Doctor Strange Villain Mistake Created Wanda's Arc
Let's talk about Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. It’s one of those MCU movies that really split the audience, right? You either loved the wild, horror-infused ride, or you felt a bit let down, especially by what happened to Wanda Maximoff, the Scarlet Witch. But what if I told you the whole controversial storyline, the one that turned a beloved hero into a villain, was basically an accident? The result of Marvel shelving a major villain not once, but twice.
It turns out, the original plan for both Doctor Strange movies was completely different, and it all centered on a classic villain named Nightmare. If you're a comic book fan, you know him. Nightmare is literally the ruler of the Dream Dimension and was the very first baddie Doctor Strange ever faced on the page. He's a huge deal.
According to C. Robert Cargill, who co-wrote the first Doctor Strange film, he and director Scott Derrickson were all in on using Nightmare from the get-go. It made perfect sense. Start your hero's journey with his original nemesis. But Marvel Studios had other ideas. Cargill explained that the studio loved the concept but told them, "That's more of a second movie character."
You can kind of see their logic. The MCU became famous for its slow-burn approach, building up big bads like Thanos over many years. They probably thought Nightmare was too cool to use right away. But by saving him for later, they created a problem. When it was time for the sequel, the original creative team left the project, and it seems the plan to finally use Nightmare went right out the door with them.
This is where the ripple effect starts. Without a planned villain, the sequel needed a new antagonist. For reasons we can only guess, Marvel decided to pivot and make Scarlet Witch the villain of the story. And that decision led directly to the mixed reviews and fan debates that followed.
The biggest issue for many was how it treated its two main characters. For Wanda, her dark turn felt like a huge leap after the events of WandaVision. In that series, she was a grieving woman who made a terrible mistake but ultimately chose to do the right thing. In Multiverse of Madness, she was suddenly a full-blown, remorseless killer, corrupted by the Darkhold. It felt less like character development and more like a plot device to get the multiverse story rolling.
Even worse, it arguably sidelined the hero of the movie. Doctor Strange spent most of his own sequel reacting to Wanda's rampage. He was essentially a magical bodyguard for America Chavez, running from one universe to the next. The central conflict wasn't really about him, his beliefs, or his flaws. It was about Wanda's grief and desperation. The story turned Stephen Strange into a supporting character in his own film.
Now, imagine an alternate reality where Nightmare was the villain. He’s the master of dreams and fear. He could have been the one manipulating Wanda, preying on her grief and using her power to try and merge the Dream Dimension with reality. This would have kept Wanda as a powerful but tragic figure, a victim being twisted by a greater evil, which feels more consistent with her journey.
More importantly, it would have given Doctor Strange a perfect foil. A battle against Nightmare is a battle of willpower and a journey into the subconscious mind. It would have been a deeply personal fight for Strange, forcing him to confront his own fears and regrets. The movie would have truly been his story.
Ultimately, this whole situation shows the danger of not having a clear plan. Marvel's strategy to save a villain for later backfired. They held onto Nightmare for a "better time" that never came, and in the process, they got lost in the shuffle. The end result was a controversial fate for Scarlet Witch and a sequel that failed to put its main hero front and center. By trying to avoid one Nightmare, Marvel accidentally created a different one for their characters and fans.