Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is inching closer to its worldwide premiere, meaning that marketing is expected to ramp up in the coming weeks. After the game-changing events of Tom Holland's Spider-Man: No Way Home, the Benedict Cumberbatch-led sequel will continue the trend of highlighting the Multiverse like never before.
The concept of alternate realities usually means that the film will feature exciting cameos, as evidenced by what happened during Loki and No Way Home. On the marketing front, this poses a challenge, especially now that rumors and leaks are rampant online.
The Doctor Strange sequel is no different as it's also had its fair share of rumors in the past months. This came after heavy secrecy during its production.
Now, as the film's marketing heads into its stretch run, it looks like Disney has something up in its sleeve to boost the hype for Multiverse of Madness.
Marketing Ramps Up for Doctor Strange 2
Disney's President of Marketing Asad Ayaz addressed all the "love" from fans after the release of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness' second trailer on social media.
Ayaz then teased that it is going to be "an awesome journey" in the weeks leading to the sequel's premiere in May 2022:
"Thank you all for the love for the new Doctor Strange trailer. Going to be an awesome journey to May ahead Multiverse Of Madness."
Will Another Trailer Arrive for Doctor Strange 2?
Disney's marketing team has produced many memorable promotional materials under the MCU banner. Based on Ayaz's latest tease, it seems that the House of Mouse will pull out all of the stops once again to raise anticipation for the Doctor Strange sequel.
Multiverse of Madness is poised to give fans a sense of nostalgia due to its alternate reality storyline. This was already proven thanks to the inclusion of Patrick Stewart's Charles Xavier in the second trailer, hinting that there are bigger things to come for the sequel.
It remains to be seen which other characters from the vast Multiverse will appear in the movie, but there's a strong chance that these heroes and villains will be familiar to fans. From Tobey Maguire's rumored return as Spider-Man to the confirmation of another Captain Marvel Variant, these rumors are indicators of how wild Multiverse of Madness will be.
The challenge for Disney's marketing is to preserve the film's surprises (amidst rumors) while also creating further hype as the release inches closer.
Disney's marketing for Avengers: Endgame is a solid example of such a strategy. Even though the film was already highly anticipated then, Ayaz's team still managed to increase the hype by focusing on Earth's Mightiest Heroes' quest for redemption while still preserving the return of those who were snapped by Thanos and the movie's time-travel element.
Multiverse of Madness appears to experience the same treatment, but with an added twist.
The trailer almost confirmed Patrick Stewart's return ouright while still placing the focus on the intriguing dynamic between Strange and Wanda. Charles Xavier's confirmed appearance presumably hints that more Multiversal Variants will arrive, while the trailer also sets up an intense showdown between Strange and Wanda.
While No Way Home served as the celebration of three generations of Spider-Man, Multiverse of Madness could take it up a notch by serving as a tribute to every Marvel film by making non-MCU movies part of the Multiverse.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is set to premiere in theaters on May 6, 2022.
