Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is heading into its second week in theaters, giving a look into just how big the Marvel universe really is after only teasing it in the movie's trailers. The film also gave Elizabeth Olsen's Scarlet Witch a chance to fully dive into a villainous role after her going through some serious mental troubles in last year's WandaVision.
Olsen was one of the biggest reasons that the newest MCU movie dove so deep into the horror genre, as she was relentless in her pursuit to steal America Chavez's powers in order to bring her family back together. While there has been some backlash to this change after seeing the character redeem herself in Westview, the Scarlet Witch made for one of the most terrifying villains the MCU has ever seen.
For such a huge change in role during Doctor Strange 2, Marvel did everything in its power to hide the fact that the Scarlet Witch would be the main antagonist, leading fans to believe she'd actually be a hero once again. Before the movie even released in theaters, Marvel was adamant about making sure fans went into the movie with that frame of mind, as seen in a couple of important trailer moments that put her in a better light.
Doctor Strange 2 Trailers Hide Wanda's Villainy
Two different trailers for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness used scenes and lines that didn't end up in the final cut of the movie. These were used to hide the sequel's twist regarding Elizabeth Olsen's Scarlet Witch being the film's main villain.
A 15-second spot from May 2 had Olsen saying "This is going to be fun" to Strange when they're in the apple orchard after the all-red background comes in behind them. At this point in the movie, Wanda had already revealed to Strange that she's after America Chavez's powers.
In another 30-second spot, Wanda uttered "Try not to break the Multiverse, Stephen" as the shot put her in the throne room on Mount Wundagore. The only moment that Strange and Wanda had together on Mount Wundagore was when Strange was dreamwalking in Defender Strange's corpse and trying to help America Chavez defeat Wanda.
Marvel Trailers at It Again for Doctor Strange 2
Marvel Studios is no stranger to including moments in its trailers that don't make it into the final cut, whether it be to intentionally throw fans off or if the moment simply changes later into post-production. Whether it be editing the two Multiversal Spider-Men out of Spider-Man: No Way Home or Loki tricking fans with multiple changed scenes, it's almost expected that something from an MCU trailer will be adjusted ahead of its project's release.
Doctor Strange 2 had a particularly difficult job in hiding that the Scarlet Witch was actually the movie's big antagonist, setting her up as a hero through spots like the ones above. Even in the two clips that were released, Gargantos was portrayed as the film's big threat despite being featured in one scene of action, and Strange's first meeting with Wanda was cut off before she mentioned that she knew who America Chavez was.
Although Marvel had to go above and beyond with keeping secrets in this movie's promotional tour, Wanda's villainous turn still managed to bring plenty of shock as the sequel premiered in theaters across the world. Considering how big the studio went this time around, it can only lead to questions about what the Thor: Love and Thunder trailer is hiding and what will actually be seen in the footage from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is now playing in theaters worldwide.
