Right from the beginning of the MCU's Phase 4, Marvel teased not only the Multiverse in WandaVision, but also Evan Peters' Quicksilver from Fox's X-Men. Throughout the rest of 2021, the MCU has continued to embrace the existence of other universes and timelines, including that of Sony's past web-slingers in Spider-Man: No Way Home; and now, that trend only looks to continue with Doctor Strange 2.
When Marvel Studios first revealed the title of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, fans were immediately intrigued as the possibilities of who and what could appear were virtually limitless.
In addition to Doctor Strange's Benedict Cumberbatch referencing the sequel's "very busy" plot, rumors and potential leaks have also hinted at cameos from Fox's X-Men or the Fantastic Four; and now that the Doctor Strange 2 trailer has been released online, fans noticed a detail that further teases this Multiversal, franchise-crossing possibility.
Doctor Strange 2 Trailer Hints at Fox-Verse Cameos
In the new Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness trailer, the signature Marvel logo, which audiences are used to seeing add new characters as new films and series are released, looked a little, well, strange.
When the logo first appears, it does so in broken, fragmented pieces similar to the shards of the Multiverse shown in Marvel's What If...? on Disney+.
Still, the design of these different pieces may be familiar to those well-acquainted with Fox's past Marvel films. For instance, one of the logos shown was the same Marvel logo that was used in 2006's X-Men: The Last Stand starring Hugh Jackman's Wolverine, Patrick Stewart's Charles Xavier, and Ian McKellen's Magneto.
Another logo shown was lifted from 2005's Fantastic Four starring loan Gruffudd as Reed Richards, Jessica Alba as Sue Storm, and, interestingly enough, Chris Evans as Johnny Storm.
In the Doctor Strange 2 trailer, these various renditions of the logo and more move across the screen to eventually form a single Marvel title card. Meanwhile, red, orange, and purple explosions appear behind the font before presenting the full logo of Marvel Studios.
The full trailer - and that logo sequence - can be seen below:
How Big is the Cast for Multiverse of Madness?
Even though Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is Marvel Studios' first theatrical film for 2022 and already has a trailer, fans know little about the story and what will actually play out on screen.
The one thing audiences do know is to expect a full cast of characters that includes Wanda Maximoff, Wong, the MCU debut of America Chavez, and both Mordo and Dr. Christine Palmer from 2016's Doctor Strange.
But now, due to these clear nods from Marvel in their own logo, it looks like that cast could be significantly larger if Marvel characters from the Fox-Verse do appear; and in light of both Loki and Spider-Man: No Way Home, there is now a logical precedent.
In addition to freeing the Multiverse, Loki on Disney+ introduced audiences to the existence of Variants and other timelines where versions of the same character exist. Meanwhile, Spider-Man: No Way Home allowed previous iterations of Sony's Spider-Man characters to become part of an MCU story.
If Marvel Studios could do it with Spider-Man and Sony, why not Fox's versions of X-Men and/or Fantastic Four? Plus, it would be significantly easier considering Fox's library is now owned by Disney.
The only wrinkle? Marvel Studios is already working on the MCU's version of Fantastic Four with No Way Home's director Jon Watts at the helm. Having the old cast of Fantastic Four appear ahead of the MCU's iteration would be surprising; but then again, Watts has already tackled a Multiversal film.
Plus, at one point, Chris Evans was rumored to return for an MCU project. Having him return to the big screen as a different Marvel character would certainly be fitting for the Multiverse of Madness.
If the Fox-Verse is headed for the MCU and Marvel Studios is already teasing the possibility, fans are sure to hear more in the months leading up to the sequel's 2022 release.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is set to premiere in theaters on May 6, 2022.
