There’s no denying that we were big fans of WandaVision on Disney+. We’d follow along week after week as the story unfolded, examining clues and coming up with wild theories about where the plot was headed. However, we recently learned that there was one character the showrunners wanted to include in the show which, unfortunately, had to get cut and that has us totally bummed out.
The original plan for WandaVision was to have Doctor Strange show up in the final episode, around the time Wanda’s powers blossomed and she became the Scarlet Witch. Plans for the appearance were already ironed out, with a deal between Marvel and Benedict Cumberbatch finalized and everything. However, in an interview with Rolling Stone, MCU head honcho Kevin Feige said that they didn’t want Strange’s appearance to detract from Wanda’s growth. Feige elaborated, “We didn’t want the end of the show to be commoditized to go to the next movie — here’s the white guy, ‘Let me show you how power works.’”
Doctor Strange’s appearance also would have changed the meanings behind the commercials, as well. As you may recall (and how could you not if you’d seen the show), each episode of WandaVision contained a commercial for a fictional product that tied directly into Wanda’s past. The original plan was to have the commercials act as magical messages from Strange to Wanda, a sort of communication between the two sorcerers. However, without Strange, that explanation wouldn’t hold much water, so we’re left to assume that Wanda designed the commercials herself to fit with the sitcom presentation of her life.
Despite Doctor Strange not appearing in WandaVision, the show still turned out pretty well despite the criticism that Wanda got off light for her actions against the people of Westview. It was an epic story that introduced a bunch of new concepts into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and also brought Wanda to the forefront by finally becoming the Scarlet Witch. And it also leaves enough character development when Wanda and Dr. Strange cross paths in the upcoming Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, due out in March 2022. So there are plenty of other opportunities for these two mega-powerful sorcerers to cross paths, but it still would have been cool to see Doctor Strange in WandaVision.
