Film Phase 4 — Multiverse Opens (2024–2025)

Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness

Name: Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness
Released: 2022-05-06
Duration: 126 min
Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Xochitl Gomez, Elizabeth Olsen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong

"Enter a new dimension of Strange."

Released May 6, 2022 2h 6m ★ Essential

Doctor Strange, with the help of mystical allies both old and new, traverses the mind-bending and dangerous alternate realities of the Multiverse to confront a mysterious new adversary.

Watch note

Wanda (Scarlet Witch) is the villain — she dreamwalks universes to find her children, destroying the Illuminati including Professor X. Incursions (universe-collisions) are introduced as the multiverse's great danger. Strange confirmed for Doomsday.

Why It Matters in the MCU

Sam Raimi's entry in the Strange series is the most stylistically distinct MCU film since Ragnarok — the horror-cinema grammar he imports (jump cuts, crash zooms, demonic possession) is unmistakable and produces the franchise's most genuinely frightening sequences. Elizabeth Olsen's Scarlet Witch pivot from hero to antagonist is the logical endpoint of her WandaVision arc, and the film commits to it fully rather than walking it back. The Illuminati sequence is the most concentrated multiversal fan-service in the franchise, though the willingness to immediately incinerate those characters preserves the film's dramatic integrity.

Where It Fits in the MCU

Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness sits at position 100 of 133 in the MCU's story-chronological order, placing it within the Phase 4 — Multiverse Opens (2024–2025) era. It is rated Essential — must-watch for following the main MCU narrative. Watching in story-chronological order provides the most coherent character development experience — individual arcs build naturally toward the franchise's major crossover events, with each film's post-credits scenes carrying forward into what follows.