I don’t want to cast a spell of spoilers right now, but let’s just say that there’s more to Marvel’s recent Doctor Strange movie than just Mads Mikkelsen in the villain department. So ya know what? Here’s your warning to not read any further after the image of Tony Stark and Stephen Strange being the bestest of facial hair bros. For real, don’t scroll any further than this if you still plan to go see the movie.
Okay, if you’re still here, consider yourself warned. So you’ve seen Doctor Strange, and you kind of did guess that the dread Dormammu would make an appearance. And what an appearance it was, as Strange battled one of the most powerful beings in the entire multiverse not only with magic but with with quick wits as well. With Dormammu defeated and Mordo set on a path of villainy, that leaves the doors of the Sanctum Sanctorum open for any number of threats to make their presence known to Doctor Strange.
And one such threat was almost the prime villain of the first film. Speaking to Empire, Doctor Strange director Scott Derrickson revealed how his first choice for third act villainy was not Dormammu but rather Nightmare. A foe who existed in the Dream Dimension and makes Freddy Krueger look like a puppy in comparison, Nightmare is fear personified and one of the more relentless foes that the sorcerer supreme has ever faced.
But throwing him into a movie that already had plenty of exposition woven into it? That was perhaps too big of a challenge for an origin movie, as Derrickson explained:
Kevin [Feige] made a very cogent case. The trouble with starting with Nightmare is getting across the idea of the Dream Dimension as another dimension. The movie was challenging enough. It’s already an exposition-heavy movie… Dormammu made the most sense. And he is the most present villain in the comics.
That doesn’t mean that Nightmare would be a bad fit for a sequel however. With the idea of the multiverse touched upon in Doctor Strange, it’s now time to see what lies beyond Earth and the Dark Dimension. Plus, this might be the closest we’ll ever get to a remake of a Nightmare on Elm Street at this rate, that doesn’t completely suck. I wonder if Robert Englund is interested…
Last Updated: November 9, 2016