Coinciding with the Super Bowl, Disney and Marvel Studios have released the full, official trailer for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, directed by original Spider-Man trilogy director Sam Raimi. Marvel originally hyped this film as the studio’s first foray into something resembling horror, and the new trailer does indeed land in that ballpark. It’s not scary scary, but it’s definitely creepy by the low bar established by the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) to date. Plus, the Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness official trailer contains America Chavez and apparently Shuma-Gorath, in addition to the previously revealed Wanda Maximoff and “Sinister Strange.” That’s all pretty wild.
Shuma-Gorath is basically a Lovecraftian villain, being a godlike ancient force of chaos that has probably as many superpowers as any writer feels like giving to him. However, gaming enthusiasts are more likely to just know the character from the Marvel vs. Capcom games. Meanwhile, America Chavez sometimes goes by the moniker Miss America and is a Latina lesbian superhero. She has the usual convoluted origin story that requires a rigorous reading of Wikipedia if you want a comprehensive picture.
As for what Doctor Strange himself is up to in this movie, Marvel explains it like this: “Journey into the unknown with Doctor Strange, who, 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.” Oh, also, it seems Patrick Stewart is here. There’s a twist.
As the official trailer is happy to remind us, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness arrives in theaters on May 6, 2022.
