The sequel to Doctor Strange hits theaters this week and here are some suggestions you need to see before its release.
It opens at last Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madnesspossibly the biggest solo movie in the history of the UCM, some already describe it as a MASTERPIECE, after the premiere held last night in Los Angeles.
The sequel, which follows the adventures of the Sorcerer Supreme, will take the franchise’s use of magic and sorcery to new levels. The Multiverse will be unleashed as multiple universes of heroes and villains converge into a single story. In a nutshell, “The Multiverse is a concept about which we know terribly little”.
Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness stands as one of the most unique solo films in MCU history due to its vast potential to feature the largest number of Marvel characters than any non-Avengers film to date. Plus, there’s the fact that while the movie will introduce new players to the MCU, its sequel nature means it adds to an adventure already established over the years.
While it doesn’t have two key characters with extensive past franchises to refer to as Spider-Man: No Way Home, Strange’s story in the MCU has many twists and turns. Add Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda Maximoff and other major characters to the equation, along with other universes from Marvel’s past, and there are plenty of MCU adventures to revisit before the film’s release, despite the fact that Kevin Feige, president of Marvel Studios, has said that it is not necessary to have seen any studio movie or series before to be able to enjoy the movie.
That said, here are all the Marvel movies and series you have to watch before the premiere of Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness.
Doctor Strange (2016)
Without a doubt, the first film where you should start before seeing its sequel. This was not only Cumberbatch’s first appearance in the MCU, but it was Strange’s first time appearing on screen as a character; since he was previously mentioned as an easter egg in Hydra’s target list of Captain America: The Winter Soldier from 2014.
Doctor Strange provided the classic origin story of Stephen Strange, a brilliant but extremely arrogant neurosurgeon who lost the use of his hands due to a brutal car accident. After exhausting all possible recovery options, nearly going bankrupt in the process, he found the sorcerers at Kamar-Taj and learned the ways of the Mystic Arts.
Strange becomes a mighty hero by defeating Kaecilius and his Zealots before stopping Dormammu in the Dark Dimension. In the end, he had become one of the most powerful heroes in the entire MCU.
WandaVision (2021)
Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda Maximoff took a long time to get her first solo project, but when she did, she garnered a lot of praise.
Using the magic of chaos to construct her own Hex reality in Westview, New Jersey, six of the series’ first seven episodes paid homage to bygone eras of American sitcom history as Wanda attempted to experience a normal life with her love interest. lifetime. But she also found herself struggling with SWORD and Agatha Harkness to keep her new reality intact.
In the end, Maximoff learned of the prophecy behind the Scarlet Witch in the Darkhold before adopting that persona and unlocking more power than ever before. The series’ post-credits scene left Wanda studying the Darkhold and receiving a distress call from her twin sons from the multiverse, which sets her on a new path ahead of the Doctor Strange sequel.
In addition, this series presents the character of adult Maria Rambeau, acquiring her powers, and whom we have been able to see in some previews of Doc Strange 2.
Loki (2021)
While Strange appeared in an entire scene in Thor: Ragnarökneither he nor Wanda Maximoff were seen in the series Loki from Disney+. Still, considering that The multiverse of madness dealing exclusively with alternate universes, Loki is important due to the fact that his story opened the door to some of those alternate realities within the MCU.
When Sylvie de Sophia Di Martino murdered the the one that remainsAt the end of the first season, branches of alternate realities began to rapidly form in the Sacred Timeline surrounding the Citadel at the end of time. This was the biggest sign yet that the Multiverse has begun to fall into ruin, and it’s already changing the landscape at the Time Variation Authority when a statue of kang the conqueror at the agency’s headquarters.
The Multiverse is real, and it becomes fully real in Loki before his full arrival in Doc Strange 2.
What if..? (2021)
At the moment, it is a complete mystery if the Disney + animated series, What If…? it is fully integrated into the UCM. However, given his use of the Multiverse and the way he brought together different characters from different universes in one big battle, fans have an idea of what to expect from a story standpoint in Doctor Strange 2.
In addition, the latest advances in the sequel to Doctor Strange have revealed that Captain Carter Hayley Atwell’s will feature a role in the film, officially integrating the two projects with each other.
This series also featured Strange in some chapters and it is rumored that his version of Ultimate Strange could also appear in the sequel. The chapters we recommend are: What if…Captain Carter was the first Avenger?; What if… Doctor Strange lost his heart instead of his hands?
Spider-Man: No way home (2021)
While Doctor Strange only plays a small supporting role in Spider-Man: No Way Home. This third installment of the wall-crawler brings the Multiverse for the first time to the big screen within the MCU.
In No Way Home, Peter Parker visits Strange in an attempt to put his life back together following the revelation of his secret identity, and the accusation of murdering Mysterio. But things go completely awry when the young man accidentally messes with Strange’s spell. This led to the fabric of reality being torn apart for about a minute, allowing villains from other universes who knew of Spider-Man’s secret identity to come into his reality.
During the final battle of No Way Home, Willen Defoe’s green goblin blew up the box in which the spell was contained (La Macchina di Kadavus), causing a giant rift in the Multiverse. Although Strange did his best to repair these cracks, once he made his way to the alternate universes, there was no going back.
Although it is not clear how the events of that film will influence the sequel to Doctor Strange, Spider-Man: No Way Home plays as big a role as any in the Sorcerer Supreme’s upcoming solo movie.
Recommended but not essential
Fox’s X-Men (2000-2019)
Even though Fox produced more than a dozen movies centered around the characters in Marvel Comics’ X-Men series, not all of them are necessary to see before. Doc Strange 2. But at least they include a couple of key characters who are confirmed or rumored to be in this upcoming movie.
The most notable of these is Patrick Stewart’s Professor Charles Xavier, one of the main actors in five of the X-Men movies. Stewart will play, at the very least, a multiversal variant of his character. What has been confirmed both in the Super Bowl trailer and in other more recent spots.
Other rumors point to possible inclusions of Ian McKellan’s Magneto, Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool, and even a new version of Wolverine that won’t be played by Hugh Jackman. Past X-Men movies may play into the story of Doctor Strange 2 in some ways, but more than anything, fans will be familiar with these mutants before their official MCU debuts.
Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man Trilogy
Before Sam Raimi signed on to direct Doc Strange 2 for Marvel Studios. The filmmaker made a name for himself in the superhero genre with the first trilogy of spider-man from Sony. These films are relevant not only for Raimi’s credits, but also in relation to the rumors about the return of Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker.
Maguire’s possible inclusion in the film has less to do with any of the other characters. And the rumors only say that he will be involved in some way. This would also mark his second full appearance in the MCU after Spider-Man: No Way Home from last year. In which she also met Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange.
If Maguire shows up, all three of his movies will remind viewers of everything that went down against villains like The Green Goblin and Doc Ock before he showed up in the MCU. Considering Raimi’s passion for the first three web-slinging movies, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him pay homage to his roots in the superhero movie genre.
And here are our recommendations. All the movies and series that we mention here, except Raimi’s Spider-man trilogy, can be seen on Disney + with your subscription, if you don’t already have it you can sign up at this link.