‘Doctor Strange 2’ Is 22 Minutes Shorter Than Expected — What the Runtime Means for the MCU Movie
Spider-Man: No Way Home ended with Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Spider-Man (Tom Holland) seemingly fixing the Marvel multiverse. However, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness throws Stephen Strange, Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), and America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez) into crackling dimensions to try and fix everything again. The movie seems packed to the gills, making the first reported Doctor Strange 2 runtime of 2 hours and 28 minutes understandable. However, the Marvel movie is actually much shorter than fans thought.
The ‘Doctor Strange 2’ runtime is closer to 2 hours than 2 and a half
Cameo rumors have suggested everyone from Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield returning as Spider-Man to the Jon Bernthal Punisher will appear in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Then, the trailer confirmed plenty of new Marvel characters, leading fans to expect a behemoth of a runtime for Doctor Strange 2.
The first reported time put it around the two and a half-hour point, the same as Spider-Man: No Way Home. It would have been the fourth-longest Marvel movie to date, just behind Avengers: Infinity War.
However, when Fandango announced Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness tickets, they revealed the runtime. The official Doctor Strange 2 runtime is 2 hours and 6 minutes, 22 minutes less than expected.
What does the shorter ‘Doctor Strange 2’ runtime mean for the Marvel movie?
Some fans might worry that a short runtime for Doctor Strange 2 runs the risk of feeling rushed or overstuffed. After all, “the Multiverse is a concept about which we know frighteningly little,” Stephen said in the Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness trailer. Even though Eternals was one of the longest superhero movies ever, fans still criticized its pacing.
“This is the shortest Marvel Studios project since 2019’s Captain Marvel, putting it around the same runtime as Spider-Man: Far from Home, Iron Man 2, and Guardians of the Galaxy,” The Direct notes.
Fans expect the new Marvel movie to explore similar themes to the Tom Holland, Tobey Maguire, and Andrew Garfield team-up. However, the new shorter time limit means that the Doctor Strange and Wanda Maximoff gang will be tackling the multiverse at a much quicker pace.
‘Multiverse of Madness’ has a lot to cover in 2 hours
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness trailers have already revealed an absurd amount of content. Fans have spotted multiple Variants of Doctor Strange, the Marvel Illuminati putting Stephen Strange on trial, and Baron Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor) hunting down sorcerers.
At the same time, Scarlet Witch may have her agenda of finding her children from WandaVision somewhere in the multiverse.
America Chavez debuts, new cameos, and continuity collide – Doctor Strange: MoM is tackling an absurd amount of plots. However, several fantastic Marvel movies don’t even reach the two-hour mark, including the original Doctor Strange (2016).
Fans can watch every second of Doctor Strange 2‘s 2 hours and 6-minute runtime on May 6, 2022.
