The original plan for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was going to use a major Marvel villain, but there’s reason to be happy it was cut out!
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is a divisive movie among MCU fans. It had its strengths, like the Illuminati, Sam Raimi’s direction, and Benedict Cumberbatch back as the Sorcerer Supreme. However, the movie has been criticized for the treatment of Wanda Maximoff aka the Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen).
Turning Wanda into the villain, obsessed with getting back her lost twins and flat-out murdering people to get her way, rubbed many fans the wrong way. Olsen herself has criticized the storytelling and it still sticks in the craw of fans.
Per MyTimeToShineHello on X, the original plan for the movie has been discussed, drawing on early scripts and how it would have used a major Marvel foe.
The idea was to have Wanda as the hero, aiding Strange in battling the classic Marvel demonic enemy Nightmare. It might also have used Baron Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and more on Wanda learning about her powers.
Notably, besides Nightmare, the story would have used the demon Chton who could have played a vital role in the story.
Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff in Marvel Studios’ DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. ©Marvel Studios 2022. All Rights Reserved.
Why was Chton not used in Multiverse of Madness?
Introduced back in 1975, Chton has been through a few changes over the years, including his name and origin shifting. The gist is that he’s an Elder God of the Earth and the first black magic user. He also wrote the Darkhold, the sinister volume of black magic that corrupted Wanda, Agatha Harkness and others.
Chton is very important to the Scarlet Witch, as in the comics, he was the one who imbued a young Wanda with the ability to use chaos magic alongside her mutant “hex” power. Over the years, Chton has attempted to both use Wanda for his own purposes and simply kill her for her power, with Wanda having to seal him off into another dimension.
So why did we never see Chton? Blame it on Kevin Feige and writer Michael Waldron, with the latter wanting Wanda as the antagonist and thus shifting up the plotline. Feige, meanwhile, supposedly wanted to save Chton for a possible solo Scarlet Witch movie.
That seems unlikely to happen given Wanda’s death in Multiverse and Olsen seemingly done with the role. Then again, Marvel has brought back characters before and the multiverse concept means there may be another version of Wanda ready to enter the storyline. One who was apprenticed by Chton would be intriguing, or Wanda somehow revived would be a nice way to redeem the character and repair some of the damage done to her.
If nothing else, the Darkhold is still around and waiting to be used. That makes it more likely Chton appears as its author and playing a strange game for power and control. With Mephisto introduced in Ironheart, the MCU is delving more into the supernatural and Chton can be a major player there.
It’s yet another “could have been” story for the MCU and another reason why the treatment of the Scarlet Witch divides Marvel fans. Still, it’s exciting to know that Marvel has at least had talks about a Scarlet Witch movie, and we could eventually get to see Olsen lead her own Marvel film, something that fans have been hoping to see for years now.