Former X-Men ’97 showrunner and creator Beau DeMayo has shared what he claims was the original plan for Wanda Maximoff in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. He says that version of the film would have featured Wanda as a great hero rather than the film’s greatest threat. At least she would have been until a shocking ending that saw her kill a beloved MCU character. The abandoned plot line is a fascinating and tantalizing glimpse of what could have been. The question is whether or not DeMayo’s account of the narrative is entirely true.
Marvel Studios shockingly fired Beau DeMayo in March, right before X-Men ’97 premiered on Disney+. Since then the acrimony between the two sides has only increased. That doesn’t mean DeMayo is lying about the original idea for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, though. It just means we can’t take what he says about Scarlet Witch/Wanda Maximoff and Doctor Strange 2 as the absolute truth just yet.
But a lot of what DeMayo says sounds very possible and fits with official reports that aren’t in question. A lot of what he says about Wanda’s narrative also sounds very good.
DeMayo took to social media to comment on a story from ComicBookMovie.com about the scrapped plans for the Doctor Strange sequel. The post covered something said by Twitter/X user @MyTimeToShineH who wrote that concept art teased a dramatically different story than what the MCU delivered. In the first version, Wanda Maximoff and Doctor Strange would have teamed up immediately to chase down the movie’s main villain. Instead of Scarlet Witch, it would have been Nightmare. Ultimately, though, they said Kevin Feige wanted to go in a totally different direction.
While that claim about Scarlet Witch’s story is unverified, it would explain a big change behind the camera that happened. The original film’s director Scott Derrickson left the sequel in 2020. He cited “creative differences” and has since confirmed that’s really what happened.
Sam Raimi eventually signed on to direct, instead, with Loki writer Michael Waldron penning the script. ( His own screenplay also underwent major changes.) In the final version of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Wanda Maximoff was the main antagonist from the start. But now DeMayo has added even more behind-the-scenes insights into the original plot of Doctor Strange 2 that flesh out the abandoned idea a whole lot more. It went to a very dark place.
In a series of tweets DeMayo laid out how the “OG drafts” for the Doctor Strange sequel did Wanda Maximoff “justice.” That included a cliffhanger twist that would have served as one of the most iconic moments in MCU history. DeMayo shares the following about Scarlet Witch and Doctor Strange 2 in his thread:
Wanda was with Strange recovering after Westview, feeling bad about what she did. She helps him, Wong and Chavez (who she tutors) beat Nightmare across Multiverse, where she also sees her variants happy with her kids.
Still, Wanda resists and she — not Chavez — helps Strange save the day against Nightmare, who turns out to be a Darkhold-corrupted Strange variant. Also, she used her experiences in WandaVision to warn Chavez about abusing her power.
Only after saving the day, unable to resist finding a multiverse where she can be with her kids, does Wanda — sobbing — break from Strange and accidentally beheads Wong, who tries to stop her from fleeing into the multiverse. That was film’s cliffhanger.
…Damn. That all sounds great, including the Nightmare/Doctor Strange Variant twist.
DeMayo also added he thinks this story “made far more sense” than what we ultimately got. “Even when she flees,” he wrote, “Wanda is torn up by guilt in classic comic book fashion and keeps apologizing to Strange as she vanishes and leaves him with his dead friend’s body.”
Whether you agree with DeMayo or not (or don’t believe him), at minimum this is a fascinating “what if.” But even if that Wanda Maximoff plot line would have made for a better film (and sequel), we can all take comfort in one thing: Wong is still with us.