Doctor.strange 2 is not a perfect film. Its pacing is frantic, its villain’s motivation treads repetitive ground, and some cameos feel like placeholders. However, it is the most bold Marvel movie since Infinity War. It proves that superhero films can be scary, weird, and emotionally ugly. It gives Elizabeth Olsen a dramatic showcase worthy of a Shakespearean tragedy. And it cracks the multiverse so wide open that Avengers: Secret Wars will have to work hard to top the madness.
For anyone searching doctor.strange 2 today, whether to relive the Illuminati massacre or to understand Wanda’s turn, the answer is clear: this is the MCU at its most chaotic, creative, and terrifying. Open your eye—the third one—and embrace the madness.
Streaming now on Disney+. Have you watched doctor.strange 2 more than once? Share your favorite variant cameo in the comments below.
The ending of doctor.strange 2 leaves several threads dangling:
Following the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) and WandaVision (2021), doctor.strange 2 picks up with Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) still recovering from the Blip and the unintended consequences of his memory-altering spell. He is now haunted by nightmares of an alternate version of himself—and a mysterious teenage girl who can travel between dimensions.
That girl is America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez), a young superhero with the ability to punch star-shaped portals into other universes. However, she cannot control her power. Pursued by a monstrous, inter-dimensional tentacled demon (a Gargantos), Chavez accidentally pulls Strange into a frantic chase across Manhattan. doctor.strange 2
The twist? The true villain is not a demon—it’s Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen).
Grieving the loss of her twin boys, Billy and Tommy, whom she created and then lost in Westview, Wanda has been corrupted by the Darkhold, a book of unspeakable dark magic. Her goal: capture America Chavez and steal her power to find variants of her children across the multiverse. What follows is a gonzo, reality-hopping adventure where Strange and America jump from a post-apocalyptic Earth (where Strange is killed by Thanos) to an animated universe, and finally to Earth-838, where the Illuminati rule.
While Cumberbatch delivers a solid performance as a humbled Strange, doctor.strange 2 is secretly a Wanda Maximoff movie. Elizabeth Olsen gives an Oscar-worthy performance, vacillating between a grieving mother and an unstoppable force of nature.
The film does not ignore WandaVision. It doubles down. Wanda has read the Darkhold, which corrupts its user into their worst possible self. Her logic is terrifyingly simple: “If I am a mother in another universe, then that is still me. I deserve my children.”
Her rampage through the Illuminati headquarters is the film’s most iconic sequence. She kills Earth-838’s Mr. Fantastic (John Krasinski) by turning him into spaghetti, decapitates Captain Carter (Hayley Atwell) with her own shield, and crushes Professor X (Patrick Stewart) by snapping his neck telepathically. It is brutal, unflinching, and sells the idea that no one is safe from her. Doctor
Rating: 8/10
doctor.strange 2 is not a perfect movie, but it is a necessary one. In an era where superhero films feel formulaic, Sam Raimi injected genuine directorial madness. It is messy, bloody, and occasionally nonsensical—but it is never boring.
For fans of wild multiverse cameos and horror-tinged action, this is a treat. For those who want clean character arcs and tight plotting, you may leave frustrated. But one thing is certain: you will not forget the Scarlet Witch screaming, “Give me what I want… or I’ll take it.”
Watch the credits. Run, don’t walk.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness leaves the MCU in a fascinating place. Streaming now on Disney+
The film also confirms that Marvel is no longer afraid of “Elseworlds” style storytelling. If a character died in the main timeline, a variant can always show up.
The most debated aspect of doctor.strange 2 is its handling of Wanda. After WandaVision, audiences sympathized with her grief. But here, she murders countless sorcerers, tortures a teenager, and kills superheroes from another universe. Is this character assassination or a logical progression?
Elizabeth Olsen’s performance is the glue. She plays Wanda not as a cackling villain, but as a mother consumed by grief, gaslit by the Darkhold. The film’s climax sees her realize her crimes when her variants’ children look at her in terror. She collapses, destroys every Darkhold in every universe, and seemingly buries herself under Mount Wundagore.
The ambiguity leaves room for her return (confirmed for future projects), but the film asks a hard question: Can a hero be forgiven for multiversal murder?
On Rotten Tomatoes, doctor.strange 2 holds a respectable 74% critic score but a lower 85% audience score (slightly divided). Fans of Raimi’s campy horror adore it. Fans expecting a straightforward Avengers team-up were disappointed by the smaller scale (Strange and America vs. Wanda). Some critics felt the script, originally written for Spider-Man director Jon Watts before Raimi took over, suffers from tonal whiplash.
Still, the film grossed over $955 million worldwide, proving that even a “divisive” MCU film is a blockbuster.
