Doctor Strange 2 rumor reveals a surprising What If...? connection
Multiverse of Madness could feature a major What If...? cameo.
Marvel’s What If…? seems to connect to the Marvel Cinematic Universe more and more each day.
The upcoming Disney+ animated series promises to deliver alternate reality versions of familiar MCU moments and stories and was initially sold as being a fun, Twilight Zone-esque series unrelated to the current events of the MCU. However, recent story developments and comments from notable Marvel stars have implied that’s not actually the case with What If…?
In fact, one new Marvel rumor suggests one of the central figures of What If…? Season 1 will have a role to play in next year’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
A Multiverse of Variants — The DisInsider Show says rumors are going around right now that Captain Carter — a version of Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) who received the super-soldier serum instead of Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) — will appear in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The Peggy variant is set to be the focus of one upcoming What If…? episode and has been heavily featured in the show’s early promotional materials.
Now, the podcast’s hosts did bring the rumor up during the show’s “Rumor of the Week” segment and were quick to note that this is all purely hearsay. So make sure to take this with a grain of salt and treat it as nothing more than a rumor for the time being.
That being said, it is a fun possibility to think about and something that doesn’t even feel outlandish based on the current state of the MCU.
“The name’s Captain Carter.”
Multiversal Cameos — We know Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will deal heavily with the fallout from the events of the Loki Season 1 finale, which concluded with the creation of a massive and interconnected multiverse within the MCU. It is possible that some of the alternate realities featured in Multiverse of Madness could end up being some of the same ones introduced in What If…?
Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) is also shaping up to be a major recurring figure in this multiversal storyline Marvel is weaving right now. The character is confirmed to play prominent roles in Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and he appears to have a strong presence in What If…? Season 1. The most recent trailer for What If…? notably features an interaction between Strange and Captain Carter.
Considering all that, it seems like a legitimate possibility that characters from What If…? might show up in some capacity in Multiverse of Madness. Uatu the Watcher (Jeffrey Wright) is set to make his MCU debut in What If…? as the series’ narrator, and some fans think his role in the series will partially serve as a way to set up a live-action appearance from him sometime soon.
Could that appearance come in Multiverse of Madness? As of now, it’s not out of the question.
The Sorcerer Supreme is going to have a lot to deal with in the very near future.
The Inverse Analysis — It’s hard to know exactly what Marvel’s plans are for What If…?, especially now that it’s looking more and more likely to have a bigger impact on the MCU-at-large than was originally teased. The series coming out so shortly after the creation of the multiverse in Loki doesn’t feel like a coincidence, though, and there’s no reason to believe it won’t end up connecting to some of the MCU titles following it.
For all we know, those connections could very well come in the form of actual cameo appearances in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Marvel’s What If…? premieres August 11 on Disney+.
