While WandaVision ended up being an unpredictable delight that left Marvel fans spinning out theories, week after week, the show pulled an unexpected twist by not having a Doctor Strange cameo. From the jump, the show was promoted as a lead-in to Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, so it was assumed that the Sorcerer Supreme could pop up at some point, even if it was nothing more than a brief end-credits scene. Instead, he was nowhere to be found. Of course, this could’ve been another case of fans getting ahead of themselves, but in a new interview, Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige has confirmed that Benedict Cumberbatch was signed on to make an appearance, but the cameo was nixed at the last minute to keep the focus on Wanda. Via Rolling Stone:
“Some people might say, ‘Oh, it would’ve been so cool to see Dr. Strange,’” says Feige. “But it would have taken away from Wanda, which is what we didn’t want to do. 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.’”
Here’s where Marvel’s decision gets even… stranger. According to head writer Jac Schaeffer, WandaVision‘s commercials were supposed to be “messages from Strange to Wanda,” and at one point, Cumberbatch was actually going to be in one of the ads. Ultimately, Strange was cut, but the dark, creepy ads were left in, which probably explains why some of them still don’t make a lick of sense. A claymation child literally died trying to eat yogurt. What the heck, Marvel?
(Via Rolling Stone)