Doctor Strange: 10 Villains Mads Mikkelsen Could Be Playing
3. Nightmare
Like Marvel’s version of Freddy Krueger, Nightmare is the ruler of the dream dimension, tormenting humans in their sleep. He needs humanity's nightmares to feed his power but Strange steps in to prevent him from doing so.
As one of the first villains Strange ever faced, Nightmare seems like a perfect initial antagonist. He’s powerful, but he still gives room for the sequels to go bigger. He’s magical, but his reliance on nightmares offers an easily understandable entry point to his power.
They could easily repurpose his origin story and have him beginning to gather his nightmarish power at the start of the film. This would easily explain why he’s gone rogue, and coupled with what else we know, makes for a compelling case for Nightmare to be the villain of the film.
Moreover, Mikkelsen absolutely looks the part, especially compared to most Strange villains, and it’s extremely possible that the warped effects of the trailer are the results of some sort of nightmare. The film's visuals are already looking like a riff on Inception, so this explanation for how they're happening would definitely make sense.