Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor Strange almost sling-ringed into the WandaVision finale
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One of the big theories heading into the WandaVision finale was that Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor Strange would portal in, further setting up the events in the movie Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Well, it turns out that almost happened.
Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige revealed in Rolling Stone's oral history of WandaVision that a deal was struck with Cumberbatch to make an appearance on the Disney+ show, but those plans were ultimately reworked.
"Some people might say, 'Oh, it would've been so cool to see Dr. Strange.' But it would have taken away from Wanda, which is what we didn't want to do," Feige said. "We didn't want the end of the show to be commoditized to go to the next movie — here's the white guy, 'Let me show you how power works.'"
Paul Bettany had teased the finale episode would feature an actor he had never worked with previously, but that turned out to be himself. As Elizabeth Olsen's Wanda Maximoff faced off against Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn), Vision (Bettany) fought against his evil robotic doppelgänger, one created by S.W.O.R.D. Director Hayward (Josh Stamberg).
In the end, Wanda removes the reality-warping hex she placed over the town of Westview and flew off to live a life of solitude as she learns more about her newfound powers.
Jay Maidment/Marvel Studios; Marvel Studios Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange and Elizabeth Olsen as The Scarlet Witch in Disney+'s "WandaVision."
"She had to get away before the people who have to hold her accountable got there," Olsen told Rolling Stone. "And where she went is a place that no one could find her. Because she knows that she is going to be held accountable, and I think she has a tremendous amount of guilt."
Olsen's Wanda will next appear alongside Cumberbatch's Sorcerer Supreme in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the title of which implies a lot more reality-bending hijinks are coming our way. The film, directed by Sam Raimi, will be released in theaters on March 25, 2022.
Cumberbatch, however, will make an earlier appearance in Spider-Man: No Way Home, out in theaters this Dec. 17. That movie, from director Jon Watts, also seems to have some supernatural mishaps going on as characters from earlier non-Disney-related Spidey movies will reportedly be crossing over into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
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