Doctor Strange 2 Theory: Loki Causes The Multiverse of Madness

The events of Disney+’s Loki might cause the start of the Multiverse of Madness in Doctor Strange 2. After the events of the Infinity Saga and the fight for the Infinity Stones that culminated in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, the MCU is moving on to an entirely different narrative territory in Phase 4. It’s still unclear what overall narrative it will tackle, but based on the franchise’s confirmed slate, the multiverse will play a significant role in Marvel Studios’ next endeavor.

The idea of the multiverse is not new to the MCU; the franchise has been teasing its existence for quite a while now with Ant-Man and Doctor Strange first introducing the concept. Last year’s Spider-Man: Far From Home further teased its existence when it was used as a ruse by villain Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) to trick Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Tom Holland) into trusting him. While Quentin Beck’s claims turned out to be nothing but lies, that doesn’t mean that the MCU will shy away from exploring the concept. The universe’s architect, Kevin Feige, himself confirmed that the multiverse is the key to MCU’s future.

Based on what’s known about the future of the franchise thus far, it’s safe to say that the exploration of the multiverse is happening sooner rather than later. Benedict Cumberbatch’s next solo outing as Stephen Strange is proof of that as the Sam Raimi’s film, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, clearly suggests. However, with both Disney+ series Loki and WandaVision linked to the sequel, it’s safe to assume that both projects will also deal with the concept. The events of Loki, in particular, may even be the cause behind the Multiverse of Madness.

Loki Is Already In The Multiverse Before Doctor Strange 2

Earth’s Mightiest Heroes meddled with time in Avengers: Endgame when they traveled back to different points in the MCU to collect all six Infinity Stones in the hopes of bringing back those who perished in Thanos’ (Josh Brolin) snap in Avengers: Infinity War. The Battle of New York was among their pit stops and was where the heroes encountered a pre-redeemed Loki. During an inadvertent scuffle, the God of Mischief swiped the Tesseract/Space Stone and teleported. As per the Ancient One’s (Tilda Swinton) explanation to Smart Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) in the same film, this effectively created the first confirmed branched timeline since Captain America (Chris Evans) is unable to fix the altered events with Loki’s whereabouts after he escaped unknown. This alternate reality will be the setting of the God of Mischief’s own TV series, which also explains why he can continue his adventures despite his death at the hands of Thanos in Infinity War.

Plot details for Loki are still under wraps for now, but the previously revealed synopsis says that in the mini-series, the God of Mischief will skip through time and become an unusual player in various historical events. Since this version of the character now exists in an entirely different timeline, its events won’t affect what’s happening in the prime MCU universe.

Loki’s TV Show Will Connect To Doctor Strange 2

After mainly focusing their efforts on the big screen, Marvel Studios will officially produce TV shows exclusively for Disney+. Unlike previously Marvel TV endeavors, however, the upcoming shows will be integral in the franchise’s overall narrative, as they will have explicit connections to their movie counterparts. In the case of Loki, the Hiddleston-led series will have ramifications to the events of Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness. This was confirmed by Feige months after MCU’s Phase 4 projects were officially announced at San Diego Comic-Con last year.

Information regarding how Loki connects to Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is still scarce at the moment as Marvel Studios are still keeping details about their upcoming Disney+ shows close to the chest. That said, with Loki’s showrunner Michael Waldron also serving as the writer for the Doctor Strange sequel, it’s safe to say that the projects’ narratives will be substantially connected to each other.

How Loki Can Be The Cause Of Doctor Strange’s Multiverse Madness

While Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will be more in-depth in exploring MCU’s multiverse, fans’ first full encounter with the concept will be in Loki thanks to Endgame‘s set-up. This means that by the time Doctor Strange’s next solo outing, the God of Mischief has already wreaked havoc by hopping through time periods in his small screen adventure. The first footage for the series confirms that he’s in time prison, as well as, the involvement of Time Variance Authority/TVA – an organization from the comic books responsible for protecting the timeline of the universe.

This hints that the God of Mischief is once again up to no good, hence why the TVA is after him. It’s worth noting that the show will feature Loki at his peak-villain phase. At that point in the timeline, he had just attempted to take over Earth with the help of Thanos and his Chitauri army, and given the opening to escape any punishment, chances are that he’s motivated to seek revenge, or at least cause any commotion elsewhere. Not knowing any better, his actions could have big repercussions, something that he could ultimately lead to the events of Doctor Strange 2. That’s why he’s one of the most compelling candidates to be the real cause of the Multiverse of Madness.

What Loki Causing The Multiverse Madness Means For Doctor Strange 2 & The MCU

Loki causing the Multiverse of Madness and leaving it to the sorcerer to take care of is an intriguing set-up for  Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and there’s a couple of possibilities that could come out of this scenario. Firstly and the most obvious one would be for Doctor Strange to go after the God of Mischief to hold him accountable for his actions. This is an interesting approach especially since both are able to wield to magic – seeing them go against each other would be a treat. That said, it’s also safe to assume that Loki won’t be a primary force of evil in this story. Despite his worst transgressions, the God of Mischief has always been framed as an empathetic villain, which means that while Loki will feature the evil version of the character, he will emerge out of this new adventure better. This is backed up by recent comments from Loki actor Gugu Mbatha-Raw, who teased that the God of Mischief will mature in a different way in the upcoming Marvel/Disney+ series.

This leads to the second and more plausible case – Loki and Doctor Strange teaming up to deal with the consequences brought about by the Multiverse of Madness. By taking this narrative route, Marvel Studios can redo the God of Mischief’s redemption arc which is more likely the character progression he’ll have in his Disney+ series. With Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) also confirmed to appear in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, it will be nifty to see MCU’s three most prominent magic users unite to defeat a common enemy.

In terms of the God of Mischief’s fate in the MCU, his potential entanglement with the future Sorcerer Supreme in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness could also lead to his return to the franchise’s main timeline. This way, Loki could wrap up with the titular character reuniting with Thor (Chris Hemsworth), resulting in the brothers moving forward to new adventures together.