Doctor Strange 2: Will We See Doramammu In The Multiverse Of Madness?

Dormammu is a great villain to limit him to just one funny appearance.

For three years we waited, waited with bated breathe hoping Marvel would make the announcement for a Doctor Strange sequel soon. There was not even a peep from the people at Marvel as we were making a run-up to the finale of the 11-year saga of the MCU. We knew Marvel would make a sequel for Doctor Strange, but after the movie made about $650 million at the box office, Strange didn’t seem like that high of a priority after the other worldly success of Captain Marvel and Black Panther.

It all finally led us to the desert as the world made their way to comic con for the much-anticipated appearance by Marvel Studios head, Kevin Feige. There were many announcements made, but nothing got us more excited like than the announcement of 'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness'. The one hour 30 minute of presentation inside the Hall H was a jam-packed session for ten movies and TV shows, so we didn’t get to hear more than the introduction of the cast which was a surprise when Scarlet Witch was said to be joining the sophomore outing of the Sorcerer Supreme. Beyond that nothing of the movie was made available but that didn’t stop us from speculating.

We know the sequel of Doctor Strange is going to be the first horror movie of the MCU and we also know the cast. Scott Derrickson is returning as the director, and we can be certain that Nightmare is coming in as the villain for the movie though who will play him is still a mystery. But there is one thing in the name of the film which got us really thinking, Multiverse, and what it means for the villains of the Doctor.

Watch: The announcement of the second Doctor Strange movie at comic con

In the first movie, we got Kaecilius, a by-the-numbers villain played by the magnificent Mads Mikkelsen, but in all honesty, he was only there to show the power of the Doctor. Then in the same movie during the third act, 'Dormammu' appears in the sky as he came to devour the earth. Dormammu is one of the arch-nemesis of Doctor Strange, but he was only used sparingly, he was used as a joke, the whole ‘I’ve come to bargain’ scene was funny, but it wasn’t the Dormammu we’ve seen in the comics.

Doctor defeated Dormammu by using time loop and trapping the space entity inside the loop with himself. He seemed to be defeated after the encounter as he promises never to come back to earth, but name one time when the villain kept his/her/their promise. So, the possibility remains the sequel may include Dormammu.

Watch: The time loop trapping scene of Dormammu

Since Doctor is diving into the Multiverse and Scarlet Witch is coming along for the ride, it is probably a good idea to have more than one villain in the movie. Nightmare is obviously going to be the bad guy, and since Strange is going into the Multiverse, this gives Dormammu an opportunity to take his revenge.

'Mordo' was also shown to be going down on an evil path, and he is one of the arch nemeses of Strange as Doctor Strange comics doesn’t consist of many iconic villains like for example Spider-Man or Batman. In the mid-credit scene, we can see Mordo hunting magicians down to steal their magic and the way he was set up in the first movie; it will be a surprise if we don’t see him in the sequel.

Watch: Doctor Strange post credit scene shows Mordo hunting people who use magic

In the comics there is a storyline where Mordo allies himself with Dormammu to get more power; it didn’t end particularly well for Mordo. Both Mordo and Dormammu can use each other to fight Doctor Strange for their own particular reasons, and it would give the writers a way to include both the villains in the movie. But we know Mordo saw what Dormammu could do to the world, so it is very unlikely Mordo will ally himself with the world eating being even as a means to an end to defeat Doctor Strange.

The problem with multiple villains is the movie will be too divided in various directions which will result in a disjointed film, as was the case with 'The Amazing Spider-Man 2' and 'Spider-Man 3'. Maybe Mordo becomes the reason for Doctor needing to travel into the Multiverse and inside the multiverse Doctor and Scarlet Witch fight the 'Demon Prince of Dream Realm' and come out to fight Mordo. Then you can put Dormammu as an overarching villain who will come full circle in the third film.

Dormammu is a great villain to use so sparingly without a plan for the future, so we are hoping Dormammu will make a return, maybe a cameo in the second movie and then a full-powered villain in the third film. Whatever the case, we cannot wait to see the first MCU horror movie when Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness hits the theatre on 7 May 2021.