Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness underwent many changes during production, with several cameos and subplots either altered or outright scrapped.
That's par for the course with Marvel Studios-produced blockbusters, and the movie ultimately did pretty well with a solid 73% on Rotten Tomatoes and over $955 million at the worldwide box office.
After Spider-Man: No Way Home, the Doctor Strange sequel expanded the Multiverse by taking us to Earth-838 and a reality badly damaged by an Incursion caused by a villainous Strange Variant. However, it turns out we were meant to visit a third parallel world.
Talking to The Playlist, filmmaker Sam Raimi dropped this tidbit while praising Send Help star Rachel McAdams, who played a couple of Dr. Christine Palmer Variants in the 2022 movie.
"I learned who she was and what she was capable of. Rachel had created the character from the first 'Doctor Strange' movie, and she did a great job," he explained. "She knew who she was, and in 'Doctor Strange 2,' which I got a chance to direct, the story by Michael Waldron, introduces the multiverse."
"In the multiverse, she not only played the character she created in 'Doctor Strange,' but she also played three versions in the multiverse that had a slightly different background. And I saw her manifest the same character with subliminal tweaks, and that would be the result of those background changes. And I thought, she’s fascinating. It’s like a musical instrument—watching it play."
"And then [in reshoots] that we do for Marvel sometimes, Michael Walton created [another] universe," Raimi added. "So now she had a different backstory. I saw her take those notes from the script and recreate the character yet another time with a proper re-tunement based on that background and how it would be reflected in the modern moment."
So, an entire reality ended up on the cutting room floor. We know Earth-838 evolved greatly, and what we saw in that weird version of New York City never really aligned with the Illuminati's story. Chances are, we did see some of this cut world, with both ultimately merged in the final cut.
Raimi also described a scrapped action sequence. Calling it "cheesy," the Spider-Man director recalled, "I had to say to her on set, 'This is where the demons from the netherworld have come out. And they punch you in the jaw.' And then I [saw her] fall back into this chaise lounge. And then a demon jumps upon [her]. And [she caught] it with your legs like a flying trapeze for a moment."
There are many scenes from MCU movies that we know were shot and haven't—and likely never will—see the light of day. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness having a few of them isn't overly surprising, but it does make us wonder what might have been.