A line tucked away in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has Marvel fans on high alert – because it could be setting up a major MCU crossover event.
Spoilers for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness follow. If you haven’t seen the movie, look away now!
Midway through the movie, Doctor Strange heads to Earth-838. There, he’s met by the Illuminati, who fill him in on the fate of their Doctor Strange.
Long story short, it’s bad news: the Sorcerer Supreme went looking for a universe where he and Christine were happy, but ultimately caused an ‘Incursion’ – an event where two universes collide into each other, destroying both.
That Strange paid for his sins but, fast forward to the Doctor Strange 2 post-credits scene, Charlize Theron’s Clea shows up and explains that Strange has caused his own Incursion with his actions and that he needs to sort out the mess.
Marvel fans reacted in turn, with one saying, "They are 1000% leading up to a Secret Wars movie. They talked about Incursions and universes dying and shit that it's obvious that they're starting to lead up to a Secret Wars movie and I'm hyped!"
For the uninitiated, 2015’s Secret Wars was a Marvel comic book event written by Jonathan Hickman that saw two universes collide in a ‘Final Incursion.’ From the ruins, Doctor Doom created a world in his own image – bringing in a patchwork of characters and stories from other universes into one reality. Fantastic Four, X-Men, multiple Spider-Men, Thanos, Black Panther, the Infinity Gauntlet, and Doctor Strange were all involved in the crossover to end all crossovers.
Others are also seemingly convinced: "Now the buildup towards Secret wars has officially begun," one wrote, but urged fans to remain patient. "It's like when Thanos was introduced in the MCU. Sure, he wasn't immediately the main villain, but we knew he was coming."
"It was practically spelled out at the end credits," said another. One added, simply, "Secret Wars is coming!"
A Marvel fan was a little cooler on the tease, saying, "Secret Wars is a really cool event but um uh… it works best because of two LONG ass comic runs surrounding the Avengers and F4, how tf is the MCU gonna handle this?"
If all roads lead to Secret Wars, that’s a good problem for Marvel Studios to have. Bring on God Emperor Doom?
For more on Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, be sure to read our guides and explainers.
- Doctor Strange 2 ending explained
- Our guide to Marvel Phase 4
- All the Doctor Strange 2 Easter eggs listed
- What does 616 in Doctor Strange 2 mean?
- Where Doctor Strange 2 fits on the Marvel timeline
- Who is Charlize Theron in Doctor Strange 2?
- The TV history of the Darkhold, explained
- Our full WandaVision recap
- The Marvel movies and shows to watch before Doctor Strange 2
- When is Doctor Strange 2 on Disney Plus?
- How to watch the Marvel movies in order
- Is Doctor Strange 2 too scary for children?
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