The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) broke new ground with Spider-Man: No Way Home. It opened the floodgates to the multiverse, with three Spidey’s jostling for screentime in the epic crossover event. Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness is building on that idea, and one-upping it, with fan theories speculating any number of universe-breaking cameos. Some of that theorising has paid off, as the new Super Bowl trailer gave audiences a glimpse of a beloved character that few expected to return.
The second trailer for Doctor Strange 2 finally dropped and gave fans some serious answers to long-standing questions. Benedict Cumberbatch led the teaser as the multiverse-fearing sorcerer.
He was joined by Benedict Wong as the new Sorcerer Supreme Wong, Rachel McAdams’s love-interest Dr Christine Palmer, Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda Maximoff aka The Scarlett Witch and Chiwetel Ejiofor’s fallen wizard Mordo.
The trailer starts with Strange waking up from a series of intense nightmares, worrying about the consequences of No Way Home which saw the multiverse crack open. He narrates: “Every night, I dream the same dream. And then the nightmare begins.”
From there, it is a kaleidoscope of crazy cameos and deranged dimensions.
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However, the biggest moment in the trailer has sent the internet into a frenzy as it has all but confirmed the return of Professor X.
Yes, the Professor X aka Charles Xavier from the long-running X-Men franchise over a Fox. The cameo comes at the 1:18 minute mark of the trailer, with Marvel’s main wizard entering a room with shadowy figures judging him as he stands there in handcuffs.
One of them moves forward, with the camera strategically placed behind him. Credited as “Mysterious Voice,” he says: “We should tell him the truth.” His accent sounds remarkably similar to that of Patrick Stewart’s Xavier.
Not only this, but the silhouette has an unmistakable bald dome, the signature look of the X-Men’s leader.
If this truly is Professor X, then it means Fox’s X-Men franchise is now part of Marvel’s ever-expanding MCU, or perhaps MCM (Marvel Cinematic Multiverse) is more appropriate now. However, it doesn’t look like he is part of the iconic team here, but another one that concerns the wider universe.
In the comics, Strange and Xavier make up part of the Illuminati, a covert think-tank that originally consisted of Mister Fantastic, Iron Man, Professor X, Doctor Strange, Black Bolt and Namor.
The secretive team dealt with many of the main cosmic threats in the comics, with problems concerning the multiverse being one of them. If it is that team, it isn’t known which other members will be in the group. Marvel is breaking ground on the Fantastic Four film, so it is possible Mister Fantastic could debut here.
Despite being officially unconfirmed by Marvel, the IMDb page for Doctor Strange 2 has added Patrick Steward as Professor X. However, he might not be the only returning X-Man, as fans have pointed out another potential tease on the film’s new poster.
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It’s hard to see but one of the broken pieces of glass near the top left of the poster appears to show Deadpool. That’s right, there is a chance Ryan Reynold’s foul-mouthed bullet sponge could be debuting in the MCU as well.
It comes after his original creator Rob Liefeld teased his return. He said: “You want me to see it six times, you bring some of that [Fox-Marvel] stuff in… And actually, I know on some level, some of it is already there. I have just revoked every – every one of my [Marvel] passes just got revoked.” (via The Big Thing with Kristian Harloff)
The poster also shows Captain Carter’s shield in the bottom right in another piece of glass. She first appeared in Marvel’s What If… and is a version of Peggy that took the super-soldier serum instead of Steve Rogers.
Regardless of who actually appears, there will be loads of cameos and crossovers for fans to look forward to. The film is set to premiere on May 6, 2022, and will be available to watch on Disney Plus in the summer.
