Warning: Spoilers for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness follow…
We all knew that Doctor Strange’s foray into the Multiverse was set to produce some big cameos, but Marvel Studios and Sam Raimi’s sequel may have outdone itself with some huge surprises, including the likes of John Krasinski’s Reed Richards and Anson Mount’s Black Bolt popping up as members of the Illuminati alongside Patrick Stewart’s Professor X, Hayley Atwell’s Captain Carter and Lashana Lynch’s Captain Marvel, not to mention Charlize Theron’s mid-credits cameo as the sorceress Clea.
Some of the names may have been familiar to those who’d been following all of the alleged leaks, rumours and speculation running up to the film’s release, but there were also a host of other actors and characters who’d been linked to Multiverse of Madness over the past year so. Chief among these perhaps was Tom Cruise, who’d been heavily rumoured to be in line for an appearance as the Superior Iron Man version of Tony Stark, and screenwriter Michael Waldron has revealed to Rolling Stone that while the rumours were “totally made up”, he did pitch the idea to Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige.
“Yeah, that was totally made up,” said Waldron about the Tom Cruise reports. “I mean, there’s no cut footage of Tom Cruise! But I love Tom Cruise, and I said to Kevin at one point, I was like, Could we get Tom Cruise’s Iron Man? I remember reading about that in Ain’t It Cool News back in the day, that Tom Cruise was going to be Iron Man. As it was being talked about online, I was like, Yeah, that’d be cool! I don’t believe [anyone reached out to Cruise]. I just don’t think it was ever an option, because of availability.”
As one might expect, it seems that a whole host of characters were considered for cameo appearances, including original comic book Illuminati member Namor the Sub-Mariner, with Waldron telling Variety that: “We talked about him, because he’s certainly an original member of the Illuminati, but I think Marvel has other plans for him in the MCU. And so he didn’t make his way in this particular movie.”
It’s long been rumoured that Marvel has big plans for Namor when he eventually does make his way into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which may not be too long at all if reports are to be believed (the spoiler-averse may want to skip that link), and another character that Feige and company also have big plans for is Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool. Reynolds himself debunked reports of his involvement in the Doctor Strange sequel back in February, but as you might expect, his name was indeed brought up during the development stage.
“Yeah, we talked about [Deadpool],” Waldron told Comic Book. “I think we talked about everything in this movie. So, [it] would’ve been crazy to not raise that, but it ultimately didn’t feel like… It just didn’t feel the right place. But yeah, of course we talked about it.”
What did you make of Doctor Strange’s cameos? Would you have liked to see Superior Iron Man, Namor or Deadpool popping up for an appearance? Let us know on our social channels @FlickeringMyth…
In Marvel Studios’ Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the MCU unlocks the Multiverse and pushes its boundaries further than ever before. Journey into the unknown with Doctor Strange, who, with the help of mystical allies both old and new, traverses the mind-bending and dangerous alternate realities of the Multiverse to confront a mysterious new adversary.
Directed by Sam Raimi, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness stars Benedict Cumberbatch (Doctor Strange), Benedict Wong (Wong), Rachel McAdams (Christine Palmer), Chiwetel Ejiofor (Mordo), Michael Stuhlbarg (Nicodemus West) and Elizabeth Olsen (Scarlet Witch) as well as MCU newcomer Xochitl Gomez (The Baby-Sitters Club) as America Chavez.
