Doctor Strange 2 Timeline: How Long After NWH Is Multiverse Of Madness Set?

The events of Spider-Man: No Way Home will directly impact those of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, but how long after Spider-Man’s multiverse adventure is the Doctor Strange sequel set? The Marvel Cinematic Universe continues its expansion with its Phase 4, which unlike the previous phases, is covering both movies and TV shows, with the latter connecting to the former. This new wave is not only bringing new characters and events, but also new concepts, and the one currently dominating the MCU is the multiverse.

MCU fans got their first taste of the dangers of the multiverse in the TV series Loki, but it wasn’t until Spider-Man: No Way Home that they saw the level of chaos that the multiverse can bring. After Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) framed him for his death and revealed his identity to the world at the end of Spider-Man: Far From Home, Spider-Man: No Way Home saw Peter Parker (Tom Holland) asking Doctor Strange for help to make everyone forget he’s Spider-Man. Unfortunately, the spell went wrong and instead it opened the gates to the multiverse, allowing villains from past Spider-Man movies (Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, Sandman, Lizard, and Electro) to cross over to the MCU, as well as the previous Spider-Men (Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield).

At the end of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Doctor Strange successfully cast a spell that made everyone forget Peter Parker, thus closing the gates, but that doesn’t mean that the chaos is over. The post-credits scene of No Way Home was the first teaser for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, confirming that these two movies are linked and that Strange will continue to deal with the consequences of his actions in No Way Home, and there doesn’t seem to be too much time between both movies.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is connected to No Way Home, Loki, and WandaVision, with Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) returning after isolating herself following the Westview incident, and will see Strange traveling into the multiverse to face a mysterious new adversary and a darker version of himself. Now, No Way Home ends during winter 2024, and at the beginning of the Doctor Strange 2 trailer, Stephen Strange comes out of the Sanctum Sanctorum and it’s snowing. It’s also implied in the trailer that the events of Doctor Strange 2 are a direct consequence of Strange’s actions in No Way Home (the trailer opens with Wong telling Strange to “not cast that spell”), so at least the beginning of the movie will be set not long after the ending of No Way Home. The fabric of time and space in the MCU has proven to be fragile and unstable, so it’s not like the multiverse is going to wait before it starts to crack, especially after the chaos brought in No Way Home.

More details about the plot of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, its connection to other movies and TV shows, and where exactly it’s set in the MCU’s timeline will surely be revealed as its release day approaches, but given the magnitude of the dangers Strange is about to encounter (and the emphasis on Wong’s warning from Spider-Man: No Way Home), it most likely isn’t set long after the ending of No Way Home.