As if you weren’t already trying to process the emotional, web-slinging ride that was Spider-Man: No Way Home, the film’s final post-credits scene served as a reminder of what the Marvel Cinematic Universe has in store. In what was essentially the first teaser for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, viewers got to see what Stephen Strange got up to after helping Peter through his identity crisis — and it’s pretty messy.

In No Way Home, Strange is no longer the Sorcerer Supreme (that title went to Wong during the Blip). So he agrees to perform a spell for Peter so that people can forget he’s Spider-Man. But Peter botches the spell, leading to disastrous results that can only be fixed by erasing the world’s memory of Peter altogether. Even the ever-cool, aloof Strange is pretty broken up about forgetting his young fellow Avenger.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness seems to pick up after No Way Home, but if Strange doesn’t know who Peter Parker is, will he even understand why he helped screw up the multiverse in the first place? It’s one of many questions only the movie can answer. But until then, here’s everything you should know about the Doctor Strange 2 cast, plot, and the shocking latest teasers.

The Doctor Strange 2 Cast

In addition to Benedict Cumberbatch returning as the titular sorcerer, the Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness cast will include familiar faces from the first film, like Rachel McAdams (Christine Palmer), Chiwetel Ejiofor (Mordo), and Benedict Wong (Wong). Elizabeth Olsen (Wanda Maximoff) will also join the mystical fold, and Xochitl Gomez will make her debut as America Chavez. Per Inverse, the young hero can travel through different dimensions, making her a fitting addition to whatever multiversal mayhem is going on.

As for the behind-the-scenes crew, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was written by Michael Waldron (head writer of Loki) and Jade Bartlett and is being directed by Sam Raimi (of the original, early-aughts Spider-Man trilogy).

The Doctor Strange 2 Plot

The plot of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is still a mystery, though the new teaser (more on that later) definitely provides a glimpse at a scarier side of the MCU. The film is definitely a sequel to Doctor Strange first and foremost, but it will also continue Wanda Maximoff’s story from WandaVision. “I really worked with [Olsen] and made sure, ‘OK, you guys just did this incredibly intimate show about this character that grew her so much,” Waldron told Collider in June. “‘Let's make sure that we’re doing that justice and telling a fulfilling next chapter of that story.’”

In a teaser video released on April 29 , viewers got a closer look at the alternate iterations of Wanda to be explored in the movie — from full-on Scarlet Witch, to Westview Wanda, to a scarred version that almost looks like Zombie Wanda from What If...? Heartbreakingly, the teaser begins with a voice cameo from Vision’s iconic WandaVision quote: “What is grief if not love persevering?”

The Doctor Strange 2 Trailer

For a week in December 2021, the only way to catch the first glimpse of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was to buy a ticket to Spider-Man: No Way Home and watch the second (and final) post-credits scene. Fortunately, the real thing was finally uploaded to YouTube later that month.

The brief teaser sees Strange enter a shadowy, fractured world. He’s warned that his “desecration of reality won’t go unpunished” — a follow-up to the foreboding warning Mordo issued in the first Doctor Strange. At one point, we see Christine Palmer in a wedding dress. Strange approaches Wanda while she’s doing some gardening (hey, she’s been stressed out lately!) but assures her that he’s not there to discuss Westview. Rather, he wants her help dealing with what must be a pretty grave (and mystical) threat that appears to be Strange himself. Maybe it’s more variant business?

During the 2022 Super Bowl on Feb. 13, Marvel Studios dropped the official trailer for Doctor Strange 2 — and, wow. Not only do we see Wanda revisit the Westview house and acknowledge an MCU double standard (“You break the rules and become a hero. I do it and I become the enemy,” she tells Strange), but we also hear a very familiar offscreen voice say, “We should tell [Strange] the truth.” It sounds a lot like Sir Patrick Stewart, aka Professor X from the X-Men films.

The Doctor Strange 2 Release Date

Though Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was originally set to premiere in March, its release date was recently pushed back — along with the entire slate of upcoming MCU films. You can now plan to watch the sequel on May 6.

This post will be updated with additional plot details as more information on Doctor Strange 2 becomes availabl