Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness' filmmakers were once considering a Nazi-involved war scene, as now shown in new concept art.
With the MCU movie titled Multiverse of Madness, many assumed that the Doctor Strange sequel was going to be a crazy ride through multiple realities. While there certainly were other realities present in the final product, it wasn't nearly as many as some fans had hoped.
The one audiences spent the most time in was on Earth-838, where Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor Strange met the likes of John Krasinski's Reed Richards and Patrick Stewart's Professor X. He also visited an un-numbered reality where the actor got to play his favorite Sorcerer Supreme Variant: Dark Stephen Strange.
Now it seems that a different version of the film could have included some crazy unseen realities, such as one involving Nazis, some crazy portal-fueled magic, and the villain NIghtmare—among others.
Doctor Strange 2 Deleted Scenes Revealed
Concept Artist Aaron Black posted new images on ArtStation from his work on Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, containing some really interesting glimpses into what could have been.
One of the first new pieces of art features what seems to be a chaotic warzone of soldiers from various time periods —this includes a Nazi zeppelin, a modern fighter jet. a Civil War-era cannon, and more.
Could this possibly be what an Incursion looks like in the MCU?
It's hard to tell what might be happening in this alternate reality, but it looks remarkable nonetheless.
This colorful mystical imagery reminds fans of Black Panther (and Bast himself), with some Dormammu mixed in.
This illustration plays around with the concept of Doctor Strange's portals, which have been a key part of the character's six appearances in the MCU.
Nightmare, the former villain for the sequel under the original director Scott Derrickson, seems to be seen on his horse in the distance.
Another photo of Nightmare seems to show the bad guy slicing through reality.
The artist referred to this as "Zombie Strange's spirit cloak made of demonic black creatures," which came into play for the movie's final battle.
While many of these new pieces of concept art never made it into the Final Cut, it seems this scene remained very similar.
Could this be a look into an alternate Strange's Sanctum Supreme?
That cloak on the other side of the glass box looks like it could be a dark version of Strange's or even something wielded by the former villain Nightmare.
The Visualization of an Incursion? And Nightmare?
So what would that chaotic scene with the Nazi zeppelin have been about? Well, it was most likely only a brief snippet seen as both Strange and America Chavez fall through the Multiverse.
However, it might have also served for the visual depiction of an incursion, the universe-ending event that's, in the comics, a precursor to Secret Wars. Maybe one draft of the script included showing the audience what Earth-838's Strange ended up doing to the universe he accidentally destroyed.
Many will likely be excited to also get a glimpse at Nightmare in the fifth and sixth images. He was originally the villain for the Doctor Strange sequel and would have been very different than the Wanda threat Marvel ended on.
One of those images depicting the villain above seems to flirt with the concept of the Multiverse, as it seems that he's using his sword to slice through the universes—could the idea of dreams being a glimpse into alternate realities have come from him in previous drafts?
While it's possible, it is worth noting that Michael Waldron and Sam Raimi scrapped Nightmare to involve a more "Multiversal adversary."
Weaving Nightmare into the concept of dreams and the Multiverse would have been a truly unique adaptation for the character in the MCU. Maybe one day fans can still get him—perhaps in Doctor Strange 3 alongside the threat of Incursions, or even as an epilogue of sorts to finish off the Multiverse Saga.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is now streaming on Disney+.
