'Doctor Strange' Will Probably Connect to 'Guardians Vol. 2'

It looks like Marvel’s rag-tag Guardians of the Galaxy will tie into another chaotic, far-out corner of the rapidly expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe — the multi-dimensional world of Doctor Strange.

Earlier this week, Empire released a concept image from artist Andy Park, which he had created for Guardians of Galaxy Vol. 2. The image, set in space, depicted Rocket, Starlord, Gamora, Drax, and a joyful Baby Groot fighting a Lovecraftian tentacle monster. During a Facebook Live Q&A yesterday, writer James Gunn answered a fan question regarding the monster by identifying it as abolisk, and a “multi-dimensional” creature.

The term “multi-dimensional”, of course, brings to mind Doctor Strange, whose primary villain Dormammu is often identified as “multi-dimensional.” Fans have speculated that Doctor Strange will be the first movie to introduce Marvel’s Cinematic Multiverse, which could explain variant actors playing different roles across film and television. The point is, it looks like Guardians Vol. 2 has a lot more in common with Doctor Strange than anyone anticipated.

Gunn also mentioned the Guardians had been hired to take down the abolisk, but didn’t identify who might have hired them. In comics, the Guardians have fought multi-dimensional beings from both the Fault, the Cancerverse, and other areas of existence they wouldn’t be able to access without the works of characters like Doctor Strange. All in all, the teased images from both films are adding up to a Marvel film rollout that looks increasingly homogeneous: focused on mythical spaces, overlapping realities and baddies more complicated than a angry man in a suit.

Doctor Strange premieres November 4, 2016, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 premieres May 5, 2017.