It has been nearly six years since Doctor Strange hit theaters, but Stephen Strange has been pretty busy in the MCU. Between memorable appearances in Thor: Ragnarok, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, and Spider-Man: No Way Home, it’s been impossible to forget about him. In exactly one month, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will arrive in theaters with a fresh batch of trouble for Stephen. And if the new teaser trailer is any indication, Strange’s problems may literally be of his own making.
In the latest clips, Strange’s feelings for Christine Palmer come to the forefront. Strange lost her love in the first movie long before he became a powerful sorcerer. Strange ultimately choose the path of magic over a life with Christine, and she moved on with someone else. Yet Strange can’t stop dreaming about what might have been. And in the multiverse, all things are possible.
The same is true for Wanda Maximoff, aka the Scarlet Witch. In WandaVision, her children, Billy and Tommy, were simply manifestations of her unresolved grief for Vision. But as seen in the new footage, they really do exist somewhere in the multiverse. And she may do anything to reunite with the sons that she never really had.
Perhaps the most alarming aspects of the new trailer are the alternate visions of Strange himself. Zombie Doctor Strange would be bad enough, but the Supreme Strange from What If…? represents more power than even Strange and Wanda combined. And if the Supreme Strange wants to exert his will on the multiverse, he can.
Benedict Cumberbatch is reprising his roles as Dr. Stephen Strange and all of his alternate selves, alongside Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Karl Mordo, Benedict Wong as Wong, Xochitl Gomez as America Chavez, Michael Stuhlbarg as Nicodemus West, and Rachel McAdams as Christine Palmer.
Sam Raimi returned to the realm of comic book films to direct Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness from a script by Loki’s Michael Waldron. The film will be released on May 6.