Liang Yang, the fight co-ordinator on Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, has posted a video on Instagram which shows a planned sequence involving the Kamar Taj Warriors that was not included in the final movie.
In the sequence shown in the movie, the warriors of the Kamar Taj use magical shields, a dragon cannon and arrows to defend themselves from the Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen). Wanda rains fiery destruction down on the temple, but it looks as though there once was a plan for something more hand-to-hand, with dollops of very Sam Raimi blood.
The stunt video that Liang has shared comes with some very simple special effects to give you an idea of how it would have looked in the finished film. The caption says; “An extended sequence we created that was not included in the final edit of the battle between Scarlet Witch and the Kamar Taj Warriors.” The warriors have samurai-style swords and Wanda uses her powers to make them turn the swords on themselves. The most Raimi-influenced section is when Wanda suspends a person in mid-air and then snaps their limbs, bending them in different directions.
Although the final cut of Doctor Strange 2 did include some Raimisms, notably a zombie Stephen Strange, it’s probably unsurprising that the violent sequence was cut. It’s impressive how good an amateur video of stunt-people training can look, and also gives the full impression of what the finished sequence would have been like.
The decision to make Scarlet Witch an outright villain was a controversial one in Doctor Strange 2, and her ultimate fate was left ambiguous too. The future of both Wanda Maximoff and Stephen Strange is currently uncertain in the MCU, but you can still find out what Easter eggs you may have missed in the Multiverse of Madness. You may also still need the ending and post-credits scenes explained.
If you’re looking forward to the next MCU movie, let us tell you everything we know so far about Black Panther 2.