Marvel Studios is ending 2021 with one bang after another thanks to the recent release of Spider-Man: No Way Home in theaters and the conclusion of Hawkeye's sixth episode on Disney+. No Way Home also delivered the first full look at 2022's Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which will be the Marvel Cinematic Universe's next theatrical release on May 6, 2022.
With the Multiverse officially a reality in the MCU thanks to the Spider-Man threequel, Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor Strange will tackle the biggest challenge of his sorcerer tenure as multiple realities converge into the MCU. Teaming up with Elizabeth Olsen's Wanda Maximoff, Xochitl Gomez's America Chavez, and more, Marvel Studios' 28th movie promises to change the landscape of this universe in multiple ways.
While Multiverse of Madness's plot has largely remained under wraps, one key story point will revolve around Stephen Strange's place in the Avengers' ranks, especially with Iron Man and Captain America dead and retired, respectively. Now, according to a new synopsis for the film, that subplot is just one of many when the full movie debuts next spring.
Doctor Strange 2 Synopsis Teases New Avengers Team
Marvel Studios' official Japanese website has shared synopsis details for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Translated by The Cosmic Circus, the synopsis teases Doctor Strange playing "an active role as a central figure" within the Avengers' roster. Additionally, he is said to repeat some of his old habits shown in Spider-Man: No Way Home by trying to cast a "forbidden spell" with dangerous repercussions resulting in the Multiverse opening up into madness.
Following this mistake, Strange will have to team up with Benedict Wong's Wong and Elizabeth Olsen's Wanda Maximoff to take on one of the biggest threats ever seen in the MCU. In shocking fashion, that threat is none other than Strange himself.
The full synopsis details can be read below:
“The door of the multiverse, full of mystery and madness, opens.
Now that Iron Man and Captain America have left after a fierce battle in Avengers: Endgame, former genius surgeon and the strongest magician of them all, Doctor Strange, is expected to play an active role as a central figure in the Avengers. However, using his magic to manipulate time and space at will with a forbidden spell that is considered the most dangerous has opened the door to a mysterious madness called 'the Multiverse.' To restore a world where everything is changing, Strange seeks help from his ally Wong, the Sorcerer Supreme, and the Avengers’ most powerful Scarlet Witch, Wanda. But a terrible threat looms over humanity and the entire universe that no longer can be done by their power alone. Even more surprising, the greatest threat in the universe looks exactly like Doctor Strange...
Director Sam Raimi, who has expressed a unique world view, will captivate the whole world with overwhelming scale and unprecedented visual experience that will transcend time and space!”
Doctor Strange - The Avengers' New Leader?
Throughout his first five years in the MCU, Stephen Strange has largely operated as a solo act. When he seeks assistance, the good doctor mostly looks to his magical counterparts with whom he worked in his first solo movie.
Now, after his adventures in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, he will have even more responsibilities as one of the central figures in Earth's Mightiest Heroes. With both Robert Downey Jr's Iron Man and Chris Evans's Captain America having ended their time in the MCU after Phase 3, at least for now, Marvel is making its magical heroes like Strange that much more important in the future.
However, even with these added duties, there appears to be no end to Doctor Strange's ambition as he attempts a mysterious "forbidden spell" for reasons that are currently unknown. With Wong now boasting new powers as the Sorcerer Supreme post-No Way Home and Wanda Maximoff having fully realized her Scarlet Witch potential, Strange's latest mess must be significant if he's turning to two of the most powerful heroes for help.
The synopsis hinted that many of these problems will come from Strange's evil lookalike, who could possibly be the Doctor Strange Supreme seen in Marvel Studios' animated Disney+ show What If...?. No matter what these threats turn out to be specifically, it's clear that Marvel is holding nothing back in a movie with "madness" firmly in the title.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will debut in theaters on May 6, 2022.
