Doctor Strange 2: Director Sam Raimi Confirms Film has Multiple Wanda Variants

We will see more than just one version of Wanda in the upcoming film, according to Sam Raimi, director of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

Marvel fans have been searching for clues to identify who it could be in every teaser, trailer, and promotional image since Doctor Strange 2 was announced to take place in the multiverse.

Raimi confirmed in an interview with Fandango we also expect to see alternative versions of the Scarlet Witch.

“The movie is a journey into the multiverse, so you do see different iterations of Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange, and even Lizzie Olsen’s character of Wanda Maximoff. So, the actors have to play that. It’s a great challenge for them and great fun to direct them playing these altered versions of themselves.”

Fans have already seen an alternative Wanda in the Marvel Disney+ series What If…? and it was frightening, to say the least, but what versions will Raimi offer us in this film? Of course, the director is bound by the Marvel code of silence, but when asked who may be superior: Wanda or Strange, he responded:

“If you were to pit them against each other, different altered versions of themselves … there could be a Doctor Strange out there that’s more powerful than our Wanda. Or there could be a Wanda out there who is more powerful than our Wanda here. So, because of these altered versions, it’s all a mixed bag of possibilities.”

Raimi also hinted about what we may anticipate to see when he spoke about working with the actors as they constructed their own versions. He gave the impression that a darker Scarlet Witch will appear in the next feature film.

“I really like them interacting with each other very much. I think that was the most interesting thing — to see Benedict Cumberbatch bring out a part of his personality that was slightly unique to create one of his altered selves. Or to watch Lizzie maybe bring a darker part of herself out to create an altered version of herself. The slightest tweaks they could come up with made it very interesting for me.”

We may have seen this dark variant in the trailer without even recognizing it — it’s difficult to say, obviously, when they’re versions of one person — but the tone of Wanda we see in the orchard as she discusses the multiverse with Strange is considerably different from that of Scarlet Witch who questions how society views her.

As we wait to see which variants will appear, a popular refrain among Marvel fans is “only time will tell.”

The tickets will go on sale today, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will debut in theatres on May 6.