Doctor Strange: 11 Giant Questions It Leaves Unanswered
3. How Much Can Astral Forms Interact With The "Real World"?
The Question: While Christine is performing surgery on Strange, he has a fight with the zealot Lucian, with both men in their astral projection forms. The fight shows how the astral realm can in fact influence our physical Earth, almost knocking Christine over and shaking free potato chips from a vending machine, but exactly how much influence can astral forms apply on the "real world"?
The Likely Answer: Given the fairly subtle effect the astral fight has on Earth, there seems to be a protective layer of sorts that stops the astral realm exerting too much influence over the physical world.
It's entirely possible that more powerful Sorcerers could break through that barrier, but for sake of narrative tidiness, keeping a barrier between the two seems most sensible.