Marvel Studios on Wednesday debuted a new poster for the upcoming Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, as tickets for the superhero tent pole went on sale. The special Dolby edition poster has an eerie vibe, and features both Doctor Strange and the Scarlet Witch, ostensibly the two protagonists of the movie.
“Discover it at Dolby Cinema,” the words at the top of the poster declare. While this one isn’t as detailed as the teaser poster that was unveiled some weeks ago — the one that fans dissected to shreds — but it does tease the tone of the film, and like every piece of Marvel marketing, will be studied obsessively by hardcore fans.
It shows Doctor Strange in the Sanctum Sanctorum, apparently walking toward a shattered Window of the Worlds — the skylight of sorts on the top floor of his New York City haven. The window is supposed to protect the Sanctorum from external threats, and the fact that it is destroyed suggests that Strange will have to face a worthy adversary in the film. Curiously, no villain has been overtly shown in the trailers so far. The poster also features Wanda Maximoff’s shadow, as she creeps up behind Strange.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has long been touted as a horror movie, and while most would go in expecting another Spider-Man: No Way Home-style timeline-hopping adventure, it’s clear that director Sam Raimi is looking to leave his own stamp on the material. Raimi was brought in to direct after original director Scott Derrickson dropped out citing creative differences. Derrickson directed the first Doctor Strange to critical and commercial success back in 2016. Raimi's experience with both superhero blockbusters (he directed the original Spider-Man trilogy) and playful horror movies (Evil Dead II, Drag Me to Hell) will definitely come in handy here.
Played by Benedict Cumberbatch, the character has also appeared in Thor: Ragnarok and two Avengers films — Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. Strange was a strong supporting presence in No Way Home, and it was because of his actions that the multiverse was ripped open in that film. Doctor Strange 2 is expected to further explore this concept, which Marvel has been slowly and meticulously been laying the groundwork for.
Cumberbatch is certainly hyping the movie up as we head toward the release. He declared, quite boldly, in a recent interview with Empire that the film will be just as successful as the record-breaking No Way Home. “There you go, I’ll put my flag in the sand,” he said.
Also starring Elizabeth Olsen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Stuhlbarg, Benedict Wong, Xochitl Gomez, Patrick Stewart, and Rachel McAdams, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is slated for a theatrical release on May 6.
You can get a better look at the new Dolby poster here:
