Has The Main Villain Of Doctor Strange 2 Been Revealed?
The Master of the Mystic Arts may be coming face to face with an old ally — and it won't be a friendly reunion.
Inside sources are reporting that Baron Mordo, who had become thoroughly disillusioned with the Ancient One and her methods at the end of Doctor Strange, will be the main antagonist of that film's sequel. (via We Got This Covered)
Although the casting — and, for that matter, the film itself — have yet to be confirmed, this lines up well with the information we do have. Doctor Strange 2 was one of the forthcoming Marvel flicks reported to be on the way by the mysterious Twitter user "Roger Wardell" in a massive leak earlier this month, and while we tend to take such things with a grain of salt, "Wardell" has leaked highly accurate information in the past.
According to WGTC's sources, the second solo outing for Mr. Doctor is in "deep development," with the first film's director Scott Derrickson and screenwriter C. Robert Cargill already hard at work. According to these sources, when we next see Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor), he'll be quite a ways down the dark path he appeared to be heading toward at the conclusion of Doctor Strange, and will now be in "full-on villain" mode, intent on ridding the world of magic (or, at least, of those he deems not sufficiently qualified to be trusted with its use).
While the details of Ejiofor's contract aren't known, it's all but certain that he'll be reprising his role, given his impressive performance in the first movie. Also, we know — thanks to Cargill — that not only was the actor privy to a planned multi-film arc for Mordo during the shooting of Doctor Strange, but that Mighty Marvel just may have crossover plans in store for the character.
In an interview late last year, the scribe teased the fact that Mordo may become a serious thorn in the side of heroes other than Strange during the events of Phase 4. "For those of you who have ever read the comics, you know that Baron Mordo has a very particular arc, and that is something we discussed with Chiwetel while working on the first movie," Cargill said. "And part of the reason Chiwetel wanted to play Mordo was because he has a definitive ending as a character and it's such a fascinating ending. And I do know that... Marvel plans on working towards that ending and fully realizing Mordo as more than just a cardboard cutout villain, but actually taking him to kind of Loki levels of awesomeness. That's the goal with him."
If you ask us, that sounds like a very achievable goal. Ejiofor is a brilliant actor, and in Doctor Strange, he invested Mordo with a strong set of ideals and a conflicted nature that shone through despite the character's relatively limited screen time. As we've seen, the MCU's greatest villains aren't the ones who simply want to cause chaos and/or rule the universe. It's characters like Thanos, who enacted a horrifying plan to wipe out half of all life in the universe for what he felt were benevolent reasons, and Loki, who seemed to constantly struggle against his own worst impulses, who strike the biggest chords among Marvel fans.
Mordo began Doctor Strange as a firm disciple of the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton) and her ways, but was shaken by the fact hat she had harnessed power from the Dark Dimension while forbidding her students to do the same — and, really, his point of view was pretty understandable. His assertion during the film's post-credits scene ("At long last, I finally see what's wrong with the world... too many sorcerers") speaks to a new worldview — the belief that to use magic at all, even in defense of our entire universe, is to invite catastrophe upon that universe.
Of course, one could now make the point that if not for Doctor Strange and his future-viewing party on Titan in Avengers: Infinity War, there wouldn't be a universe to defend. But Mordo is a strong-willed and idealistic man who had his very belief system shaken to its core — ingredients which will make for a scintillating villain, incidentally — and he's likely to be more outraged that Strange voluntarily gave up the Time Stone to an intergalactic warlord than he is moved by the fact that the risky strategy paid off.
At any rate, assuming the report is accurate, Mordo is likely to be one of many villains in play for Doctor Strange 2. A previous leak (from none other than "Roger Wardell") has suggested that the sequel will also see the introduction of legacy Doctor Strange villain Brother Voodoo, as well as Clea, the niece of Dormammu and former ruler of the Dark Dimension who has at times served as a love interest for the good doctor in the comics. "Wardell" also asserted that Swinton will return as the Ancient One, and implied that time travel may once be a factor, teasing a possible 1980's setting.
Doctor Strange 2: 1980's Boogaloo. Tilda Swinton is in talks to return as the Ancient One. Jericho Drumm and Clea will make their MCU debuts, Clea will likely be portrayed by an Asian actress. Most importantly the gloves will be back!
— Roger Wardell (@RogerWardell) May 7, 2019
We should point out once again that none of this has been confirmed, but we expect to get a lot more information on the MCU's Phase 4 within the next couple of months. In July, Marvel will present at San Diego Comic Con's Hall H, where the studio has made a ton of significant announcements in the past — but this may simply be a warmup for a second presentation to follow, at Disney's D23 expo in August. It's quite likely that Marvel's entire Phase 4 slate will be revealed at that time, and we can finally confirm or debunk the seemingly never-ending torrent of rumors which have been leaking all year.
Of course, that's still awhile from now, so it's quite likely that there'll be, oh, several dozen more leaks between now and then. We'll be on the lookout for them, and we'll keep you up to date.