Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness: What’s hidden in plain sight in the trailers

Did I mention it’s also a Doctor Strange sequel?

Of course, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is also a follow-up to the first Doctor Strange movie, hence why we’re getting the return of cast members from that film.

Naturally, Wong (Benedict Wong) is back and, as we learned from Spider-Man: No Way Home, he’s the new Sorcerer Supreme as a result of Strange being blipped by Thanos for five years. And it looks as though someone else from Stephen’s life has gone through some changes, too, during his absence.

There are quite a few shots from the first teaser and the first official trailer showing his old flame, Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams), in a wedding dress about to marry someone else. Note, too, that Strange still keeps the fractured watch that Christine gave him, implying he hasn’t let go of her completely.

At the same time, there are other shots from the trailer showing Christine with Strange and America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez) from what clearly looks to be later scenes in the movie. Looks as though Gargantos’s arrival interrupted the wedding and forced Christine to become a runaway bride. Then again, there’s also a rumor that Rachel McAdams will also be playing another version of Christine from a different universe named Clea.

That name should be very familiar to Doctor Strange fans as the love of Doctor Strange’s life and a sorcerer in her own right with access to the Dark Dimension. In fact, she’s the current Sorcerer Supreme in the comics after the events of The Death of Doctor Strange. 

Then there’s Baron Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor) who still appears to be on his anti-sorcerer crusade. Considering how Wanda looks to be the villain of the movie, that will either force Strange and Mordo to work together again, or force Stephen to protect Wanda from Mordo.

Also, that green-looking minotaur standing at the ready with the other sorcerers of Kamar-Taj? That’s apparently Rintrah, another character from the Doctor Strange comics, who is also an alien. In the comics, Rintrah pledged his allegiance to Strange and became his apprentice after the later saved his life. Since Wong is the Sorcerer Supreme now in the MCU, it’s likely Rintrah is Wong’s apprentice in the movie instead.

Finally, and this might be a bit of stretch, but Strange having prophetic nightmares could be seen as a two-for-one Easter Egg. While the first movie had Stephen reverse the course of time, here we have him see into the possible future, albeit in a more terrifying manner than how he looked into possible outcomes during Avengers: Infinity War (2018).

The other portion of this Easter Egg is there is a dream dimension in the Doctor Strange comics, too, ruled over by a demonic being simply called Nightmare. Moreover, Nightmare debuted in the same issue as Doctor Strange, Strange Tales #110. That seems like something an old-school Marvel fan like Sam Raimi couldn’t resist passing up.