As implied, there be Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness spoilers from here on out.
Hilariously, some fans missed the surprise debut of Charlize Theron’s Clea during the first post-credits scene of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, even though we’ve been conditioned by the Marvel Cinematic Universe for the last 14 years to stay put until the lights come up.
On a base level, it was undeniably exciting to see an Academy Award-winning action star show up in the world’s biggest franchise as a fan favorite comic book character, but in the grand scheme of things it was kind of an underwhelming way to introduce an A-lister like Theron.
It was one of those cameos for the sake of a cameo, but writer Michael Waldron revealed to Collider that Clea had always been intended to debut in the Doctor Strange sequel since the very beginning.
“Look, she’s such a huge part of Doctor Strange’s comic book canon. Marvel had always talked about her being part of this film. I thought it was really important for Strange’s emotional throughline in this movie for us to actually close the loop on he and Christine Palmer, Rachel McAdams’ character. Once we did that and once he’s given that bit of wisdom from Christine to not be afraid of caring about someone, then it felt like the right time to introduce Clea, who in the comics is really his great love, I guess I would say.”
The signs certainly point to Benedict Cumberbatch’s title hero and Theron’s Clea buddying up for the inevitable Doctor Strange 3, which has a high bar to clear in terms of sheer ambitious insanity, given what Multiverse of Madness brought to the party.