Doctor Strange 2 trailer: why you need to watch Marvel's What If...?

The first teaser trailer for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has been uploaded to the web by Marvel, giving us our first proper look at the highly anticipated sequel. 

Warning: spoilers for Marvel's What...If? and potentially the wider MCU as a whole

During the footage, we see Stephen Strange asking Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch about her knowledge of the multiverse, picking up both characters' arcs from Spider-Man: No Way Home and WandaVision, respectively. However, it's the final few unsettling moments that will really confuse fans that have not been keeping up with everything MCU.

As Strange deals with the fallout of No Way Home and his own tampering with the multiverse, he then encounters Strange Supreme. For those unaware, Strange Supreme is an evil alternative version of the good doctor that first appeared in the Marvel animated anthology series What If...? on Disney Plus. Now because the show is considered canon in the MCU, this looks to be the very same character.  

What If...? began streaming on Disney Plus in August earlier this year, rolling out nine episodes all focused on different scenarios across the multiverse. The fourth one, titled "What If... Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands?", dealt with Strange losing his partner Christine Palmer and being unable to save her no matter how much more powerful he became 

Utilising the power of the Dark Dimensions, the ancient one splits Strange into two versions, with one accepting the death of Palmer and the other transforming into Strange Supreme. The character was last seen in the finale episode helping The Watcher battle a variant of Ultron that gathered the Infinity Stones. Once defeated, Strange agreed to watch over the stones in a pocket dimension but has now seemingly escaped, going off the Multiverse of Madness trailer.

There have also been rumours making the rounds that a live-action version of Hayley Atwell's Captain Carter could show up in the film too. We do see someone with a big star on their back, although this is more likely to be Xochitl Gomez's America Chavez.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is set to star Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Benedict Wong, Rachel McAdams and Chiwetel Ejiofor. It will premiere in theatres globally on May 6th, 2022.