50 Fun Facts About Doctor Strange Movies

Who plays Dr. Stephen Strange?

Marvel had talks with Joaquin Phoenix first; he decided blockbusters would never be 'fulfilling'.

What is Stephen Strange's profession before the accident?

Cumberbatch compared his arrogance to the Sherlock Holmes he played on TV.

Who directed Doctor Strange (2016)?

The Sinister director was hired in June 2014 and co-wrote the script with Jon Spaihts and C. Robert Cargill.

Who plays the Ancient One?

The character is a Tibetan man in the comics; the writers said adapting him faithfully was an unwinnable Kobayashi Maru.

Who plays the villain Kaecilius?

Derrickson framed him as the Saruman to a bigger Sauron; his makeup took two to three hours.

Which paraplegic who regained the use of his legs points Strange toward Kamar-Taj?

Benjamin Bratt plays him; Mordo drains his mystical energy in the post-credits scene.

In which city is Kamar-Taj located?

The comics' Tibet was moved to Nepal, and the crew shot there months after the 2015 earthquake.

Earth's magical shield is generated by three Sanctums in New York and which two other cities?

Kaecilius destroys that one first, then attacks New York.

What relic does Strange secretly learn to bend time with?

It turns out to contain the Time Stone, one of the six Infinity Stones.

Which entity, from a realm where time does not exist, does Kaecilius contact?

Cumberbatch himself provided the motion capture and part of the voice, at his own suggestion.

How does Strange defeat the film's cosmic big bad?

The entity kills him over and over, then gives up and takes the zealots with him.

What has the Ancient One secretly been drawing power from to prolong her life?

The revelation is what turns Mordo against her and, eventually, against all sorcerers.

What does Mordo tell Pangborn in the post-credits scene?

Chiwetel Ejiofor's Mordo was deliberately not villainous at first, unlike in the comics.

Which Asgardian appears in the mid-credits scene of Doctor Strange?

He and Loki are looking for Odin, which is picked up in Thor: Ragnarok.

What is Rachel McAdams's character, Christine Palmer, known as in the comics?

Marvel chose her over Clea to keep a link to Strange's ordinary New York life.

Under what working title was Doctor Strange shot?

Cinematographer Ben Davis called it Marvel's Fantasia; the sequel got its own code name.

Which mobile video game did Derrickson cite as a visual influence, alongside M. C. Escher?

He also drew on the Steve Ditko comics, surrealist art and 'experimental, fractal videos from YouTube'.

Who composed the score for Doctor Strange (2016)?

It was recorded at Abbey Road, where Paul McCartney overheard one of the cues.

Whose 1989 script, co-written with Stan Lee, had Strange fight the villain on Easter Island?

Bob Gale had written an even earlier 1986 script for New World Pictures.

Where did Doctor Strange hold its world premiere in October 2016?

Fitting, since the film's climax destroys the Hong Kong Sanctum.

Roughly how much did Doctor Strange (2016) gross worldwide?

It became the biggest single-character introduction film in the MCU at the time.

Doctor Strange (2016) earned an Academy Award nomination in which category?

It lost to The Jungle Book.

What is Stan Lee reading on the bus in his Doctor Strange cameo?

Aldous Huxley's mescaline memoir, a nod to the film's psychedelic visuals.

Who directed Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness?

Derrickson left over creative differences in January 2020, and Raimi added his horror sensibility.

Who is the main villain of Multiverse of Madness?

Writer Michael Waldron called her 'the biggest best bullet' they had, continuing her arc from WandaVision.

Who plays America Chavez?

She originates from a universe called the Utopian Parallel and travels by punching star-shaped doorways.

What is the name of the corrupting book of dark magic Wanda uses?

Its opposite, the Book of Vishanti, is what Strange and Chavez go looking for.

What is the term for using the dark book to possess your counterpart in another universe?

Strange does it himself at the end, into his own corpse, and grows a third eye as a result.

Which mountain is the source of the dark book's power?

Wanda brings it down at the end, destroying every copy of the book across the multiverse.

What is the designation of the universe where Strange meets the Illuminati?

Earth-616 is the main MCU reality in the film's own numbering.

Which sorcerer serves as Earth-838's Sorcerer Supreme and hands Strange to the Illuminati?

It is a different Mordo from the one who quit at the end of the first film; that version was saved for 'another day'.

Who plays Professor Charles Xavier in the Illuminati?

His version blends his Fox films with the 1990s animated series, complete with the yellow hover-chair.

Which Illuminati member is played by Anson Mount, reprising a role from the Inhumans TV series?

Wanda silences him by removing his mouth so his own voice destroys his skull.

Which Illuminati member from the comics was kept out of the film at Ryan Coogler's request?

He was being saved for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever later in 2022.

Why did the Illuminati execute their own universe's Doctor Strange?

An incursion is the collision and destruction of two universes.

Who plays the Pizza Poppa food-stall vendor, a regular Sam Raimi collaborator?

Strange curses his hand to punch himself; the post-credits scene shows the spell finally wearing off.

Which actress appears as Clea in the mid-credits scene?

She warns Strange he has caused an incursion and leads him through a portal.

Where were the Illuminati massacre scenes filmed?

Marvel added a new room with a glass entrance digitally.

Who composed the score for Multiverse of Madness?

He and Raimi had worked together on Darkman, A Simple Plan and Oz the Great and Powerful.

Which Disney+ series had writer Michael Waldron run before the sequel, laying the multiverse groundwork?

Cumberbatch's own planned WandaVision cameo was cut late, forcing rewrites of how Strange and Wanda meet.

What was Multiverse of Madness's production budget?

That makes it one of the most expensive films ever made.

Roughly how much did Multiverse of Madness gross worldwide?

It was the fourth-highest-grossing film of 2022 and gave Sam Raimi the biggest opening of his career.

Multiverse of Madness's $187.4M US opening beat which earlier film to become Sam Raimi's biggest debut?

Spider-Man 3 had opened to $151 million in 2007.

Why was Multiverse of Madness not released in Saudi Arabia?

Officials said the film was not banned, only that Disney refused to trim 'barely 12 seconds'.

Under what working title was Multiverse of Madness shot from November 2020?

Filming began in November 2020 and was paused by the January 2021 UK lockdown.

What Rotten Tomatoes approval rating did Multiverse of Madness receive?

The consensus said it 'labors under the weight of the sprawling MCU, but Sam Raimi's distinctive direction casts an entertaining spell'; the first film scored 89%.

Which Disney+ series did Kevin Feige say would directly set up Multiverse of Madness?

Elizabeth Olsen carried Wanda straight from the series into the film, even keeping the more Sokovian accent she had adopted for it.

Which carmaker supplied six Huracáns for Doctor Strange (2016), one of which was wrecked?

The crash scene was shot at Northfleet in Kent beside the River Thames, and the carmaker said Strange's character suited its philosophy.

Which director shot the mid-credits Thor scene of Doctor Strange (2016)?

The scene was written for Thor: Ragnarok and filmed before that movie began production, then borrowed to show Strange joining the wider MCU.

Which Community creator wrote uncredited dialogue for the reshoots of Doctor Strange (2016)?

Feige said he was brought in for humour and to give opinions on the sci-fi concepts, but the work was too slight to earn a screen credit.