With this year’s release ofDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,fans got a glimpse of a few alternate versions of Doctor Strange. Some versions had fallen into the Dark Arts, while others sacrificed themselves for fear of what they might become. Now, according to Neil Gaiman, there’s another version of Doctor Strange to ponder on.Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madnesswas released almost six years after its predecessor, which had a decent, but not excellent, performance. Doctor Strange continued to appear throughout the MCU, most notably inAvengers: Infinity War,Avengers: Endgame,andSpider-Man: No Way Home.The character finally received a sequel last May, which was directed by Sam Raimi. This entry in the MCU decided to focus more on the magical horror that the Sorcerer Supreme has to face. However,Josh Horowitzlearned Gaiman and Guillermo del Toro had different visions for the character.RELATED:Doctor Strange 2 Writer Reveals the Darker Alternate Ending for the SequelGaiman has revealed that a radically different version of Doctor Strange might have appeared in the MCU more than a decade ago. Though the interview mainly concerned the recentNetflix adaptation of Gaiman’sThe Sandman, Gaiman revealed an interesting tidbit of information to Horowitz about his connection with Kevin Feige. As it turns out, Gaiman is not a major collaborator with Feige but does sometimes keep in touch with the creative mind behind the MCU. As part of that correspondence, Gaiman discussed aDoctor Strangefilm with Feige way back in 2007.
The film he pitched would have involved Guillermo del Toro, presumably as director. The two of them pitched an idea of having Doctor Strange become the master of the mystic arts sometime in the late 1920s or 1930s in Greenwich Village, where he would have stayed for the past 90 years, unaging and unnoticed by those around him. Gaiman described their take on the character as a man “out of time,” while also calling the adaptation “very Steve Ditko.” Ultimately, the project was rejected, and Gaiman and del Toro were told that Marvel Studios was instead looking to focus on their “core characters.”
Whilethe MCU has shown it is not afraidto be a bit darker, a Gaiman and del Toro take on Doctor Strange could have been very interesting to see. Not only would it have changed the trajectory of the MCU - and of modern film in general - it would have probably taken inspiration from Gaiman and del Toro’s dark, fairy-tale-like sensibilities.
The current version of the character has grown popular with audiences due toBenedict Cumberbatch’s sardonic performance, and it’s likely that Cumberbatch - whose star had yet to rise back in 2007 - would not be playing Strange in this hypothetical film. There’s an endless number of possibilities for what this movie could have been, which is fitting given the MCU’s recent commitment to exploring the multiverse.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madnessis now available on Disney Plus.
