Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is in theaters now and with it, all of its secrets are finally on the table. The Multiversal sequel has been the talk of the town for some time, as its potential for reality-bending insanity seemed high from the get-go. The Sam Raimi-directed MCU blockbuster had been touted as being packed with hidden cameos and golden tidbits for the future of the franchise, so anticipation was high.
But this is not the first Marvel Studios title to play around with the idea of the Multiverse. These multiple realities seem to be a massive storytelling device that the MCU will take advantage of for years to come.
The first of these super-powered epics to introduce the Multiverse was last summer's Loki. The Disney+ series saw Tom Hiddleston's God of Mischief come face-to-face with a new threat to the MCU in Kang the Conqueror. Played by Jonathan Major, the villain is seemingly being set up as the next big bad of the franchise, as he looks to conquer every reality he can.
But with him being such a Multiversal threat, why was one not in Multiverse of Madness? Well, one of the big names behind the film has addressed that very question.
Where Was Kang in Multiverse of Madness?
In an appearance on Deadline's Hero Nation podcast, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness writer Michael Waldron addressed why Kang the Conqueror was not in the MCU sequel.
Waldron said that they felt that they had the "biggest, best" villain in Wanda, so did not feel the need to bring in Jonathan Majors' reality-bending antagonist:
“To me it felt like we had the biggest, best bullet already, in Wanda. That when working with Sam, when it was like we should really make the decisions to make Wanda the antagonist of this film. It was exciting and part of that was the feeling of ‘geez, we can’t let another movie go have that fun.’ It because she is going to be so great."
He also mentioned that as "great as Jonathan Majors is," bringing in Kang could have made an already packed film feel even more "maybe over-stuffed:"
"And I think that if you had introduced Kang, as great as Jonathan Majors is, and as great as he is going to be playing that character, you would have risked the movie just getting maybe over-stuffed.”
Kang will get his Time
Fans are eager to see Jonathan Majors on screen again, but it is time to show patience. Kang will get his time in the spotlight.
Even a simple cameo from the antagonist in Multiverse of Madness would have likely belittled the story that was being told. Despite this being a Multiverse-spanning adventure, it actually ends up being a fairly down-to-Earth human tale of someone (Wanda) wanting to be with her kids.
If Kang had appeared, it very well could have made the conflict at hand feel small in relation to a big bad who's literal goal is to conquer every single reality.
Majors' character is being set up slowly and that will continue to be the case for some time. It is known he will be one of the main villains in the upcoming Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, and then from there who knows?
Kang is someone who Marvel Studios seemingly wants to have around for a while, so they are playing it cool with him for now, before unleashing him upon the MCU somewhere down the line.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is in theaters worldwide now.
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