Wrapping up on an interesting note that presented many uncertainties for Stephen Strange moving forward in the MCU, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness originally had a much darker ending for the sorcerer, according to writer Michael Waldron.

After the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home, the Doctor Strange sequel follows Benedict Cumberbatch's sorcerer hero through the alternate realities of the multiverse as he is forced to make new allies in order to defeat new threats. One of those threats is his evil variant corrupted by the Darkhold.

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After traversing the multiverse and killing his evil variant, who used The Book of the Damned's dark magic to dream walk and murder other versions of Strange as he searched for a reality where he could be with Christine Palmer, Stephen Strange of Earth-616 returns to his universe with his supernatural third eye. But that ending wasn't always the case. According to ComicBook, Walrdon opened up about the film's alternate and much darker ending on the digital release's audio commentary. "Strange gets trapped in that [incursion] universe … and then [Sinister Strange] turns around, and the third eye opens," said Waldron.

Three-eyed Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness post-credits

The film instead chose to end on another cliffhanger to end on, as one of the end-credit scenes shows Strange crossing paths with a sorceress named Clea, played Charlize Theron, who warns him that his actions have triggered an incursion that he must help fix. Strange then agrees to follow her into the Dark Dimension (the timeless dimension inhabited by Dormammu seen in the first film). "The Multiverse has forced a mirror up in front of his face, and has made him do some self-reflecting, that I think he's refused to ever do," Waldron added. "Even when he got into that initial [car] accident [in Doctor Strange], instead of really thinking about who he was, instead he went and just became the most powerful sorcerer alive. This is a guy who doesn't want to go to therapy. I think now, there's been some forced self-reflection over the course of this adventure, and I think he's probably more capable than ever at working as part of a team."

While it certainly would have been interesting to see the Sinister Strange on Earth-616, the way the film ultimately ended still sets up a lot of exciting storylines for Strange's character to embark on. While there is no telling when Strange will receive his third solo outing, it's relieving to know that he will continue to appear in many other projects as the MCU seems to be culminating in a Secret Wars storyline.

Doctor Strange 2 was a huge success, as the sequel grossed over $950 million at the global box office and received generally favorable reviews, with many praising Sam Raimi's unique direction. The film also stars Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch, Xochitl Gomez as America Chavez, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Baron Mordo, and Benedict Wong as Wong.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is now available to stream on Disney Plus.

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Source: ComicBook.com