Secret cameos in ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,’ explained
‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ doesn’t disappoint when it comes to delivering top-secret cameos from Marvel superheroes who haven’t been seen on-screen before.
Mutants. Geniuses. Alternative versions. Even an Inhuman. (No Tom Cruise as Iron Man though, sorry.) All of them are part of the Illuminati, who have arrived for their big Marvel Cinematic Universe debut.
Doctor Strange is held captive in a universe not his own and brought forth to face the Illuminati, who explain to him that in their universe, the most dangerous threat at one point was ... Doctor Strange. That other Doctor Strange, the one in the Illuminati universe, is revered as a hero after presumably dying in battle. But this group of Illuminati secretly killed him after concluding that he was too dangerous to let live.
So, who are the Illuminati? A group from the comics whose on-screen appearance was so classified only the slightest hints of it appeared in any advertising for “Multiverse of Madness.” Here is the roster of the members who show up in the movie. Don’t get too attached, though. The wrath of the Scarlet Witch takes its toll on this team.
Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor)
Ejiofor returns to the role of Baron Mordo — the friend, mentor and eventual enemy of Steven Strange — after playing him in the first ‘Doctor Strange’ movie back in 2016. This Mordo is much friendlier and greets the arrival of Doctor Strange and America Chavez in his universe with a smile. But after a warm welcome, Mordo drugs Strange and Chavez with a spiked drink and imprisons them so that they can face the Illuminati.
Captain Carter (Hayley Atwell)
After voicing the animated debut of British super-soldier Captain Carter in Marvel Studios’ animated ‘What If...?’ series, Atwell brings the character to life in live-action in ‘Multiverse of Madness.’ This Peggy Carter is the Illuminati universe’s version of Captain America. She’s none too happy to see yet another Doctor Strange after her Illuminati teammates killed the last Doctor Strange who stood before them.
Atwell’s appearance serves as a reminder that the animated world of Marvel Studios is MCU canon and that appearances in ‘What If...?’ can eventually turn into liveaction cameos elsewhere.
Black Bolt (Anson Mount)
Perhaps the most ‘Oh, really?’ moment of ‘Multiverse of Madness’ was the appearance of Mount, reprising his role as Black Bolt of the Inhumans. The superhero team’s ‘Inhumans’ was a Marvel/ABC television show that never took off, lasting only one season in 2017. At one point there were cinematic plans for the Inhumans, but they never became part of the large-scale happenings of the MCU. Then Black Bolt showed up in this film, not saying a single word, because, well, his voice is so powerful it can destroy anyone put in front of it. Which is exactly how this secret Illuminati crew killed the Doctor Strange of their universe. Black Bolt said “I’m sorry” and destroyed him.
Captain Marvel (Lashana Lynch)
Lynch is instantly recognizable as Maria Rambeau, who is the best friend of Carol Danvers and mother to an eventual superhero, Monica Rambeau, as seen in 2019’s ‘Captain Marvel.’ But in the Illuminati universe, it is she who is Captain Marvel, with the suit and superpowers to prove it. She is one of the Illuminati’s most powerful members and is just as disgusted by the new Doctor Strange as the rest of her teammates are.
Professor X (Patrick Stewart)
Stewart returns to the XMen world and makes his first appearance in the MCU as the powerful telepath Professor Charles Xavier. In true Marvel Studios fashion, his entrance is highlighted by the slight musical riff of the theme song from the ‘X-Men’ animated series (which will soon be getting a revival under Marvel Studios at Disney Plus). He’s also equipped with the same yellow gliding chair from the animated series, a nice MCU wink. Xavier is the only member of the Illuminati who trusts the Doctor Strange that has been brought before the Illuminati and doesn’t think he is the same type of threat as the Doctor Strange of his world that he agreed had to die.
Reed Richards (John Krasinski)
Without a doubt the biggest surprise of ‘Multiverse of Madness’s’ secret Illuminati cameos was the arrival of Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four, with an even bigger reveal of Krasinski being cast in the role. No one from the Fantastic Four has ever appeared in the MCU before because the rights to the characters were previously owned separately by Fox — the same reason Stewart and the XMen had yet to appear in the MCU before now. Now that Disney owns Fox, the Fantastic Four can be a part of the MCU timeline.
There is a Fantastic Four movie currently being produced by Marvel Studios that just lost John Watts (director of the last three Marvel Studios/Sony ‘SpiderMan’ films) as its director. So does Krasinski’s appearance as Mr. Fantastic certify that he is the new Reed Richards of Marvel Studios? Or does the multiverse aspect of ‘Multiverse of Madness’ come into play here and he’s not the real deal? — The Washington Post