Earlier in 2020, reports claimed Rachel McAdams would not reprise her role as Dr. Christine Palmer in Marvel Studios’ Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Months later, McAdams is now potentially set to reunite with co-star Benedict Cumberbatch in the Doctor Strange sequel after all.
McAdams’ first portrayed Dr. Palmer in the first Doctor Strange film, where the character was depicted as a fellow surgeon and ex-girlfriend to Cumberbatch’s Stephen Strange. Though her screentime was relatively short, Dr. Palmer played a crucial role in the film when she performed an emergency medical procedure on Strange after he sustained critical wounds. It was previously suggested McAdam’s role would not fit the mystical direction Doctor Strange took in outings following the 2016 film.
Deadline reports McAdams has closed a deal to return for the Doctor Strange sequel, though details on the story and the size of her role remain unknown at this time. McAdams joins a cast of returning stars from the original film that includes Chiwetel Ejiofor as Karl Mordo and Benedict Wong as Wong. Newcomers to the Doctor Strange series include Xochitl Gomez and Elizabeth Olsen as Scarlet Witch. Production on the sequel will begin with Sam Raimi serving as director once Cumberbatch completes his work on Marvel Studios’ Spider-Man 3, in which Strange is said to take the role of Peter Parker’s mentor.
Marvel Studios’ president Kevin Feige had already confirmed Doctor Strange in the Multiverse will be set up by the events of WandaVision. The Disney+ series, slated to debut on the streaming service on January 15, finds Olsen’s Scarlet Witch and Paul Bettany’s Vision living a suburban life in a world that emulates television sitcoms. With Marvel Studios’ entire slate of 2020 feature films postponed until later in the following year, WandaVision also marks the official beginning of the company’s Phase 4.
Doctor Strange’s inclusion in Marvel Studios’ Spider-Man 3 may explain the abundance of characters from Sony’s defunct Spider-Man franchises being added to the cast. Among those reprising their respective Spider-Man roles are Jamie Foxx, who portrayed Electro in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, and Alfred Molina as Doctor Octopus from Raimi’s Spider-Man 2.
Furthermore, both Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield are reportedly appearing in Marvel Studios’ Spider-Man 3 as their respective incarnations of Peter Parker. With so many actors joining the cast of the film, there is some concern among fans about the potential for Tom Holland’s Spider-Man to be lost in the shuffle.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is scheduled to be released on March 25, 2022.
Source: Deadline
