‘Doctor Strange 2’ Director Reveals Scarlet Witch Is More Powerful Than Doctor Strange, but There’s a Catch
The debate over who the strongest Avenger is has plagued Marvel fans for years. Everyone has their own opinion on who they think would win in a fight among the Marvel Cinematic Universe superheroes. But Doctor Strange 2 may have the answers fans have been seeking, at least, regarding who is the most powerful between Doctor Strange and Scarlet Witch.
Director Sam Raimi gives his take on the strongest Avenger
During an interview with Fandango, Doctor Strange 2 director Sam Raimi addressed who is more powerful in the upcoming movie — Doctor Strange or Scarlet Witch?
“Wow. That’s a question I’ve been asking kids on the playground since third grade. Who is stronger, this character or that character?” the director said. “Well, I think Wanda’s magic, from Marvel lore, is more powerful than almost any of the other characters in this picture, but Doctor Strange has the knowledge of the mystic arts that Wanda doesn’t have, and he’s got the help of Kamar-Taj.”
Raimi continued, “If you were to pit them against each other, different altered versions of themselves … there could be a Doctor Strange out there that’s more powerful than our Wanda. Or there could be a Wanda out there who is more powerful than our Wanda here. So, because of these altered versions, it’s all a mixed bag of possibilities.”
Raimi admitted that Wanda’s power as the Scarlet Witch, which reached new levels in WandaVision, makes her the strongest being in Doctor Strange 2. But because of the possibility of both Doctor Strange and Scarlet Witch variants in the film, the answer regarding who is the most powerful is complicated. The multiverse is vastly unknown and very complex, after all.
‘Doctor Strange 2’ will feature many Scarlet Witch variants
It’s easy to spot the Doctor Strange variants in the Doctor Strange 2 trailer, but there aren’t many noticeable Scarlet Witch variants. Thanks to Sam Raimi, though, we know that the MCU movie features multiple versions of Wanda Maximoff.
“The movie is a journey into the multiverse, so you do see different iterations of Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange and even Lizzie Olsen’s character of Wanda Maximoff,” the director told Fandango. “So, the actors have to play that. It’s a great challenge for them and great fun to direct them playing these altered versions of themselves.”
Raimi added, “I think that was the most interesting thing — to see Benedict Cumberbatch bring out a part of his personality that was slightly unique to create one of his altered selves. Or to watch Lizzie maybe bring a darker part of herself out to create an altered version of herself. The slightest tweaks they could come up with made it very interesting for me.”
The Doctor Strange 2 previews show Supreme Strange, Defender Strange, Zombie Strange, and Zombie Scarlet Witch. But given that Marvel rarely gives away major plot details in their trailers, it’s safe to say that the Doctor Strange sequel contains many more variants.
Is Scarlet Witch the villain of ‘Doctor Strange 2’?
Ever since WandaVision premiered on Disney+, many fans have speculated that Scarlet Witch will become a villain in Doctor Strange 2. Wanda held an entire town hostage when her powers became unstable. And although she apologized for her actions, her possible future status as a villain is plausible. Sam Raimi even admitted to Fandango that a version of Wanda could be evil in the Doctor Strange sequel.
“Well, there’s iterations of our characters throughout the multiverse,” the director explained, “So, if I were to say Strange [is the villain of Doctor Strange 2] … I’m not really supposed to answer this question, but I might be saying altered Strange. Same with Wanda and Mordo. But I would say, at different times, all of the above.”
Marvel has yet to reveal who the Big Bad is in the movie, but it sounds like it will be a plethora of variants. Unfortunately, the only way to find out the film’s true villain is to see it when it comes out.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness premieres exclusively in theaters on May 6.
