Spider-Man: No Way Home Caused Doctor Strange 2, Confirmed

Warning! Spoilers ahead for Spider-Man: No Way Home.

The events of Spider-Man: No Way Home directly lead to Doctor Strange’s problem in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Peter Parker’s (Tom Holland) latest adventure involved Benedict Cumberbatch’s sorcerer who attempted to undo Mysterio’s (Jake Gyllenhaal) revelation about Spider-Man’s true identity using sorcery. But after helping the young Avenger with his problem, Doctor Strange is set for his own mission in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which is apparently caused by his attempt to resolve the wall-crawler’s identity dilemma.

Originally set to be directed by Scott Derrickson, who helmed the first Doctor Strange movie, Sam Raimi took over the job after the original filmmaker exited the sequel due to creative differences with Marvel Studios. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is expected to fully tackle the multiverse which was previously hinted at in a few projects in Phase 3 like in Ant-Man, Avengers: Endgame, and more recently in WandaVision. Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch is confirmed to join Doctor Strange’s next adventure. Meanwhile, Wong (Benedict Wong), Baron Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor), and Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams) all return in the sequel, as well. Finally, the blockbuster will also debut Xochitl Gomez’s latest MCU hero, America Chavez.

Marvel Studios has been impressively able to keep Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness‘s production tightly under wraps, with no set image leaking — at least thus far. Plot specifics are also scant at the moment, but the movie’s first teaser confirms that it’s directly caused by the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home. For context, Doctor Strange’s decision to cast the dangerous spell to make everyone forget that Peter Parker is Spider-Man went awry and resulted in various interdimensional beings descending to MCU’s main universe. Ultimately, Doctor Strange was able to resolve the problem by casting a more powerful spell that essentially prevented the multiverse from collapsing in exchange for a bigger sacrifice from Peter. But, there seems to still be unknown ramifications from the pair’s actions which will materialize in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Despite the franchise’s interconnected storytelling, clear set-ups like this are actually rare. Projects are mainly tied through MCU post-credits scenes, but in this instance, Spider-Man: No Way Home‘s story directly results in the events of the Doctor Strange sequel.

Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness‘ teaser also features Doctor Strange traveling to a parallel universe that is in the middle of chaos and destruction. It’s uncertain what or who caused its destruction, but it’s reminiscent of the Void in Loki, although it’s unlikely that it’s the same setting. Instead, it could be another dimension in the multiverse that has been negatively impacted by Shuma-Gorath’s rampage — Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness‘ rumored villain. It could establish just how dangerous the villain is, upping the stakes for Doctor Strange and his allies to protect the Sacred Timeline. This could also reaffirm Baron Mordo’s belief that Doctor Strange isn’t fit to be the next Sorcerer Supreme — something that he fully believes in when he said that the “wizard” is the world’s biggest threat. Perhaps even Wong, who’s been a loyal ally for a while, is finally convinced of the idea, especially since he explicitly warned him of casting the dangerous spell in Spider-Man: No Way Home.

Given Doctor Strange’s involvement in Spider-Man: No Way Home, the question now is whether or not Spider-Man will come to help the sorcerer in his own fight in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. While it’s Doctor Strange who cast the spell, Peter’s repeated meddling was what caused it to go awry. Even if Doctor Strange doesn’t have any recollection of his personal ties to the wall-crawler, Spider-Man could take the initiative to lend a helping hand to the only other MCU hero who assisted him during his biggest personal fight thus far.