What Does The End Of Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness Mean For The Future Of The MCU?
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has taken inspiration from a number of places. Not only do they have the decades-long history of Marvel Comics to draw from, but as with most things, the architects of this world take elements from all over pop culture and incorporate them into their films. Not every reference is called out like Peter Parker's pithy battle banter, but many are easy enough to pick out. For instance, Kevin Feige and company have clearly taken the lyrics from Semisonic's "Closing Time" to heart: "Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end."
While this holds true for nearly all of the projects from the House of Ideas, this is definitely apparent at the end of "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness." By the time the credits roll, the audience gets a small taste of where each main character goes from here. But what does it all mean for the MCU at large moving forward? Let's explore some possibilities.
From this point forward, there are massive spoilers for "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness." Proceed with caution.
America Chavez
Following her adventure through the multiverse, America Chavez has a much better grasp on her powers than when we first met her. Under the guidance of Doctor Strange, she plays a huge role in the Scarlet Witch's defeat by showing Wanda what her sons think about her actions. After seeing how understandably upset Billy and Tommy with Earth-616 Wanda's ruthless actions, the Avenger and the young hero return to Earth-616 to carry out a different plan.
We'll get back to what Wanda Maximoff decided to do shortly. But as for America, we see her training with the students of Kamar-Taj. Presumably, Wong and Strange feel that studying the mystic arts could help Chavez control her universe-jumping abilities. Although, this isn't exactly the path that many True Believers thought they would see her take after her MCU debut. In the pages of Marvel Comics, Miss America rose to prominence as part of Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie's Young Avengers team. Before we saw her practicing with a Sling Ring, I assumed that she would go back to the Sanctum Sanctorum with Strange and live in New York City with him while learning directly from the former Sorcerer Supreme. That way, she could easily cross paths with Kate Bishop, who becomes one of America's best friends in the comics. Instead, she's dabbling in magic.
There's still plenty of time to get the Young Avengers in the MCU. After all, when we meet America in Gillen and McKelvie's run, she's already a strong, fierce, and independent hero that largely has her powers in check. Her live-action counterpart has a little way to go until she reaches optimum badass levels and maybe Kamar-Taj is the place where evolves into that character that comic readers have come to know and love. Or she could punch a hole in the universe shortly after her studies start in search of a new adventure. Either way, America Chavez could be a key player in the MCU moving forward.
Wong
Thanks to the events of "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness," I sincerely hope that there's an excellent chiropractor in Kamar Taj because Wong could really use a session or two. Getting thrown around by the Scarlet Witch for most of the movie can't be great for the Sorcerer Supreme's back. But while he heals his body, he must also oversee the healing of the place where he, Doctor Strange, and many others became Masters of the Mystic Arts. No longer being used as a fortress, Kamar Taj must resume its primary function as a place of learning and enlightenment.
Meanwhile, since he is the Sorcerer Supreme, Wong does have a lot on his plate. Since Doctor Strange opened the door to the multiverse in "Spider-Man: No Way Home," it's only a matter of time until something else crosses through that prohibited threshold, so he needs to be prepared for that. In addition to keeping the Earth safe from mystical threats and monitoring activities at Kamar-Taj, he may still have to figure out what the deal is with Shang-Chi's Ten Rings. Plus, Wong might even want to get a few rounds in with the Abomination again in between everything.
With a schedule as packed as this, we're truly in Phase Wong and we're ready to follow him wherever he goes next.
Scarlet Witch
Not all endings can be happy and Wanda Maximoff learned that first hand. With the help of her sons from Earth-838 courtesy of America Chavez, Wanda saw how corrupted by the Darkhold she had truly become. Determined to ensure that the Book of the Damned wouldn't fall into the wrong hands again, she used her immense power to wipe the book from all universes and topple the castle on Mount Wundagore where the spells of the Darkhold originated from. Unfortunately, Wanda also brought the house down with her still inside.
Though she was the antagonist throughout the movie, there was still a part of her that remained one of Earth's Mightiest Heroes. This act of sacrifice might have been Wanda's final act, but magic has a weird way of complicating things. Since we never saw her body to confirm her demise, she could still be out there, atoning for her sins. Alternatively, she could be out there with no memory of what happened while living a relatively normal life. In the comics, Wanda did lose her memory after the events of "House of M" thanks to the sheer amount of power she used to manipulate reality. Also, due to the connection of her chaos magic to the life force of the universe, Billy and Tommy were reincarnated and born to other families when the Marvel Universe returned to normal. It would be a bit of a stretch to get there from the end of "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness," but it's not entirely out of the realm of possibility.
Essentially, this is a Schrödinger's Avenger situation. But with "Agatha: House of Harkness" starring Kathryn Hahn on the horizon, we could get some answers when that series premieres on Disney+ as that is the next announced Marvel Studios project that explicitly deals with magic.
Doctor Strange
Finally, when it comes to the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe following the events of "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness," it's only fitting that the titular Master of the Mystic Arts is at the center of the next big thing from the House of Ideas. As seen in one of the post-credits scenes of the film, Charlize Theron appeared as the Dark Dimension's Sorcerer Supreme Clea to tell Benedict Cumberbatch's good doctor that she needs his help to fix the incursion that he caused. While we previously heard the Illuminati talk about incursions before they met their fate at the hands of the Scarlet Witch, if those multiversal events are still in play, then that could mean serious trouble for the MCU.
True Believers may remember that incursions played a big part in Jonathan Hickman's epic storyline that unfolded in the pages of "Avengers" and "New Avengers" from 2012 to 2015. Ahead of the 2015 version of the "Secret Wars" crossover event, Hickman spent the eight months prior telling the story of "Time Runs Out." In this chapter of the Avengers' extensive history, they learn about the collapsing multiverse and try just about everything they can to save it. Just like the Illuminati describes in the movie, when two universes collide, it means that either one or both of them are wiped from existence. In the comics, despite the best efforts of Earth's Mightiest Heroes, the multiverse is reduced to two final universes: the Marvel Universe proper and the Ultimates universe. However, mere moments before both universes meet their demise, the trio of Doctor Strange, the Molecule Man, and Doctor Doom harness the power of the Beyonders to create an all-new multiverse.
With the door to the multiverse wide open and enough incursions happening that Strange and Clea need to go on the offensive, it feels like "Time Runs Out" and "Secret Wars" could be the direction that the MCU is headed. Just as the first 11 years of Marvel Studios' projects built towards Thanos collecting the Infinity Stones, it's possible that the next decade of the House of Ideas' live-action storytelling could involve the downfall of the multiverse. Once "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania," the second season of "Loki," and possibly "Fantastic Four" debut, we could potentially get some answers about the future of the MCU. Until then, it really feels like the "Secret Wars" seeds have been planted and adequately nurtured by Doctor Strange in order for them to bloom in a movie or show in the near future.