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Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness star Xochitl Gomez has revealed that a major change was made to the movie's gut-wrenching opening. In an interview with Slash Film, Gomez discussed the massive reshoots that took place – and how the trajectory of her character was changed as a result.
Warning! Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness spoilers ahead!
"[The reshoots] changed lots of things," she explained. "The main thing about Marvel is that they do test screenings so that they can get the movie to be what fans want, make them be what Marvel movies are. We did lots of changes for that reshoot, it was pretty insane."
In the opening, Defender Strange, one of the multiverse versions of Strange we see throughout the film, attempts to sacrifice America's life rather than save her from a giant monster (summoned by the Scarlet Witch) that he ends up getting eaten by anyway. This causes America to (understandably) be pretty distrusting of Earth-616's Doctor Strange, AKA the one we all know and love.
"Defender Strange was actually saving me at the beginning and it was a turning point, that when he died it was me being heartbroken over the fact that someone who cared and was protecting me had passed away," Gomez said. "Then, when we did reshoots it was this main drastic change that Defender Strange was actually betraying me and trying to take my power away from me."
The change gave Gomez and Benedict Cumberbatch's characters a lot more to work with, essentially creating a new level of depth within America and allowing audiences to learn more about her by way of her trust issues – all while making Strange realize that he has to put his trust in another person in order to save the world. You can find our debrief on the movie in our piece on the Doctor Strange 2 ending.
For more, check out our list of upcoming superhero movies in 2022 and beyond.
