With Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness now just a week away, Marvel has shared the first clip from the much-anticipated sequel, thereby sending fans into meltdown. And while it is a thrilling tease at what’s to come in Stephen Strange’s incoming second solo outing, fans have unfortunately spotted a glaringly obvious continuity error that kind of punctures the drama.
The clip sees Benedict Cumberbatch’s (not-quite) Sorcerer Supreme squaring off against extradimensional monstrosity Gargantos, as people flee in chaos around them. It looks to be a great set-piece that’s reminiscent of the classic “public in danger” superhero movie sequences that the MCU doesn’t do all that much. And yet it comes across as unintentionally comical once you spot the clip’s big goof.
As pointed out by Twitter user @jc_leonard, among others, the same man holding a briefcase is seen running past Strange in every single shot of the hero. See the evidence for yourself via the tweet below:
It’s a shame that this error slipped into the scene as it’s otherwise a great achievement. Folks are particularly grateful that director Sam Raimi shot this on location instead of against a green screen which gives it a more tangible and real quality, much like the action sequences from his Spider-Man trilogy. As someone pointed out, though, having tons of extras fleeing in all directions does create a continuity nightmare.
It’ll be interesting to see if Briefcase Guy sticks around or if he’ll end up edited out of this clip. Spider-Man: No Way Home, for instance, continued to have its VFX updated throughout its theatrical run, so it’s feasible that Marvel could fix this error now that fans have brought it to light. Otherwise, maybe Briefcase Guy is a clue that Strange is actually trapped in some kind of time loop like when he faced Dormammu?
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness opens in U.S. cinemas on May 6.