Doctor Strange sequel confirms cast, will tie into Spider-Man 3

An entire multiverse in the Doctor Strange sequel calls for some big casting, and there are now new actor additions joining the next venture for our Sorcerer Supreme and Scarlet Witch.

Rachel McAdams will officially reprise her role of Dr. Christine Palmer, who first appeared in 2016's Doctor Strange, for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The news was first reported by Deadline and later confirmed out of the big Disney investors call Thursday.

Additional names on the docket include Benedict Wong as sorcerer Wong and Chiwetel Ejiofor as Strange-ally-turned-villain Mordo. Mordo was last scene in the post-credits scenes of the first film, stealing the magic that healed Jonathan Pangborn (Benjamin Bratt). Xochitl Gomez of Netflix's The Baby-Sitters Club series is also confirmed to join the cast as character America Chavez, alongside Elizabeth Olsen's Wanda Maximoff opposite Benedict Cumberbatch as the titular magician.

Sam Raimi will direct Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness after the departure of Doctor Strange filmmaker Scott Derrickson.

Plot details are vague, but the title holds a lot of meaning. First of all, multiverse, as in the Marvel Comics multiverse of multiple realities. Then there's the fact that the movie will act as a direct follow-up to the events chronicled in the Disney+ series WandaVision, which premieres in January. If the trailer is any suggestion, the show, the first live-action series from Marvel Studios, will see Wanda exploring her reality-warping powers.

Lastly, there's Doctor Strange's appearance in the forthcoming third Spider-Man movie with Tom Holland to consider. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige confirmed this movie will also tie into Multiverse of Madness. Spider-Man 3 suggests major multiverse play since Alfred Molina will reprise his role of Doc Ock, a character he played in Raimi's non-MCU Spider-Man trilogy. There are also reports that Jamie Foxx will reprise his Electro role from the Andrew Garfield era of Spidey flicks, and other actors from previous non-MCU Spider-Man films are rumored to appear, as well. It's a mad, mad multiverse out there.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is currently slated to hit theaters March 25, 2022.

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• The Marvel multiverse seems real in just-announced Doctor Strange sequel
• Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor Strange will return for Spider-Man 3