DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS: Kevin Feige Teases Unexpected Character Debuts

Speaking to students at the NY Film Academy, Marvel Studios head honcho Kevin Feige teased that characters he's long wanted to see make their MCU debut will feature in the next Doctor Strange solo film.

By MarkJulian - Dec 30, 2019 11:12 AM EST

Filed Under: In the Multiverse of Madness

According to Kevin Feige, fans won't be able to guess the characters set to make their debut in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. In addition, Feige has been trying to get these mystery character(s) into the MCU for a while and it's thanks to the Multiverse of Madness' tone that he's finally able to do so.

Speaking to students at the New York Film Academy, Feige touched on the character selection process for the Marvel films and how sometimes Feige and his executive team decide who should be introduced next while character debuts can sometimes develop during the script writing phase. "Sometimes you're choosing title hero, choosing which main character or main team you want to bring to the screen and often times, it's as you're making and developing the movie [asking] 'Who will come into it?' and 'Who will fit into it'?

"The next Doctor Strange film, for instance, features some new MCU characters which will be making their debut in that movie you won't expect or won't guess who it is but we found a cool way to make it work because we want to make a particular type of movie there and there was a character who we always wanted to do something with who will fit really well there."

If you're keeping score at home, Feige has previously revealed in past interviews that Doctor Strange is his favorite character and that Spider-Man is Marvel's greatest hero. However, in a Reddit AMA back in May, he was specifically asked who his favorite characters are that have yet to be introduced into the MCU. His response?

"I never play favorites, but there are many Marvel characters that I’ve loved for many years that are heading to the MCU soon, but I can’t be more specific than that. Sorry!" Likely, Feige anticipated that fans could use a straight answer here to figure out where the MCU might be headed and decided to play it coy.

From what he do know, Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness will feature Scarlet Witch and will also tie into the Loki Disney+ TV series. Characters heavily rumored to appear include Clea, Brother Voodoo and Nightmare. However, Feige teased "unexpected" characters, so that rules out everyone just mentioned.

With Strange operating out of NYC, it wouldn't be totally surprising to see any of the Netflix street-level heroes appear. Per Variety, 2020 is the earliest Marvel Studious could reboot these characters and the Doctor Strange sequel currently has a May 7, 2021 release date.

Want more MCU Content? Click the NEXT button below for a rundown of Avengers that don't have their own Phase 4 project and our best guess as to where they could turn up in Phase 4.

Hulk (Disney+ Loki Series)

An alternate reality/dimension Loki who escaped with the Tesseract/Space Stone can literally go anywhere. However, what if he wants to get revenge on the green giant who so easily dispatched him? Such a development would be a prime chance to see Hulk at his best- before an epic beatdown by Thanos and transformation into the one-armed Professor Hulk currently running around the MCU.

Ant-Man & Wasp (Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness)

Ant-man-and-the-wasp-post-credits-scene-700x300

This movie will likely be the most important film in all of the announced Phase 4 projects. It's the only film that has a Disney+ miniseries that directly leads into it and the fact that alternate realities will be featured means pretty much anyone can show up and anything can happen. A cameo by Scott Lang and Hope Van Dyne doesn't make sense for any of the other confirmed projects but its a good chance that the full Avengers roster (and their alternate reality doppelgangers) could cameo.

War Machine (Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings)

If the real Mandarin surfaces and is out for revenge against all the parties involved in the misappropriation of his name, then it stands to reason that all the surviving individuals from Iron Man 3 will be a target. That only leaves Rhodey, Pepper Potts and Trevor Slattery as potential targets. Maybe we'll even see a new Iron Man suit up?

The Guardians (Thor: Love and Thunder)

It's a perfectly logical assumption to believe that the Guardians of the Galaxy will show up next in Thor: Love and Thunder as the Odinson was last seen rocketing off into space with the ragtag crew of the Milano. However, perhaps news of Jane's cancer (the catalyst that made Thor surrender Mjolnir in the comic) will spur Thor to return to Midgard? Peter Quill would likely be all too happy to get the Asgardian prince off his ship.

Black Panther (The Eternals)

When gods suddenly make their presence known on Earth (how will Marvel explain why we haven't seen them up until this point?), Wakanda is likely Earth's best line of defense. The current Avengers roster lacks the firepower of yesteryears and whatever Nick Fury's building in space (likely a S.W.O.R.D. outpost) appears to be far from finished. That leaves T'Challa, Shuri and the rest of Wakanda's newly revealed technological might to hold down the fort.

Captain Marvel (WandaVision)

This is a rather odd place for Captain Marvel to show up, but with an adult Monica Rambeau appearing, it would be the most likely Phase 4 project to see Carol Danvers return- even if it's just something similar to Black Widow's facetime meeting in Endgame. The brisk pace of Endgame didn't afford Danvers any scenes with her closest family but that's something Marvel should look to rectify to ground the MCU's strongest character.

The X-Men and Fantastic Four (Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness)

Calling it now: the multiverse will be how Kevin Feige and co. bring in the X-Men and the Fantastic Four. It's the simplest way to add X-Men characters like Wolverine, Apocalypse and Cable who have long, complicated backstories. At this stage of the MCU, there's simply no other way to explain that they've been around all along and are only now stepping to the forefront.

Steve Rogers (The Falcon and the Winter Soldier)

Though he's passed his shield, Steve Rogers is still out there. As a tactician, he'd still be a brilliant asset to any Earth defense force and having him direct Sam and Bucky as they attempt to outmaneuver Zemo would definitely bring back the Winter Soldier/Civil War vibe that seems to be reserved for Captain America films.

DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE Reportedly Considered A Surprising Supervillain For Earth-838's Illuminati

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137 Comments

1 2 3 4

comicfan100 - 12/30/2019, 11:59 AM

He makes it sound like it'll be characters he wasn't able to use pre Fox merger.

Polaris - 12/30/2019, 2:46 PM

@comicfan100 - I feel the opposite, to me it sounds like this movie's tone fits a character they've wanted to introduce for a while, nothing to do with legal rights

comicfan100 - 12/30/2019, 4:04 PM

@Polaris - But I don't think he'd outright say it, if a Fox character being said character was the case.

JonC - 12/31/2019, 9:01 AM

@comicfan100 -
i think in the beginning of his feedback he is talking of characters that they already had but couldn't find a good place to fit them in: "and there was a character who we always wanted to do something with who will fit really well there", i.e. we have had access to them for some time but could not find a good place story-wise to fit them in.

Later he is specifically discussing the Fox characters: "there are many Marvel characters that I’ve loved for many years that are heading to the MCU soon”... these "soon" characters are the Fox characters.

Kman - 12/30/2019, 11:59 AM

All I heard was... "X-Men, X-Men, X-Men... X-Men X-Men Xmen, X-Men"

C3K - 12/30/2019, 12:00 PM

L0RDbuckethead - 12/30/2019, 12:15 PM

@C3K -

C3K - 12/30/2019, 12:21 PM

Also wouldn't be surprised if they briefly introduced Deadpool this way since Ryan Reynolds says they're at work with Disney on Deadpool 3.

JonC - 12/31/2019, 9:02 AM

@C3K - I expect to see the first not Fox characters appearing in Deadpool 3...

MUTO123 - 12/30/2019, 12:23 PM

Off-topic: a compilation of actors looking and sounding frustrated during the Rise of Skywalker press tour.

http://twitter.com/freyasolo/status/1211473761750462465

soberchimera - 12/30/2019, 12:24 PM

Shaman from Alpha Flight would be a cool surprise and a nice fit, plus he appeared in Jason Aaron's recent Doctor Strange run with Scarlet Witch and Brother Voodoo.

MCUKnight11 - 12/30/2019, 12:29 PM

Guesses are Brother Voodoo, Clea, Namor, Mephisto, and Ghost Rider.

1 2 3 4

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DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS: Kevin Feige Teases Unexpected Character Debuts

Speaking to students at the NY Film Academy, Marvel Studios head honcho Kevin Feige teased that characters he's long wanted to see make their MCU debut will feature in the next Doctor Strange solo film.

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