Revealing Evil Doctor Strange in the first trailer for Evil Doctor Strange, also known as Strange Supreme, could be following a similar pattern.
Stephen Strange's evil variant was first introduced into the MCU in episode 4 of Marvel's What If...?. Instead of injuring his hands in an accident, Doctor Strange lost the love of his life, Dr. Christine Palmer, and no amount of time travel could reverse the event. Strange eventually concluded that he simply wasn't powerful enough to save her, which set him on an irreversibly destructive path. The sorcerer grew corrupted in his pursuit of more power, becoming the strongest — and only — person remaining in his ruined universe.
Evil Doctor Strange's transition into live-action has many exciting possibilities for Multiverse of Madness. As a darker, more powerful version of Doctor Strange, he has the potential to be one of the primary villains in Doctor Strange 2, and revealing the character at the end of the trailer was a fun promotional choice to help highlight just how different the movie can be compared to previous MCU films. Yet, there might be even more to the reveal than Marvel is letting on.
Evil Doctor Strange Is Too Big To Spoil
For a movie literally called Multiverse of Madness, it's a safe assumption that the film will do its best to embrace the madness element any way it can. The first trailer has already shown hints of some of the mind-boggling creatures that will be included, such as an immortal squid called Shuma-Gorath. Filmmakers always hope viewers will be surprised by the twists and turns in their stories, and Doctor Strange 2 seems determined to challenge everything fans thought they knew about the MCU and its multiverse. Marvel will be keeping as many secrets about the storyline as possible to maintain this level of unpredictability, so it's a little confusing why they already chose to reveal Evil Doctor Strange.
Considering the lengths that Marvel has gone in the past to hide significant moments of a film before its release, it's more than a little suspicious that something as big as an evil Doctor Strange would be revealed in the first trailer for Multiverse of Madness. Many exciting elements of the movie - like its array of inhuman creatures and new characters - could have been better highlighted in the trailer, but were instead glossed over to dedicate the final dramatic beat to Evil Doctor Strange. It's a fun moment that works well to excite viewers, but it doesn't make sense to have already spoiled this character's inclusion in the film. Such an important plot element feels like it should've been kept hidden from audiences, especially so early before the movie comes out. Evil Doctor Strange is far too big to spoil, and the only logical explanation for doing so is that the trailer is lying.
Marvel's Trailers Always Include Misdirection
This wouldn't be the first time that Marvel trailers have edited something out, or even added entire shots that are missing from the final project entirely, in order to mislead audiences. The trailers for Avengers: Infinity War added in Hulk's appearance to an assembled shot of heroes, even though Bruce Banner remained in his human form for most of the movie and was actually operating the Hulkbuster suit in that scene. Similarly, for Spider-Man: No Way Home, the appearances of other Spider-Man variants were edited out, though not well enough to hide certain villains seemingly being struck by empty air. These instances of misdirection in trailers were meant to heighten fans' viewing pleasure by ensuring their expectations were way off the mark, even for those entering the theater assuming they'd already figured out the entire plot. It's not only possible, but highly probable, that Doctor Strange 2 is attempting something similar.
Doctor Strange 2's Merch Doesn't Include Evil Strange
A movie's merchandise can be the first thing that confirms which characters will be appearing in a project, but, interestingly, Doctor Strange 2's merch still doesn't include anything for Evil Doctor Strange. The current line-up of characters includes a blue "Astral Form" figure of Doctor Strange — for when his spirit is separated from his body — and a Defender Strange with the variant's iconic red and black costume, but no Evil Strange. This seems like an odd oversight given that even the green minotaur Rintrah, a minor comic book character who appeared only briefly in the trailer, was part of the merch line-up instead. If such an obscure character was included, why wouldn't one of the main highlights from the Doctor Strange 2 trailer be as well? The only rational conclusion for excluding such a big character, and prioritizing others instead, is that Evil Doctor Strange is not what he seems. His appearance in such early promotional material may be misdirecting audiences.
Theory: Doctor Strange 2's Trailers Are Tricking You About Evil Strange
Although unclear exactly how, Doctor Strange 2's trailers may be tricking viewers about Evil Doctor Strange. It's unlikely that the character does not exist in the movie at all, but his role may be different than what the trailer has suggested. What If...? season 1 had ended by somewhat redeeming its Evil Strange thanks to the deal he made with the Watcher to help protect the multiverse. If he is the same character as the one appearing in the trailer, he may not act as a villain in Multiverse of Madness, even if he is initially at odds with the main Doctor Strange. Although Evil Doctor Strange looks nefarious thanks to his ominous grin, he could end up being the main Strange's biggest ally. Of course, even that does not explain why the character is missing from merch.
Another possibility is that the character acting as an evil Strange Supreme turned out to be just an illusion or disguise. After all, balancing so many characters can make it difficult to devote enough screen time to each so that they don't feel wasted in the film, while still telling a cohesive story. It's possible that Evil Doctor Strange will have a far different part to play.
