After months of speculation which Marvel characters will appear Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Sam Raimi’s blockbuster with several iconic heroes appearing during Doctor Strange and America Chavez’s journey to Earth-838. As expected, the two crossed paths with the Illuminati – a council of heroes that monitors the universe and the Multiverse.
Earth-838’s roster included many popular heroes, including Baron Mordo, Captain Carter, Professor X, Reed Richards, Black Bolt, and Maria Rambeau’s Captain Marvel. Aside from Mordo, the entire team was deserted by the Scarlet Witch as a result of their arrogance in pursuing America Chavez.
With Strange now firmly established on Earth-616, fans have begun to wonder if they’ll ever meet a new Illuminati – one made up of MCU heroes and actors. Now, a new documentary has teased that one might be in the cards for Marvel Studios.
The Illuminati may return in the future of the MCU
During Marvel Studios Assembled documentary about Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madnessproducer Richie Palmer hinted that the MCU may one day introduce its own Earth-616 Illuminati.
Palmed revealed that Marvel Studios had been eager to introduce the Illuminati for years, explaining why they were “a really exciting thing” to use the team in another universe. Although Palmer teased that fans may still be “To see one of his Illuminati [the] main MCU one day:”
“The Illuminati is a group we’ve wanted to feature in our films for years. It is a secret organization that operates off the grid. They do the things that other teams like the Avengers wouldn’t be too happy about… To do it in an alternate universe in the Multiverse, that was a really exciting thing because we meet a version of that team in that other universe, and then they can still to see an Illuminati of our main MCU one day, which is also very exciting.”
Writer Michael Waldron later explained that the idea of the Illuminati came from difficulties writing the second act of the script and the decision to “Break the movie and do something really crazy:”
“Yeah, this is definitely a case where I just don’t know what to do with the script and I’m thinking… “We’re in the second act. Something has to be done. What should it be?’ It comes to a point where it’s like, “We’re almost halfway there. Let’s break the movie and do something really crazy.”
Director Sam Raimi went on to discuss the many characters being offered for the Illuminati, including Doctor Doom, Doctor Strange and more:
“When Marvel first wrote about the Illuminati, they had their characters. Doctor Doom was among them, Doctor Strange, many different characters. But we had to make a choice.”
Waldron revealed the difficulties in deciding the line-up, explaining that there were “disparate rights” issues. [and] people who appear in other films” to worry about, which allegedly prevented Namor from joining the Illuminati:
“Who is the most exciting cast of characters? Do we just pick who we want from the comics? Obviously, there are different rights issues, people appear in other films.”
Raimi explained that they “I took into account what the fans wanted to see” in contrast with “what they’ve been waiting for.” Direct previously reflected on how John Krasinski’s fan casting as Reed Richards led to his appearance:
“So we took into account what the fans wanted to see. We wanted the fans to say, “Oh, that’s cool!” I mean, that was really our goal. We wanted to give the fans what they wanted. Not exactly what they expected.”
When will the Illuminati return to the MCU?
Earth-838 may have lost its Illuminati at the hands of Wanda Maximoff Multiverse of Madness, but Earth-616 has yet to introduce its own iteration of the team. Having now met an Illuminati, Strange may soon seek to duplicate the group on Earth-616 to better handle cataclysmic events such as Thanos’ destruction of the galaxy and the Scarlet Witch’s attack on the Multiverse.
To properly fill the MCU with an Illuminati, it might be best to wait until the X-Men are introduced to allow Professor X or another mutant to join the roster. The essence of the Illuminati is that it has representatives from all corners of the Marvel Universe, so it’s important that each team member comes from a diverse background and brings something unique to the table.
Looking at the current state of the MCU and the characters coming soon, some possible Illuminati heroes could include the Hulk, Captain Marvel, Reed Richards, Doctor Strange, Professor X, Captain America, Namor, Black Panther and Sersi. This roster would cover the universe, science, magic, mutants, Avengers, Atlantis, Wakanda, and the Eternals.
Obviously, these heroes would have to meet before the Earth-616 Illuminati could gather, so perhaps the aftermath of Avengers 5 (According to reports Secret Wars) may be the right time. Who knows if the Illuminati will see a solo outing or just work in the background of the MCU? The group tends to be more idea-oriented than action-oriented, so the latter may be more likely.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness streaming now, exclusively on Disney+.
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