Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is an upcoming sequel to 2016’s Doctor Strange. The film will see Benedict Cumberbatch reprise his role as Dr. Stephen Strange, the Sorcerer Supreme. Fans are eagerly anticipating the film’s release in 2023 to see Strange’s next adventures in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
One of the biggest questions surrounding the movie is – who will be the main villain? The first Doctor Strange film featured Kaecilius as the villain, but he was killed at the end. So a new, more powerful villain will be needed to challenge Dr. Strange. Let’s look at some of the possible options for who could take on the role of main antagonist in Doctor Strange 2.
Nightmare
One prime candidate for the villain in Doctor Strange 2 is Nightmare. In the comics, Nightmare is one of Doctor Strange’s most iconic foes. He is a demonic entity who rules the Dream Dimension and feeds on the psychic energy from people’s nightmares.
Nightmare has the power to draw other beings into the Dream Dimension and manipulate dreams and nightmares. He torments people while they sleep, which allows him to feed off the dark psychic energy. Going up against the master of dreams and nightmares would provide an intriguing challenge for Doctor Strange’s powers.
Introducing Nightmare on the big screen would also open up possibilities for surreal visual sequences set in the Dream Dimension. Doctor Strange’s trippy psychic abilities lend themselves well to crazy dream-like imagery. Nightmare is a complex villain who would allow interesting themes about the power of dreams, nightmares, and the subconscious mind to be explored in the film.
Reasons Nightmare could be the villain:
- Classic Doctor Strange comic book villain
- Commands the Dream Dimension – opens up trippy visual potential
- Would challenge Strange’s psychic powers
- Allows themes about dreams/nightmares to be explored
Counterpoint about Nightmare:
The only thing counting against Nightmare is that some fans argue Doctor Strange already covered the surreal dream imagery in the first movie. So Marvel may want to move in a different direction for the sequel.
Baron Mordo
Another likely possibility for the Doctor Strange 2 villain is Baron Mordo. In the first Doctor Strange film, Mordo was originally a fellow sorcerer training under the Ancient One. But he becomes disillusioned with the Ancient One’s methods and betrayals, so he leaves Kamar-Taj.
The last scene of the movie showed Mordo turning against sorcerers and stealing magic from others. This clearly set him up to return as a villain. Having Mordo as the main antagonist in the sequel could create a compelling story of betrayal. Former friends turned enemies is a classic narrative.
With Mordo’s intimate knowledge of Kamar-Taj’s sorcerers and their methods, he could prove a dangerous foe. His motivations against Doctor Strange and desire to eliminate other sorcerers open up interesting story possibilities to dive deeper into his backstory and beliefs. Several loose plot threads from the first movie could be tied up by bringing Mordo back as the sequel’s villain.
Reasons Mordo could be the villain:
- Was clearly set up at the end of the first movie
- Personal betrayal storyline between former friends
- Knows Kamar-Taj’s secrets and methods intimately
- Loose plot threads from first movie could be resolved
Counterpoint about Mordo:
The only issue is that Mordo might be too similar a villain choice as Kaecilius in the first movie. Fans may want a more drastically different kind of threat for Doctor Strange to face in the sequel.
Shuma-Gorath
Looking beyond characters who appeared in the first movie, another potential choice for Doctor Strange 2’s villain is the interdimensional demon Shuma-Gorath. This ancient and powerful entity has faced off against Doctor Strange in the comics before.
Shuma-Gorath rules hundreds of dimensions across the multiverse. He has vast supernatural abilities, including super strength, invulnerability, telepathy and shape-shifting. If Shuma-Gorath were to invade the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the stakes would be immense. Doctor Strange may need to team up with allies across the multiverse to take down this ultimate demonic entity.
The arrival of Shuma-Gorath could herald weird locales, eldritch monsters, and enormous spectacle. On a thematic level, this Lovecraftian demon would also allow the movie to delve into dark occult subject matter. The original Doctor Strange tapped into mysticism and other dimensions, but showcasing a full-on interdimensional demon could take that to the next level.
Reasons Shuma-Gorath could be the villain:
- Incredibly powerful demon from another dimension
- Could introduce horror elements and occult subject matter
- May require Doctor Strange teaming up with allies across the multiverse
Counterpoint about Shuma-Gorath:
The main counterargument is that Shuma-Gorath may be too obscure for mainstream audiences who aren’t familiar with the comics. Also, the demon’s outrageously alien design could be difficult to adapt to live action in a believable way.
Chthon
Chthon is another demonic entity from Doctor Strange’s rogues gallery that could factor into the sequel. One of the primordial Elder Gods in Marvel, Chthon specializes in manipulating chaos magic. If Chthon were freed from his otherdimensional prison, he could wreck enormous havoc.
With his near-omnipotent magic powers, Chthon manipulating events across the multiverse to orchestrate his escape could be a fascinating threat. Part of Doctor Strange’s role as Sorcerer Supreme is containing threats like Chthon. Teaming up with Marvel’s other mystical heroes to prevent Chthon’s return would make for an epic supernatural clash.
Having such an ancient evil as the villain could open up lots of possibilities for exploring Marvel’s mythological past. Chthon’s association with chaos magic also brings interesting story angles related to unpredictability and the danger of magic. He would pose a different kind of mystical threat than the more physical Shuma-Gorath.
Reasons Chthon could be the villain:
- Incredibly powerful elder god demon
- Opens up possibilities to explore Marvel’s mythological backstory/chaos magic
- Would require uniting multiple mystical heroes against him
Counterpoint about Chthon:
Again, the potential issue is Chthon may simply be too obscure for casual MCU fans. There’s also the risk he may betoo similar to Shuma-Gorath as an otherdimensional creature.
Lilith
Moving on from demonic choices, Lilith is another possibility that would make an intriguing villain. In Marvel comics, Lilith is the mother of demons and a very powerful sorceress. She could fill a similar role to the ancient witch Morgan le Fay in The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes animated series, acting as a archenemy manipulating events.
Having such an ancient, knowledgeable sorceress as the villain could help expand Doctor Strange’s world and mythos even further. Her mastery of black magic could give her an edge over Doctor Strange that he may have difficulty matching. Lilith would also be an interesting choice as one of Marvel’s few prominent female magical villains.
Thematically, Lilith’s seductive qualities and association with controlling men could make for some interesting character dynamics. Doctor Strange’s powers being put to the test against a more experienced, manipulative sorceress could drive the story in compelling directions. Their rivalry could be on a mental as well as mystical level.
Reasons Lilith could be the villain:
- Powerful ancient sorceress
- Would expand Doctor Strange mythos into elder magic
- One of Marvel’s few big female magical villains
- Her mind games could create interesting story dynamics
Counterpoint about Lilith:
On the downside, Lilith does not have quite the instant name recognition of big villains like Nightmare or Mephisto. So it may be difficult for Marvel to establish her as a major threat to mainstream viewers.
Clea
Rather than adapting a pre-existing villain from the comics, Marvel could also opt to create a new enemy. For instance, they could take a mystical character associated with Doctor Strange and make them antagonistic.
One option in that vein would be Clea – in the comics she is Doctor Strange’s ally and love interest. But the movies could subvert expectations by making her the villain. This could create an interesting conflict between Doctor Strange’s duty as Sorcerer Supreme and his personal feelings.
Perhaps an embittered Clea could blame Strange for past events that negatively impacted her. She may turn to evil methods in an attempt to increase her own powers to get revenge. Or movie Clea could tap into dark powers from the Dark Dimension against Strange’s warnings.
Making Clea a surprise villain could set up an emotional battle with Doctor Strange. Their shared history and bonds would heighten the drama. And it would avoid rehashing a villain like Mordo who followed a similar warped friend route.
Reasons Clea could be the villain:
- Would subvert expectations and create a fresh story
- Personal drama between her and Doctor Strange
- Helps avoid retreading ground covered by Mordo
Counterpoint about Clea:
The drawback is that Comic fans may dislike such a drastic change to Clea’s character. And it could come across as repetitive for Marvel to make another female character villainous through corruption – e.g Wanda in Doctor Strange 1.
Conclusion
To sum up, there are many great options on the table for who could be the villain in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Each possibility discussed brings intriguing story potential.
My money is on Nightmare, as he seems like the most natural choice to expand on the first Doctor Strange’s themes. Introducing the demonic ruler of the Dream Dimension opens up many possibilities. And Nightmare is a formidable comic book villain who could challenge Doctor Strange in fascinating ways.
But Marvel also has a track record of surprising viewers, so any of these speculation villains is on the table. We will have to wait eagerly for more details on Doctor Strange 2 to know which mystical evildoer Doctor Strange will face next! The sequel is shaping up to pave the way for an exciting new phase in the MCU by expanding the magical side of Marvel’s universe.