Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse producers originally wanted Doctor Strange in the film

The producers of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse originally wanted Doctor Strange to appear in the film. Could it have worked out between Sony and Disney?

It’s possible we could have seen Doctor Strange in two movies this year instead of one. Earlier this year, we saw the sorcerer in Avengers: Infinity War, where he delivered the now-famous line, “We’re in the endgame now.” You know, the line that set up the sequel’s title, Avengers: Endgame.

But that might not have been the only handy thing Doctor Strange had done for a cinematic universe. If plans for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse went through as the producers originally hoped for, Doctor Strange could have appeared in that movie, too.

This big reveal comes from the Spider-Verse producers, Chris Miller and Phil Lord, who spoke to Den of Geek about the idea. Lord recalled that the first draft of their story was actually going to end with Doctor Strange appearing. Miller elaborating by saying:

"Oh, that’s right! It ended with him saying, ‘Okay, I have some things to tell you…’ It was the first draft, like three years ago. It ended with Doctor Strange. Literally, the last frame was Doctor Strange, going, ‘Hello.’"

Unfortunately, Den of Geek writes that there wasn’t enough time to have Miller or Lord elaborate on their original idea. And that just leaves more questions to be asked. First and foremost:

Why would the movie need Doctor Strange to appear in the first place?

Den of Geek guesses that Strange likely could have been used to introduce the concept of alternate universes since the movie revolves around that idea.

The trailer alone shows that it’s easy to understand that each of the Spider-variations come from different universes. But if the movie wanted to get technical by explaining why, then Strange would have been a good fit for that. Still, the less you explain, the less complicated the movie is. And that’s a good thing.

Still, that leads us to the next question.

Would Disney have allowed Into the Spider-Verse to use Doctor Strange’s likeness?

That depends, since Marvel character rights are distributed between movie studios.

Sony, the studio behind Spider-Verse, has the rights to Spider-Man characters. But Doctor Strange falls under Disney/Marvel Studios’ domain. (Fox is the final piece, with rights to X-Men and Fantastic Four characters.)

With the induction of the live-action Spider-Man in Captain America: Civil War, it showed that Disney was willing to bring Spider-Man characters into their movies. But would they have been just as willing to lend one of their characters to Sony?

That answer is a bit complicated, but they likely could have. Tony Stark is technically on the Marvel Studios side of Marvel movies, but he appeared in Sony’s Spider-Man: Homecoming. And in the sequel, Spider-Man: Far From Home, Nick Fury, Maria Hill, Pepper Potts and Happy Hogan will all make appearances — characters who we originally saw in Marvel Studios’ movies, not Sony’s. With that being the case, throwing in a Doctor Strange cameo at the end could have been an easy feat.

And finally, that brings us to our last question.

Would Benedict Cumberbatch be the one to voice the cameoed character?

Well, that all depends on how much continuation Sony is looking for between their universe and the MCU. In Sony’s Homecoming and Far From Home, it’s clear to see that those movies bridge Marvel Studios’ and Sony’s worlds neatly.

Into the Spider-Verse doesn’t have to relate to those movies at all (since these are alternate universes we’re dealing with). But having Benedict Cumberbatch to voice his character in that movie would seal the deal, showing that there’s more connecting these universes than we thought.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is out in theaters Dec. 14. And while we won’t see Doctor Strange in Spider-Verse, he will be in Avengers: Endgame in April, and Doctor Strange 2 likely in May 2021.