Why Doctor Strange Didn’t Make an Appearance in ‘WandaVision’

WandaVision Doctor Strange Elizabeth Olsen Benedict Cumberbatch
Disney+/Marvel Studios; Jay Maidment / © Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures /Courtesy Everett Collection

Fan theories ran amok during the run of Disney+’s first Marvel series WandaVision, among which included an appearance by Benedict Cumberbatch‘s Doctor Strange.

It would seem that the theory wasn’t far from a possible reality as Marvel Studios’ president Kevin Feige revealed there had been plans to include Doctor Strange in the trippy series.  Hardcore Marvel fans theorized Doctor Strange would appear based on the fact that Elizabeth Olsen‘s Wanda Maximoff will play a key role in the forthcoming film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

In an interview with Rolling Stone, Feige revealed that the two titles had initially been linked but was rethought when creatives decided Wanda deserved to shine on her own. “Some people might say, ‘Oh, it would’ve been so cool to see Dr. Strange,'” Feige told Rolling Stone. “But it would have taken away from Wanda, which is what we didn’t want to do. We didn’t want the end of the show to be commoditized to go to the next movie — here’s the white guy, ‘Let me show you how power works.'”

Apparently, Cumberbatch was intended to appear in one of the commercial breaks featured in Wanda’s Westview sitcom reality. The commercials were originally supposed to be messages from Doctor Strange to the Scarlet Witch, per showrunner Jac Schaeffer.

wandavision wanda maximoff elizabeth olsen

(Credit: Disney+/Marvel Studios)

Fret not though because Wanda and Doctor Strange will reunite when Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness debuts in theaters on March 25, 2022. As for Wanda’s seemingly simple escape from punishment in the series, Olsen told Rolling Stone, “she went is a place that no one could find her. Because she knows that she is going to be held accountable, and I think she has a tremendous amount of guilt.”

Wanda was last seen studying the Darkhold in a remote cabin, leaving many viewers with unanswered questions which will hopefully be answered sometime soon.

WandaVision, Streaming now, Disney+