Opening Night: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

Good day CrewMembers and welcome to “Opening Night: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.”

The purpose of the “Opening Night” feature is to give newcomers the foundations and basic information to be able to enjoy the program more fully. We work to avoid probable spoilers and speculations to allow everyone to enjoy “THOSE” moments together. We take our focus from the trailers and on-the-record news confirmed by the cast and crew.

So.............while I am WICKED EXCITED to see this movie, I haven't been so excited to write this feature. I'm hoping as I type I'm able to pare this down and make more sense of where people should start to prepare for this movie. At one point I thought of just posting the following meme, hitting "publish," and moving on:

And even if it's true, that's cheating! So let's try to make some sense of the Madness.

First off, this is technically Dr. Strange 2, so you need to understand Stephen's journey so far: Dr. Strange->Avengers: Infinity War->Avengers: Endgame->Spider-Man: No Way Home. Stephen does have a fun part in Thor: Ragnorak, which we recommend seeing on principal alone because it is fantastic, but it doesn't really offer any new insight into his character.

Scarlet Witch is also going to be heavily featured in this movie, and her journey goes as follows: Avengers: Age of Ultron->Captain America: Civil War->Avengers: Infinity War->Avengers: Endgame->WandaVision.

A third returning character that appears to be a big focus is Wong. Following Strange's and Wanda's paths will give you info on Wong as well, but he also has a fun little bonus story in Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings. Like Thor: Ragnorak, it's a fun bit but not necessary.

You also need to understand the concept of the MCU Multiverse. With the programs listed above, you will get a pretty good foundation for what to expect. If you have time and want an even deeper understanding of Multiverses and Variants, LOKI from Disney+ will probably be a helpful resource, but it doesn't appear to be necessary. Also, What If... explores different Multiverse variants in one-off episodes culminating in a crossover episode. Again, these are fun but don't appear to have any lasting effect in the live action MCU at this time. (Editor's Update: A new TV Spot just released changes that a bit, see the checklist.)

Finally, for now, the Super Bowl trailer apparently introduced a character very familiar to many MARVEL Movie fans. If the actor himself hadn't (inadvertently?) confirmed his involvement, we probably wouldn't even be mentioning this under the banner of "avoiding potential spoilers and speculation." But, since it's out there, we also recommend watching at least X-Men from the old FOX Marvel Movie Universe to be familiar with some of those characters.

Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness Opening Night Checklist

X-Men (2000)

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

Captain America: Civil War (2016)

Dr. Strange (2016)

Thor: Ragnarok (2017)*

Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

Avengers: Endgame (2019)

WandaVision (Disney+ Series 2021)

Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)

Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)

Loki (Disney+ Series 2021)*

What if... (Disney+ Series 2021)*

Update: A new "Get Your Tickets Now" TV Spot seems to specifically connect to multiple episodes of What If.

Episodes 4, 8, 9: The "Third Eye" and "Flying Dragon" attack Strange variants are also featured in these episodes.

Episode 5: We also got a pretty solid look at a zombified Dr Strange. In that case, Episode 5 offers a look into that variation.

It still remains to be seen if these episodes are "required" to better understand the movie or if they are just fun call backs.

*Extra-Curricular Viewing

Remember that the programs of the Marvel Cinematic Universe are unbelievably connected and the relationships keep growing. The best way to understand what is coming next is to see everything, but that's not always possible for whatever reason. Our recommended viewing for this movie includes some sequels, like Avengers 3 and 4, but not their originals because a specific character or plot line isn't confirmed for Multiverse of Madness. However, they may show up in our follow up "Second Run" feature after we see the movie ourselves. We've got our tickets! Do you have yours?!

~Until then; enjoy the show!