Now that Spider-Man: No Way Home is out and raking in a ton of money, attention is turning to Marvel’s resident Sorcerer Supreme as he prepares for his second MCU outing. While Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is still a few months away, some new merchandise is showing off what fans can expect to see from the Sam Raimi-helmed sequel. Specifically, a new image from Marvel Legend’s Defender Strange figure shows off what the Stephen Strange variant will look like in the film.
The upcoming Doctor Strange sequel will continue to introduce the concept of the multiverse and variants into the MCU. This idea first became prominent in the Disney+ series Loki where multiple versions of the titular villain teamed up together. Recently, the same thing happened in No Way Home where past Spider-Man actors were brought together in the same universe. Now, Doctor Strange 2 will continue that by introducing multiple versions of Doctor Strange. The teaser trailer confirms this by showing off an evil variant of Strange, similar to the one seen in Marvel’s animated show What If…?.
We now know that Defender Strange will play a role in the film. Tweeted by DrStrangeUpdate, a fan account dedicated to sharing news on the film, the packaging for the Defender Strange action figure shows off Benedict Cumberbatch in a costume of the variant. While the Defender Strange variant was briefly seen in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment from the teaser trailer, this new look at his costume offers better details on the variant and hints that we may see his fellow Defenders show up in the MCU.
The concept of Defender Strange originated back in the seventies when the Sorcerer Supreme teamed up with Namor and Hulk to create a superhero team in the comics. The inclusion of Defender Strange would be a great way to bring mutants into the MCU, as Namor is considered the very first mutant in the comics. Not to mention that Scarlet Witch will be playing a pivotal role in the film and her comic book storyline is heavily connected to the world of mutants. But with nothing to go on, we will simply have to enjoy the sneak peeks that the merchandise is offering until the film hits theaters on May 6.