Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is finally here, and fans have now been able to jump through realities alongside both Benedict Cumberbatch's Stephen Strange and Xochitl Gomez’s America Chavez. The Multiverse holds many wonders, and the newest MCU outing only showcased a sliver of what’s out there. Part of that small sampling, however, gave fans a fairly substantial X-Men Easter egg: the appearance of the Savage Land.
For those that don’t know, the Savage Land is a hidden tropical jungle preserved and hidden within Antarctica. On top of that, it also has a prehistoric flair, thanks to the presence of dinosaurs.
The iconic location has shown its face quite often in many comic book titles. One of the more well-known storylines that takes place there features Magneto claiming the lands as his own and building a base—only to later be stopped by the X-Men.
So how did that callback end in the film? Well, fans can thank the big boss of the MCU.
Kevin Feige Wanted X-Men Location
In an interview with Variety, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness VFX artist Alexis Wajsbrot commented on some of those many Multiverses that appear in the brief sequence with Stephen Strange and America Chavez falling through them.
At one point, there was “an Incan statue world,” one that eventually became “the Living Tribunal world” thanks to a suggestion from Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige:
Feige also suggested that their jungle concepts be turned into “[the] Savage World,” a Marvel Comics location closely tied to both the X-Men and Magento. The request led to the VFX team “add[ing] dinosaurs:”
“One was an Incan statue world, which ended up in the movie because Kevin Feige thought, ‘Well, that could be a great world to put the Living Tribunal in.’ So that world became the Living Tribunal world… we proposed a jungle, and Kevin Feige said, ‘Well, it could be cool if it was Savage World.’ It’s a world that exists in the Marvel Universe, so we had to add dinosaurs. We had to model and texture and render and animate dinosaurs for two seconds, which is extremely not cost-efficient.”
Will Fans See Magneto's Savage Land Again?
It’s nothing short of a miracle that the MCU is run by someone like Kevin Feige, who loves the source material and is well-versed with the many characters and storylines that exist. The entire sequence with the two main characters falling through the Multiverse must have immediately filled his head with ideas of what to include.
It’s great how the Savage Land was one of them—something fans called out the moment it was seen in the first trailers for Multiverse of Madness.
But will audiences get to see the actual location pop up on Earth-616? At this point, anything is possible—though it’s most likely to wait until the X-Men get their proper introduction into the MCU.
Feige likes to tread new ground when it comes to creating new stories whenever possible. The Savage Land has never been touched in live-action and was completely missing from any of the Fox films. It’s safe to say that the location is probably towards the top of the list of where Marvel Studios will take the Mutants first.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is now playing in theaters worldwide.
