Considering Marvel Cinematic Universe fans have been conditioned to expect all sorts of crossovers between characters in the films, when the first Marvel Studios TV series premiered earlier this year, “WandaVision,” people were hoping to see some big guest stars show up. The biggest guess would have been seeing Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), but that never came to be. In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Kevin Feige reveals that Cumberbatch showing up was going to happen and a deal was put in place to make it happen. However, the idea was nixed.
For those unaware, “WandaVision” ended up serving as a way to explore the larger powers and Chaos Magic of Wanda Maximoff, aka Scarlet Witch. And it would have made sense to have the Sorcerer Supreme, Doctor Strange, show up to help the hero develop and use her new magic-based abilities. And that’s exactly what Marvel Studios thought, especially since Wanda is going to play a role in the new “Doctor Strange” sequel. But Kevin Feige ultimately thought the crossover in the show would have detracted from the experience.
“Some people might say, ‘Oh, it would’ve been so cool to see Doctor Strange,’” said Feige. “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.’”
Describing the last-minute decision to change a major cameo like this from the series’ story is something that Feige compared to the magic that Wanda herself uses. He said Marvel’s process is “a wonderful combination of very dedicated coordination and chaos. Chaos magic.”
So, how would Doctor Strange have integrated into the series? Well, according to the report, the idea would have been to use the in-universe commercials that were in each episode as messages from Strange to Wanda, with Cumberbatch’s character possibly showing up in one of them. Then, of course, he would have made some sort of real cameo in the series, presumably, to help her with her powers.
Alas, it never happened. But it’s safe to say that “WandaVision” is still a massive hit for Marvel Studios and Disney+, and it paved the way for the rest of the streaming superhero series that are coming.
