Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is set to make MCU history by being the first MCU movie to fully tie into a story that originated on Disney+. Thanks to Elizabeth Olsen's leading role as Wanda Maximoff in this movie, fans will get to see what she's been up to since leading the way in WandaVision, Phase 4's first new release last year.
With WandaVision coming directly in between Wanda's return to life in Avengers: Endgame and her most prominent role yet in Doctor Strange 2, the show has plot points that will continue having an impact on the Scarlet Witch moving forward. From her personal tussle with Agatha Harkness to the deep connections she made with her twin sons, the long-standing heroine has plenty to look back on from her past as she tackles her future.
Another lesser-discussed part of her story from WandaVision was her experience with the Darkhold, which first debuted in Episode 8 before taking a more prominent role in the show's ninth and final entry. Now, it appears that fans haven't seen the last of this dark book thanks to a chat with one of the MCU's masters in the prop department.
The Darkhold's Role After WandaVision
The Phase Zero podcast spoke with Marvel Studios veteran Prop Master Russell Bobbitt teased the Darkhold's role in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
When asked whether he collaborated with director Sam Raimi while he worked on WandaVision and Loki, Bobbitt said that the Darkhold actually came from the Doctor Strange 2 prop team. This decision was made due to the book having a "bigger" role in Strange's sequel than its presence in WandaVision:
"100%. The Darkhold book came from [Doctor Strange In the Multiverse of Madness' prop team]. How we weighed that out is, [we asked] 'Where is there more screen time for the [Darkhold]?' And story-wise, it was going to have a bigger say in [Doctor Strange 2] than ours did in our show. So yes, we did collaborate. We made those together. In fact, they made it for me, sent it to me, I used it and got it back to them."
Doctor Strange 2 Embraces the Darkhold
While the Darkhold didn't have a ton of screen time in WandaVision, it set the stage for some important character developments for Wanda Maximoff. Agatha Harkness read the legend of the Scarlet Witch from its pages, and when Wanda studied it in the post-credits scene from Episode 9, she began hearing the voices of her lost twin sons through the Multiverse.
The book wasn't officially confirmed to be a part of Doctor Strange 2 before these quotes, but this interview indicates just how big of a role it will have in the upcoming MCU sequel. How it comes into play is another story entirely, especially with the Multiverse opening doorways for potentially dozens of characters to enter the fray.
Even though Wanda is mostly using the Darkhold to find Billy and Tommy at the end of WandaVision, footage from Doctor Strange 2 teases that she's fully embraced some of its darker elements. It could even be something that pushes Wanda over the edge in regard to the line between hero and villain - a fight between her and one of her darker Variants has already been teased.
No matter how the specifics work out, this publication of dark magic will be something to keep a close eye on as Wanda progresses through the story.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will debut in theaters on May 6.
