MCU: Why Doctor Strange's Multiverse Is Key To The X-Men & Fantastic Four

SPOILERS FOR SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME.

When Spider-Man: Far From Home's marketing seemed to suggest that the multiverse was open thanks to Thanos' snaps (or Tony's or Hulk's to be fair), it looked like the possibilities for the MCU's future were incredibly broad. Surely this meant we'd be getting to see other Earths, other dimensions and other new characters we'd never had a chance to see before that...? Why else would they cause a rift?

After all, Spider-Man in Sony's animated universe met Spider-Man Noir, Spider-Ham, Spider-Man, Gwen Stacy and Peni Parker thanks to a multiverse rift, so Marvel fans were already primed to expect the same. In the end, that proved to be no more than another illusion of Quentin Beck's creation, aimed not just at Peter Parker but at the audience in order to set up an entirely different story.

Just as quickly as the multiverse possibilities in the MCU were teased, they were snatched away abruptly.

Or was it? Doctor Strange's presence in Hall H during Comic Con was felt with considerable weight for anyone hoping to see more of an expansion into the multiverse. Because, remember, despite Beck's falsehoods, the multiverse does, in fact, exist. The fact that he somehow managed to work that out accurately as the foundation for his lie is remarkable to the point of it being a bit of a plot-hole. But that's by-the-by; what really matters is that the multiverse that we glimpsed in Doctor Strange and which was vaguely referenced in both Infinity War and Endgame is clearly going to be opened up more.

Given the title, we can probably expect some Lovecraftian hellscape awaiting him, but Strange's reason for having to enter the multiverse may have some unforeseen consequences. And they might well be total game-changers for the MCU as it stands.

And it could all start with a familiar Doctor Strange villain...

6. Nightmare

From what we know of In The Multiverse Of Madness - and it's not a great deal beyond the title and a few tidbits - Doctor Strange is going to be thrust into the multiverse and it's going to be mad. Given the fact that Nightmare has been heavily rumoured as the villain - and openly courted by Scott Derrickson pretty much since he made the first movie - he's probably the one behind the trigger that leads Strange on his journey.

He is, after all, the lord of his own dimension, the Dream Dimension (it sounds a lot more delightful than it actually is) where humanity's dreams and a manifestation of human subconscious exist. Adjacent to that realm is the Realm Of Madness, whose name should immediately start pricking ears up, thanks to the title of the Doctor Strange sequel.

If Nightmare is the villain, we can expect to see Strange and co-star Scarlet Witch heading into both of those realms and what they do in the multiverse might have echoes in the main timeline of considerable note.

First, we need to talk about the Dream Dimension and why Scarlet Witch might be an important element of the sequel.

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