The Falcon and the Winter Soldier may be the most recent Marvel Studios show to go live, but fans are still circling some questions from WandaVision. The Disney+ show turned the Marvel Cinematic Universe upside down when it debuted this year, and its debut of the Scarlet Witch was met with high praise. Still, some fans have questions about Doctor Strange’s whereabouts during the show’s events, and the head of Marvel Studios has just admitted the hero was meant to star in WandaVision.
The whole thing came to light this month when Rolling Stone put out its latest issue. The magazine did an in-depth piece on the making of WandaVision where reporter Brian Hiatt spoke with Kevin Feige, the president of Marvel Studios. It was there the producer owned up to Strange’s original role in the show and why it was cut in the end.
As Feige put it, Marvel Studios approached star Benedict Cumberbatch to reprise his role as Doctor Strange for WandaVision. A deal was made between the parties, and Feige said Strange’s role was tied directly to the mysterious commercials littered through the series. These commercials, which made sly nods to Hydra and more, were going to be sent to Wanda from Doctor Strange in a bid to break the illusion she cast.
But in the end, the sorcerer was cut out from WandaVision. Feige said the team felt adding the hero would overshadow the narrative’s focus on Wanda up until his debut. “Some people might say, ‘Oh, it would’ve been so cool to see Doctor Strange. But It would have taken away from Wanda. 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.'”
Feige went on to say that Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness had to undergo a short rewrite in light of this change. Wanda will star in the sequel as the Scarlet Witch, so Doctor Strange will need a way to catch up on her journey in WandaVision. Now, fans will get to see that encounter play out in theaters when the sorcerers collide in March 2022.
What do you make of this latest MCU revelation? Do you think WandaVision did the right thing by cutting Doctor Strange from the picture? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB.