New Doctor Strange detail revealed in Spider-Man: No Way Home

Because new Marvel movie Spider-Man: No Way Home reveals that Benedict Cumberbatch’s heroic magician didn’t actually assume the title of Sorcerer Supreme when the previous holder (Tilda Swinton’s Ancient One) was killed.

Unlike in the comics, where Doctor Strange is (almost) always Earth’s Sorcerer Supreme, someone else has taken the mantle in live-action: Benedict Wong’s character Wong, last seen in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and now sparring with Strange in Spider-Man: No Way Home’s opening scenes.

“He got it on a technicality because I blipped for five years,” Strange grumbles, while Wong heads off for more of his “many responsibilities” as the main magical protector of Earth (which could also explain why he was so involved in Shang-Chi).

It’s a small beat but could inform the events of the upcoming Strange solo movie Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

If Strange does shatter the Multiverse once more, it could be that he’ll have to face off with Wong in the latter’s capacity as a defender of Earth/general magic overseer.

Alternatively, maybe the film will see him earn his traditional title over the course of the story.

It seems like an odd detail to throw up in No Way Home if it doesn’t have some relevance going forward – though it wouldn’t be the first time any of us have over-analysed a minor detail from a Marvel movie that turned out to go nowhere...

Read more:

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• Spider-Man: No Way Home review – The best superhero movie in recent years
• Why the next Spider-Man movie needs to take things back to basics
• How to watch Spider-Man No Way Home – Can you stream it?
• Every upcoming Marvel movie – new release dates over the next few years
• Spider-Man: No Way Home - Best Easter eggs and cameos in new MCU film
• Spider-Man: No Way Home end credits scenes explained
• Spider-Man: No Way Home includes major reference to Miles Morales
• What's next for Daredevil as the Man without Fear is restored in the MCU?
• Does Spider-Man: No Way Home tease Andrew Garfield/Venom crossover?

Spider-Man: No Way Home is in UK cinemas now. For more, check out our dedicated Sci-Fi page or our full TV Guide.

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