While Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness furthered Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor Strange story and focused on that of Elizabeth Olsen's Wanda Maximoff, audiences can't stop talking about the film's cameos. The fact that Doctor Strange 2 would feature cameos and the Illuminati was anything but a secret, but just who appeared and what their presence could mean for the future of the MCU has launched new speculation and theories.
Still, fans weren't only surprised by who appeared in the film, but also by who didn't. Despite the rumors and the obvious connections, no one from Loki on Disney+ - including Kang the Conqueror - made an appearance; and despite the early trailer reveal of Patrick Stewart's Professor X, no additional X-Men made their MCU debut either.
However, a new rumor suggests that wasn't always the plan for this Multiversal film.
Michael Fassbender's Magneto Filmed Doctor Strange 2 Scene
In a recent episode of the Weekly Planet podcast, host James Clement not only revealed that "Michael Fassbender was going to turn up as Magneto" but that this scene was "filmed but ultimately cut..." from Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Fassbender first played Fox's X-Men character of Magneto in 2011's X-Men: First Class, followed by 2014's X-Men: Days of Future Past, X-Men: Apocolypse in 2016, and finally X-Men: Dark Phoenix in 2019.
In the comics and on film, Magneto and Professor X have a complicated, and often antagonistic, relationship due to their opposing views. And, while Ian McKellen's Magneto is who Doctor Strange 2's Patrick Stewart often played opposite in the Fox films, Stewart did appear in Fassbender's Days of Future Past.
In fact, Stewart's line from Doctor Strange 2 where he says, "Just because someone stumbles and loses their way doesn't mean they're lost forever" echoes a quote from Days of Future Past where the actor advises his younger self (played by James McAvoy) about Magneto.
According to Clement,
"So somebody sent me a list of five characters that were going to be in this that were cut... Michael Fassbender was going to turn up as Magneto. I said [to my source], 'Were any of these filmed?' And this person said, 'Filmed but ultimately cut from the theatrical version,' which is what my source relates..."
Wanda Maximoff's X-Men Connection
If this information is true, it not only means Marvel Studios had intentions to further utilize Fox's X-Men in this MCU film, but the scenes were actually filmed and exist.
Given Evan Peters' WandaVision cameo, Patrick Stewart's Charles Xavier, and now Magneto, perhaps Marvel is closer to rebooting live-action X-Men than fans first believed?
This potential news also raises the question of how the film intended to use Fassbender's Magneto and whether he would've been part of the Illuminati. But what's even more intriguing is that, in the comics, Magneto was actually Wanda Maximoff's father.
While WandaVision revealed the father of the MCU's Wanda wasn't Magneto and actually featured a different origin story for the Scarlet Witch, it's worth noting that Multiverse of Madness did feature more than one Wanda; and if this scene was filmed, it seems Marvel would've addressed this comic book connection in one way or another.
In the coming weeks and months, it will be interesting to see if this report is confirmed; and if so, whether Marvel will reveal any insight into their original plans for Fassbender's cameo.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is playing in theaters worldwide.
