Some new Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness merchandise tie-ins gives us another look at several of the leading players in the Marvel Cinematic Universe sequel, including The Master of the Mystic Arts himself, The Scarlet Witch, and America Chavez, as well as offering our best look yet at one of the movie’s villains, Gargantos. Much like the recent Spider-Man: No Way Home, the Doctor Strange follow-up will bring together a host of characters who hope to tackle the madness of the multiverse.
Revealed by Twitter user @BRMarvelNews, this Doctor Strange 2 merch clearly confirms that the villain of the MCU outing, a giant, one-eyed, tentacled monster, is indeed Gargantos and not, as many had suspected, Shuma-Gorath. A giant sea monster, Gargantos has not featured very heavily in Marvel lore, having only made one particularly significant appearance in Sub-Mariner #13 way, way back in 1969. It is highly likely, therefore, that the version of Gargantos seen in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will be an amalgamation of both the sea monster and the ancient demon Shuma-Gorath, with Marvel Studios perhaps dancing around some rights issues to the latter.
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In any case, from the footage of Gargantos glimpsed so far, it certainly looks like the tentacled beasty will provide a new challenge for Stephen Strange, with the Doctor now forced to deal with the unleashed multiverse thanks to the events of both Spider-Man: No Way Home and the Disney+ series, Loki.
A synopsis for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has since been released courtesy of Disney Japan which begins; “The door of the multiverse, full of mystery and madness, opens.” The outline goes on to put Doctor Strange at the forefront of The Avengers saying, “Now that Iron Man and Captain America have left after a fierce battle in Avengers: Endgame, former genius surgeon and the strongest magician of them all, Doctor Strange, is expected to play an active role as a central figure in the Avengers.”
It won’t be long before Doctor Strange begins to feel the pressure of such responsibility, as he must now handle the fallout of some of his past decisions. “However, using his magic to manipulate time and space at will with a forbidden spell that is considered the most dangerous has opened the door to a mysterious madness called “the Multiverse,”” the synopsis continues. “To restore a world where everything is changing, Strange seeks help from his ally Wong, the Sorcerer Supreme, and the Avengers’ most powerful Scarlet Witch, Wanda. But a terrible threat looms over humanity and the entire universe that no longer can be done by their power alone. Even more surprising, the greatest threat in the universe looks exactly like Doctor Strange…”
Directed by Spider-Man and Evil Dead filmmaker Sam Raimi, and starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Stephen Strange alongside Benedict Wong, Rachel McAdams, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Elizabeth Olsen, and Xochitl Gomez, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is scheduled to be released in the United States on May 6, 2022, as part of Phase Four of the MCU.
