Doctor Strange 3 Gives Marvel 1 More Chance To Finally Redeem This MCU Villain

Doctor Strange ended with one of the MCU’s most promising villain setups. Chiwetel Ejiofor’s Karl Mordo, unhappy with the Ancient One’s hypocrisy and Strange’s recklessness, embarked on a crusade to strip sorcerers of their powers. The post-credits scene showed him stealing Jonathan Pangborn’s magic with chilling conviction.

Then, Marvel Studios abandoned the storyline. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness featured Earth-838’s Mordo instead, leaving Earth-616’s version missing for six years. However, all's not lost. Marvel can redeem this wasted villain in Doctor Strange 3 and deliver the confrontation promised nearly a decade ago. 

In the first film, Mordo is deeply disillusioned after dedicating his life to serving the Ancient One, only to find she was not who he thought she was. This betrayal is compounded by Stephen Strange, who opposes Mordo's beliefs but is celebrated as having a great gift that Mordo does not accept.

The post-credits scene showed Mordo confronting Jonathan Pangborn, the paraplegic man who used magic to walk. Mordo declared, "The true purpose of a sorcerer is to twist things out of their proper shape, stealing power, perverting nature like you." He then absorbed Pangborn’s magic after a brief physical exchange, leaving him paralyzed again. After, he explained that "I see at long last what’s wrong with the world..... Too many sorcerers."

This moment perfectly established Mordo’s ideology. He believed the Ancient One broke natural laws by drawing power from the Dark Dimension. Strange violated those same laws using the Time Stone. In Mordo’s worldview, these transgressions demanded punishment.

The setup created a villain driven by principle. Mordo genuinely believed sorcerers caused more harm than good. His crusade represented ideological extremism taken to its logical conclusion.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness completely sidestepped the Earth-616 Mordo storyline. Instead, the film featured Earth-838’s Mordo, who served as that universe’s Sorcerer Supreme and Illuminati member.

Screenwriter Michael Waldron told Yahoo! Entertainment they focused on the Earth-838 version because "they were focused on the Earth-838 version of the character and felt it was more exciting to leave the Earth-616 version for ‘another day.'"

However, director Sam Raimi originally planned to address the Earth-616 Mordo. Concept art and early reports revealed an opening sequence where Mordo would battle the Scarlet Witch. The scene depicted Mordo confronting Wanda about her Darkhold corruption, knowing how dangerous she could become.

Wanda would defeat and kill Mordo, later showing Strange his decapitated head. The sequence included details suggesting Mordo walked with a limp, hinting at numerous battles since his last appearance.

Multiverse of Madness included one brief reference to Earth-616’s Mordo. Earth 838 Mordo says, "I think I’m beginning to understand why your Mordo… didn’t like you very much!" suggesting off-screen confrontations. Ejiofor also confirmed Mordo survived Thanos’ snap but remained "engaged" during those events.

Doctor Strange 3 Is the Perfect Opportunity To Redeem Mordo

Doctor Strange 3 is rumoured to be in development, with Benedict Cumberbatch confirming that he's in talks with Marvel Studios over a third solo film for his character.

This sequel, if it does happen, needs a villain with personal stakes against Stephen Strange. Doctor Strange featured Kaecilius serving Dormammu, while Multiverse of Madness positioned Scarlet Witch as the antagonist. Both villains threatened Strange externally.

Mordo brings something different to the table. He knows Strange intimately. They trained together, fought together, and bonded as brothers in arms. Their ideological split makes Mordo personal in ways previous villains weren’t.

Additionally, Multiverse of Madness’s ending sets up perfect motivation for Mordo’s return. Strange and Clea entered the Dark Dimension to fix an incursion. Mordo would view this as exactly the kind of reckless sorcery justifying his crusade.

Strange meddling with the multiverse created incursions threatening reality itself. From Mordo’s perspective, this proves his philosophy correct. Sorcerers like Strange cause catastrophic damage through arrogance and hubris. 

The film could reveal that Mordo spent years hunting reckless sorcerers, preventing catastrophes by stripping dangerous magic users of their powers. This frames him as an extremist with valid points rather than a simple villain.

Mordo could assemble followers who share his philosophy. These disciples could be presented as believers of magic regulation, targeting Strange specifically because his actions endangered the entire multiverse.