REWRITING DR. STRANGE: MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS

(SPOILERS FOR MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS!!)

REWRITING MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS: Hey everyone! So personally, I was disappointed by Dr. Strange: Multiverse of Madness, and I decided to list off down below the things that I would do to rewrite this film. Unfortunately, I don’t have the time to write, record and edit an entire video on this rewrite so here are just some notes that I was able to jot down quickly. You don’t have to agree with me. These are just my opinions. If you love the movie, great! :) I’m happy for you! But if you’re open to hearing some different viewpoints, then take a look at my notes and let me know what you think! Enjoy!

1.  Dr. Strange should have had a character arc that revolved around his flaw of always believing that the only way to solve problems is to break the rules. The Lie in his arc is that Dr. Strange believes that rules do exist for a reason, because the line between chaos and order is a critical boundary. But Dr. Strange believes that he is the exception, and that he can break those rules because he is the only one qualified enough to handle such a dangerous task. The Ghost that supports this Lie is that Dr. Strange has a track of record of successes despite his flagrant disregard for boundaries. His arrogance and cockiness have been fostered by all his victories, as both a surgeon and a sorcerer. The Want in Dr. Strange’s character arc is that he wants to keep the Multiverse intact, but the Need in Strange’s arc that he must overcome is that the rules apply to him just like everyone else. Just because he has gifts and talents, that doesn’t give him a free pass to do whatever he wants. He needs to suffer the consequences of his actions and accept accountability for his mistakes. Which is what the film’s Controlling Idea/main theme should have been. Instead of the film’s moral message being “face your fears”, it should have been, “it is not only what we do, but also what we do not do, for which we are accountable”. This accountability character arc was already perfectly set up in the beginning of the original film by having Dr. Strange’s colleague criticize him for his actions during Infinity War. It was great set up, but there was no pay off.

2.  Scarlet Witch has the potential to be the MCU’s equivalent of Prince Zuko from Avatar: The Last Airbender. Where she makes progress in becoming a better person, has a relapse, and now must atone for her mistakes by earning her redemption and reclaiming the trust of her peers the hard way. I don’t think Wanda should remain dead. In fact, I think it’s the easy way out. Wanda pulled a Kylo Ren and committed a long streak of horrific crimes to humanity, yet only paid a cheap price for all the suffering she caused with a very quick death. That’s not an earned redemption. It’s a cop out. Wanda needs to put in the sweat, tears, and blood it takes to fix her mistakes. She needs to put in the hard work of redeeming herself because even though the rest of Earth 616 doesn’t know what she did...she does. And that’s enough to motivate her into changing for the better and making things right. I hope she does return in future sequels for the sole purpose of completing her redemption arc properly.

3.  Have Scarlet Witch already establish the Darkhold Castle as her base of operations offscreen before the beginning of the movie. Especially since it is implied that an ancient cult or some other kind of organization prophesized Wanda’s arrival and worshipped the Scarlet Witch by building the castle for her as a sort of shrine or temple. So, when Strange goes to visit Wanda at the beginning of the film and she accidentally exposes herself, she will reveal their true environment to be the Darkhold Castle and not a barren apple field. So that would mean Wanda’s hex would have to be modified to being the interior of a nice house or cabin or some other kind of indoors environment to be consistent with the illusion of being in a different building.

4.  Captain Carter should have been the only survivor of the Illuminati and she should have been the one to accompany Dr. Strange to the destroyed universe instead of Earth 838’s Christine. Everything Dr. Strange and 838 Christine say to each other throughout the entire film could have easily been said in one conversation at the Baxter Foundation. Thus, serving her purpose in Strange’s arc. Christine would have been among the many casualties of Scarlet Witch’s attack on the Illuminati, with Captain Carter being the one to break Strange out and retreat. She will tell Strange that she spared his life so that he can clean up his mess and fix all the mistakes he has caused by crossing into their universe. With Captain Carter being another version of Captain America, her moral compass makes her the perfect foil for Dr. Strange’s Type A personality. Their dynamic can be an echo of the relationship Captain America and Iron Man once shared. Carter will be the one that points out Dr. Strange’s flaws and unlike everyone else who has given up on him, she is going to hold him accountable. She’s not going to let Strange get off easy. He’s going to fix this entire mess with the incursion, and she’s going to do everything that she can to help him. Carter will point out that so far Strange has managed to walk away from messes smelling like roses, but sooner or later, that will catch up with him. Because whenever people don’t accept the consequences of their actions, innocent people end up paying the price and suffering for someone else’s mistake. Every universe’s Strange has been guilty of this, and this is the reason why he’s burnt bridges with Christine in every reality. So, in the battle against evil Strange, Dr. Strange will make a selfish mistake that costs Captain Carter’s life, and this will be the final eye-opener for Dr. Strange. He’ll still commit to dream walking his variant’s corpse and defeating Scarlet Witch using the Darkhold, but when America and Wong open a portal to retrieve Dr. Strange, Steven will choose to stay within the destroyed universe. Steven will confess to Wong that he is his own worst enemy, and that his mistakes cause ripple effects that always hurt the people around him. But Dr. Strange is putting a stop to that right now. He’s learned his lesson. It’s not right for the Multiverse to suffer because of Strange’s lack of accountability. I mean, come on, the man not only traveled through the Multiverse and violated reality, but he also tampered with dark magic. He has to face some kind of retribution for that. So, Dr. Strange will make the sacrifice and go into self-exile by choosing to stay trapped within the destroyed universe. So Strange, Wong and America will share a heartfelt goodbye and Strange will finally deliver a customary bow to the Sorcerer Supreme before everyone goes their separate ways. Thus, cementing Dr. Strange’s status as a tragic character and having Carter’s death play a critical role in the story as a significant step in Steven’s arc. Since Multiverse of Madness didn’t really have an impact on the MCU and didn’t really take advantage of the Multiverse to introduce other recently acquired Marvel IPs like X-Men or the Fantastic Four into the mainstream 616 Marvel universe, then this film should have been a proper send-off to Dr. Strange’s character. Have this movie mean something! Rather than just serve as a surface-level spooky spectacle show between Wanda and Steven that has huge doses of fan service. I mean seriously, you can probably skip Multiverse of Madness and still be on board with the MCU sequels because truth be told, Wanda is most likely not going to stay dead and nothing in Earth 616 changed dramatically enough in this movie to make a difference to the series’ continuity. So why does this story even matter? How is this chapter relevant to the overall odyssey that is the MCU? If the answer is "it’s not", then why not quit while you’re ahead and let this be the final Dr. Strange movie? That doesn't mean Dr. Strange can't continue to make appearances throughout the MCU. He just won't have his own movies anymore.

5.  Sam Raimi seemed conflicted in which vision he wanted this film to have. He seemed split and couldn’t decide to make this film a horror movie or a cheesy comic book movie. So, he just decided to do both. Some movies can pull off this blend of genres, but it didn’t work for this film. Horror and cheesy comic book movie are too big of contrasts in tone, and they clash against one another too harshly rather than complement each other like in other MCU films where there is a mishmash of genres such as Guardians of the Galaxy and Thor: Ragnarök. So, in the end, I think Dr. Strange: Multiverse of Madness would’ve been better off sticking with the Horror genre and just running with it. You could even reinforce this by having Gargantos be a Lovecraftian monster that paralyzes victims by staring into their eyes and telepathically infusing their minds with existential crises. This is how the creature seizes its prey. No unnecessary collateral damage required. In fact, I think it’s even scarier if Gargantos is coordinated and precise enough to be stealthy, quiet, and delicate in its movements despite its huge size. It can move around without breaking stuff, kinda like a creepy ghost. By far the cheesiest part of the movie was America's star-shaped portal. They could have easily designed it to look more like a chaotic burst of lightning that is vaguely star-shaped, but as America starts to control her powers, the shape focuses more and more into a star. But it's still a volatile and dangerous element, even when it is refined. It could've fit in with this movie's horror aesthetic by making the lightning red and the interior of the portal looking like inky shadows, almost as if it were Lovecraftian. Then as America develops, her powers manifest in a less scary manner. And for God’s sake Marvel, please start using your color grades and stop making all of your films look like empty parking lots. You don’t have to mute all of the colors! You’re in the business of comic book movies, it is ok to be colorful! This movie should’ve played with color so much more than the original did.

6.  When Professor X is telepathically speaking with Wanda, this could’ve been a significant milestone in her character arc. Even though Professor X can read minds, his real superpower is using his telepathy to become the world’s best therapist. While speaking to Wanda, Professor X should tell her about Jean Grey and how much the Scarlet Witch reminds him of the Dark Phoenix. In an instant, Professor X can share all of his memories with Wanda, and she can share all of her memories with him. Both characters will just stare at each other as this powerful moment of empathy is shared between the two of them. They’ve just seen each other’s lives flash before their eyes. All of their pain, their suffering, their joy, their love, their hopes and dreams. Wanda will break down in tears and go in for a hug, asking for Professor X to help her. She doesn’t want to be the Scarlet Witch. She’s ready to change. He’ll warmly embrace her and reassure her, promising to guide her towards healing. But that’s when the red smoke will come up behind Charles, and Wanda will shout out “NO!” as the Scarlet Witch comes up behind the professor and snaps his neck. Wanda will suddenly be pulled back into the rubble and Scarlet Witch will resume control over 838 Wanda’s mind. This small change makes Wanda’s conversion at the end of this film all the more genuine and believable so that it doesn’t feel like it was rushed.