After months of anticipation Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has finally come to cinemas, and fans around the world are already rushing to see what happens to Benedict Cumberbatch’s superhero sorcerer as he travels to different universes.
If you’re one of those people who’s seen the film already but is still reeling from its final events then never fear – we’ve broken down the main points of the ending for you, and what they might mean for the future of Marvel (or at least, the Doctor Strange franchise).
Read on to see our take on Doctor Strange 2’s ending, but watch out – we’ll obviously be dealing in major spoilers from the off, so look away now if you haven’t seen the film. We mean it!
**Spoiler warning for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness**
Doctor Strange 2 ending explained
The final battle
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Trapped in the ‘Sinister’ universe with an alternate version of Christine (Rachel McAdams), Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) makes a decision – he’ll use that dimension’s version of the Darkhold to “dreamwalk” into the main Marvel Cinematic Universe, fight Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) and help rescue America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez).
(For anyone who dozed off at the back, Wanda has spent the film cutting a swathe through the multiverse to steal America’s ability to jump between dimensions, hoping to find a world where her sons from WandaVision are alive. OK, back we go.)
Of course, Strange needs an alternate self to walk into – but luckily the corpse of his alternate ‘Defender Strange’ self is still buried in New York, so with even more forbidden magic he raises himself as a kind of zombie Strange and teleports to Wungadore, where Wanda is preparing to steal America’s reality-jumping power for her own.
Nasty-looking afterlife spirits attempt to drag Strange down, but he tames them and uses them to fly and battle Wanda. While he can’t hold her off for long, he takes the time to help America, inspiring her to finally gain control over her powers. With them, she fights Wanda and eventually blasts her into the parallel world she previously dreamwalked into.
Here, she confronts her alternate self – but she terrifies these versions of her children, who try to fight her off and then retreat, crying. Realising how monstrous she must seem to them, Wanda falls to her knees and is comforted by her alternate self.
Is Wanda Maximoff dead at the end of Doctor Strange 2?
Moving back to the prime MCU, Wanda gives up on her goal, destroying the Wungadore fortress (and every copy of the Darkhold across the multiverse) to make sure no one else repeats her mistake.
She ends by bringing down the walls and ceiling on top of her – it’s unclear if this actually finishes her off (she’s survived worse, though there is magic involved), but the rule in superhero movies tends to be that if there’s no body, there’s no death. And frankly, even if there is a body they might still come back (see: Gamora and Vision).
So we wouldn’t be surprised to see Wanda return, even if Olsen herself is trying to manage expectations.
“The end of this film….. I’m very curious what fans would like to see because I do think it is a surprising story,” Olsen recently told RadioTimes.com of the ending.
“The ending is surprising, I think. And I don’t know if people are expecting it. And so I am curious to hear what people would like after.”
What did Doctor Strange opening his “third eye” mean?
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For Strange and Wong, the film concludes elsewhere. Back at Kamar-Taj, Wong (Benedict Wong) is rebuilding, while America has been taken on as a pupil. Strange denies that his experience of the Darkhold has damaged him as it did Wanda and his ‘Sinister’ alternate self (above), but back in New York he collapses in the street as a third eye opens painfully on his forehead.
We saw this same extra ocular appendage on Sinister Strange, and it’s unclear what its significance is – but either way, expect to see it again in future films.
Who is Charlize Theron playing in the Doctor Strange 2 end credits scene?
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A short while later, the first post-credits scene picks up with Strange back out enjoying another walk (he does love his constitutionals, eh?)
This time, he’s interrupted by the arrival of Clea (Charlize Theron), who informs him that his multiversal travels have caused an incursion.
Earlier in the film, this possibility was mentioned by the Illuminati – it basically refers to an event where two universes collide and one is destroyed.
In the comics, Clea is a sorcerer herself and an interdimensional energy being with quite a complex history, so it’s not clear how exactly the MCU will adapt her going forwards. Still, she and Strange usually have a romantic history, so don’t be surprised to see that explored in the future.
Anyway, the scene ends with Strange accepting her task as they apparently leap into a weird alternate dimension. Whether this will be picked up in another Doctor Strange movie or a crossover film before that remains to be seen.
Oh, and the last scene shows what happened next to the pizza vendor Strange enchanted to beat himself up. But you probably don’t need that part of the ending explained.
- Read More: Doctor Strange 2 will get same reaction as Spider-Man: No Way Home, says star
- Read More: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is a “progression” of WandaVision
- Read More: Meet the cast of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
- Read more: Biggest cameos in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is in UK cinemas now, while you can sign up for Disney Plus for £7.99 a month or £79.90 a year. For more, check out our dedicated Fantasy page or our full TV Guide.
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