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This article contains spoilers for Spider-Man: No Way HomeThe Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has been on an absolute tear this past year. It has spawned four successful and well-received shows on Disney+, from Loki to Hawkeye. Additionally, Marvel has added several blockbuster movies to its astounding resume, from Black Widow to Spider-Man: No Way Home.
2022 looks just as promising for the franchise giant that is the MCU. Many properties are highly anticipated, from March’s Moon Knight Disney+ television show to November’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. However, given the incredible success of Spider-Man: No Way Home, one property perhaps looms larger than its peers at the House of Ideas: May’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Marvel is famous for its mid-and-post credit scenes, and Spider-Man: No Way Home was no different. One of the two mid-credit scenes was actually a trailer for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Doctor Strange seemed to break the very fabric of reality, space, and time in Spider-Man: No Way Home. As a result, the trailer for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness demonstrates that the former Sorcerer Supreme has to perform multiversal damage control. However, he will not be alone. The good doctor has recruited Wanda Maximoff, The Scarlet Witch, to help him right his wrongs. This is an interesting choice given the events of the very first Disney+ Marvel television show, WandaVision, wherein The Scarlet Witch brainwashes an entire town in order for her to live out an idyllic fantasy life.
One fan theory has gained steam on Reddit in recent days, and it touches on The Scarlet Witch’s penchant for chaos and magic. The fan theory suggests that in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, The Scarlet Witch will bring mutants and the X-Men into the MCU. If true, this theory could have devastating and fascinating effects for the future trajectory of Marvel films and television shows.
Audiences Have Been Viewing an Altered Timeline
The fan theory states that Marvel audiences have been witnessing an alternative timeline all along. This false timeline is mutantless, or mostly-mutantless – after all, The Scarlet Witch is a mutant in the comic book source material.
This altered, relatively mutantless timeline could also be explained by the events of two previous Marvel properties: Loki and Spider-Man: No Way Home. The former introduces the idea of a proper timeline and deviations of characters. The latter introduces the truth of a multiverse. These two properties give precedent to the idea that the ‘current’ timeline is a doctored one.
In the House of M Marvel comic book event from 2005, The Scarlet Witch mutters “no more mutants” and this leads to almost all mutants on Earth ceasing to exist. In Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the movie could potentially show a similar scene that demonstrates The Scarlet Witch’s massive power.
Perhaps she falsely sees characters from alternate universes as ‘mutants’ and tries to dispel them. This would be one way to introduce mutants – it would also be an ironic way to introduce mutants, given the words The Scarlet Witch would utter to usher their existence into the MCU.
X-Men as Antagonists
Recently, Marvel films have portrayed their antagonists with shades of gray as opposed to full-out, black-and-white evil. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness could do the same.
After The Scarlet Witch announces ‘no more mutants,’ what few remain could become the film’s antagonists. Just like Eternals’ antagonists produced an uneasy moral dilemma and just like Thanos wiped out half of the universe, these few mutants would be terrified beings just looking to set things back to the way they used to be.
Wanda Undoes the Spell
After witnessing the wrongs of her ways (yet again) and interacting with the surviving mutants, The Scarlet Witch could undo her chaos magic. This would introduce X-Men characters like Wolverine, Storm, Cyclops, and more into the MCU. And just like that, one of the most famous super-teams in comics would have a home next to the Avengers, the Guardians of the Galaxy, and others in the MCU.
The fan theory concludes that this would be a great way for Marvel to introduce multimedia properties that feature mutants. The theory states there could even be a television show featuring the perspectives of the core X-Men during the events of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
This fan theory is plausible and bold, but not without its plot holes. First and foremost, The House of Ideas has made it fairly clear that The Fantastic Four will debut in the MCU before the X-Men will. Then again, that could just be a bait-and-switch. Additionally, the trailer for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness focuses on Doctor Strange and his demons, literally and figuratively, over The Scarlet Witch. One thing is certain: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness looks like it will live up to its name. It certainly will if this fan theory stands the test of time.
Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness comes to theaters on May 6th, 2022.