Dr. Strange almost appeared in ‘WandaVision’ but then….
By Lisa Respers France, CNN
According to the head of Marvel, Benedict Cumberbatch was slated to appear as Dr. Strange in the final episode of the Disney+ series “WandaVision.”
Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige talked to Rolling Stone Magazine for a forthcoming oral history of the show and said, “Some people might say, ‘Oh, it would’ve been so cool to see Dr. Strange.'”
“But it would have taken away from Wanda, which is what we didn’t want to do,” Feige said. “We didn’t want the end of the show to be commoditized to go to the next movie — here’s the white guy, ‘Let me show you how power works.'”
The character of Wanda Maximoff, a.k.a. the Scarlet Witch (played by Elizabeth Olsen) is set to appear in the film “Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” slated to be released in 2022.
“WandaVision,” starring Olsen and Paul Bettany as Vision, was a huge hit for the streaming service and a welcome addition to the Marvel universe.
Feige pointed out that had they moved forward with the Dr. Strange appearance, it would have also necessitated a rewrite of the script for that character’s upcoming movie.
