Script Doctor - Dr Strange In The Multiverse of Madness

 Ephraim Belnap 

Shout out to my friend Mick Gardner for proofreading and feedback

I love Dr. Strange, and I love Sam Raimi, but Multiverse of Madness was self-evidently not up to the high standard most Marvel movies are. It's apparent that they didn't do the kind of rewriting and reshooting that helps their standard entries elevate their material, and the film overall has suffered for it. All the auteur style in the world doesn't work if the story isn't on its level. 

So for that reason, I decided to do script doctor it myself. Go over the existing script and add the tweaks and touches that elevated an eight out of ten to a ten out of ten. A better script by itself doesn't mean anything; if it's shot badly it's not going to work. But I can't imagine it hurts. 

What follows is an attempted outline. 

PROLOGUE 

Somewhere between worlds, AMERICA CHAVEZ and a long-haired version of STEPHEN STRANGE are chased by a giant, one-eyed OCTOPUS DEMON while searching for the Book of Vishanti. But when it looks like they’re cornered, Long-Hair Strange turns on Chavez and starts draining her power, though she protests that this will kill her. He grimly justifies himself,

LONG-HAIR STRANGE

In the infinite calculus of the universe, your sacrifice means more than your life

But just as he’s about to kill her, the demon stabs him through the chest, killing him. Terrified and hurt, Chavez screams in anger and a portal to another universe is created, and she, the demon, and the Long-Hair Strange’s limp body fall through it.

ACT ONE

DR STRANGE wakes up from the alleged nightmare we just saw. He looks at his hair in the mirror, confirming that it’s shorter and less white-striped than that Strange’s was, reassuring himself. On some level, he’s probably wondering how he could dream something so repugnant. Would he ever sacrifice someone like that? 

That day, he attends the wedding of his ex-girlfriend CHRISTINE PALMER, who is marrying a fellow doctor. During the event, he chats with his doctor colleague NICK, who relays that he lost two cats to the Snap and his brother to suicide right after. He didn’t return after the Blip. He asks Strange if there are other universes where things are different. And if Strange 100% really did what was best. Strange says there are other universes, but it’s not possible to explore them. And this was the only way things could’ve happened. But as he watches his ex-girlfriend walk down the aisle to another man, the complexity of that statement clearly weighs on him.

At the reception, Strange chats with Christine briefly and have pleasant banter, a little awkward but pretty amiable. But in that moment, a noise erupts over the city, and he sees from a balcony America Chavez - accompanied by Long-Hair Strange's corpse - in the center of Manhattan being attacked by a giant, one-eyed octopus demon. 

Hero time - he dives off the balcony and suits up, diving in.

WONG and a dark-skinned accented sorceress called the MEDICAS also swoop in after Strange, the three of them managing to kill the demon. Chavez is briefly repulsed by Strange, but Wong and the Medicas’s presence put her at ease, and she manages to explain that it was after her because she is the only being in existence  that has the power to travel through the multiverse and the being commanding the demon wants it. The only thing that can save her is the Book of Vishanti, a book that can give you the answer to any question. 

When they ask how she got here, she reluctantly reveals what Long-Hair Strange tried to do. Strange is shocked and hurt that this child is scared of him, but more than that, he’s shocked that it was real. There was a version of him that did that. What does that say about him? 

In a hurry, Strange buries the other Strange's corpse in a Manhattan roof garden and Wong and the Medicas take her to Kamar-Taj where she’ll be safest. The Medicas tells her some basic magical concepts and that in theory any natural power can be mastered with practice and motivation.

During this whole thing, it’s also been mentioned that Strange is technically no longer the Sorceror Supreme, so he no longer has jurisdiction to make big calls, that’s kind of Wong’s job now. 

Having recognized witchcraft runes on the demon, Strange decides to ask WANDA MAXIMOFF for help. She seems helpful at first, but a slip of her tongue reveals that she herself is responsible for the attacks. She drops her facade and reveals her red-tinged aura. Wanda has lost a lot, but most importantly, she’s acquired the Darkhold. 

From this point, on everyone treats Wanda like a toddler with a knife; dangerous to themselves and others. Everyone knows she needs to be talked down, and it is possible to affect her in some way. But the Darkhold’s grip is strong. 

A potential sample of dialogue to drive this home: 

STRANGE

Wanda, there are things in play here you don’t understand 

WANDA

Don’t I?

STRANGE

It’s not about your power. The Darkhold is designed to turn its readers into their worst selves. It’s not a book, it’s a hot stove - you can’t put your hand on it without results

WANDA

Power is power. People choose what to do with it.

STRANGE

This isn’t a power, it’s a drug. It makes you feel powerful, but it changes how you think, even when you don’t notice. 

Look, Wanda, I just came here to get your help, but now I have another priority.

(squares up magically)

You need to come with me to Kamar-Taj and let the Medicas help you. 

WANDA

I don’t have to do anything. 

(squares up too)

And maybe you should think about what I want

-- 

The two face off for a long second, and then Witch hits him hard enough that he gets knocked all the way back to Kamar-Taj. Not a physical blow, just sheer, unadulterated magical power. And accuracy, considering she sent him there on purpose. Strange is shook. Again. Then hurriedly rises to his feet and starts marching through Kamar-Taj barking orders. As he speaks, Wong, Chavez, and Medicas weave in and out. Wong explains what the Darkhold is, the Medicas reminds them that Wanda fought Thanos one-on-one, and Strange affirms that they can reach her, but that she’s coming loaded for bear, and they can’t risk her just rolling over them. 

A potential sample of this exchange:

STRANGE

We need to arm ourselves, now!

WONG

What?

STRANGE

Wanda is the one we’re looking for. She sent the monster after Chavez, she’s looking for the power to travel the multiverse, and she doesn’t care who she hurts to get it.

MEDICAS

Didn’t this woman nearly kill Thanos singe-handedly? 

STRANGE

She’s not herself anymore, she’s been corrupted by the Darkhold. 

CHAVEZ

What’s the Darkhold?

WONG

The Darkhold’s a repository of forbidden knowledge created five thousand years ago. It’s the opposite of everything permitted and has an enchantment that corrupts whoever reads it. It was thought lost for centuries. 

STRANGE

Wanda must have found it somehow, maybe during that mess in Westview. Either way, it doesn’t matter how she got it, she has it now. She’s coming for Chavez and she’s going to hurt anyone who gets in her way. Arm the apprentices! 

We see the sorcerers preparing for battle. They select stylized spears and bows and arrows; they lock the doors and windows. They place small sculptures at points in the courtyard that glow. Then, before Wanda’s arrival, they collectively raise a forcefield that’s sustained in part by the glowing sculptures.

Wanda arrives. Strange tries to persuade her, but she won’t hear it.

She attacks, killing many sorcerers, knocking Wong and the Medicas away, worming her way through their defenses, and even defeating Strange's Hail, Mary attempt to beat her (a Hydra that regrows twice as many heads each time they're severed and that nearly overwhelms her before she figures out to burn it). As a final act, she removes Strange’s Sling Ring and melts it to slag. She then hurls a deadly poisoning spell at Chavez, but without thinking Strange dives in front of it, partially blocking it, and Chavez - too scared to think right - accidentally activates her powers due to stress and transport herself and Strange to another Earth - Earth-838. 

ACT TWO

Strange is weakened, but not fatally. He recovers over the course of the next few scenes. Chavez gives him a hand as they walk through what appears to be an alternate New York. Chavez explains the complexity of the multiverse, and that she's been an explorer ever since her powers activated when she was about twelve. She’s never been able to portal herself back to her home dimension. There are infinite worlds and she barely remembers what her home dimension looked like. 

Having seen this Strange take a bullet for her, America softens up to him a little. He didn’t act like the other one. 

The two discover a statue of this universe’s Strange, who allegedly died fighting Thanos, which does not help Strange’s mood. He’d prefer not to think about himself dying. However, this gives them the idea to find Bleeker Street and meet this universe’s Sorceror Supreme - KARL MORDO. He welcomes them, although Chavez can’t help pointing out that Strange is no longer the Sorceror Supreme in his world. Their explanation of where they come from surprises Mordo, but not irreversibly. However, he turns out to have sedated them via their drinks of tea. He apologizes, but reveals that there are things even worse than Wanda out there, and soon they’ll be brought before this world's defenders, the Illuminati.

Meanwhile, Maximoff tries to pursue, using the Darkhold to peer through the multiverse to find them. She does this in the ruins of Kamar-Taj, having imprisoned or killed most of the sorcerers and having confiscated and burned their Sling Rings as a collective. As she tries to reach her alternate self, a magically imprisoned Wong tries to persuade her.

WONG

So, walk me through this - if you find your children, what are you going to do? Take them out of school? 

Wanda is a little shaken; killing people she knows are good was hard emotionally. This isn’t costing her nothing. She just doesn’t feel bad enough. The Darkhold’s high is wearing thin. She speaks delicately

WANDA

There’s a spell I can perform. It’ll change their memories. They’ll think they’ve always been with me. They’ll be unburdened by their past. 

And at this moment, she finds Earth-838 and the Wanda therein, who has a conventional home life with BILLY and TOMMY. She “dream-walks”, projecting her consciousness into that counterpart’s body, something that’s only possible with the Darkhold’s writings. 

For a moment, seeing her alternate universe children makes her melt with happiness. But in that moment of distraction, the Medicas, knowing what’ll happen to Chavez if she’s captured by this lady, sacrifices herself to destroy the Darkhold and break the spell. Enraged and saddened, Maximoff makes Wong lead her to Mount Wundagore, the site of the original Darkhold writings, to re-establish the dream-walk.

Meanwhile, Strange and Chavez awaken in an Illuminati cell and discover their cell supervisor is this universe's Christine Palmer. But before they can learn more, Strange is brought before the Illuminati.  

What does this group consist of? 

- MORDO, the Sorceror Supreme. 

- CAPTAIN PEGGY CARTER, a Peggy Carter who took the supersoldier serum instead of Steven. 

- BLACKAGAR BOLTAGON - BLACK BOLT, King of the Inhumans, with a voice capable of destroying mountains.

- MARIA RAMBEAU, friend of Carol Danvers, who in this universe became Captain Marvel instead

- CHARLES XAVIER, the world's most powerful telepath, as played by Sir Patrick Stewart

- And REED RICHARDS, leader of the Fantastic Four, as played by a Mr. John Krasinski

They explain why they've arrested Strange. 

During their universe's fight against Thanos, Earth-838's Strange recklessly used their universe's Darkhold and triggered a universe-destroying "incursion" - an event where another universe begins colliding with one's own and the only solution is to destroy it first or see both gone. Their Strange had no choice but to do the former, but this was such a serious event that after defeating Thanos, the Illuminati executed him to prevent him from doing anything else like this. 

Strange is shaken; he’s messed up before, but never to the extent that he destroyed a universe. His choices have been about doing the opposite of that. Maybe the Illuminati have a good reason for apprehending him, if he could be something like that. 

They note that with Reed’s machinery, they’ve peeked into other worlds, and every time a Strange uses the Darkhold, it’s brought a world closer to devastation. He can’t be trusted with its influence. But then they overzealously declare they’re going to kill him to remove his threat and he finds himself objecting. Woah there, pal. Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. He tries to redirect their attention to Wanda, noting that she’s coming and that they have to get ready. But the Illuminati boldly declare themselves capable of beating her, and that Strange shouldn’t try to avoid judgement with distraction. But at that moment, Wanda finishes re-establishing her dream-walk at Mount Wundagore and arrives in her Earth-838 counterpart's body at their headquarters, and proves they are NOT. READY. 

Easing through their army of Ultron-bots, she engages the Illuminati personally, using unprecedented levels of power. Perhaps it’s because they’re not from her home universe; perhaps it’s because they’re kind of stuck-up; but Wanda doesn’t feel as bad about killing these people.

First, she takes away Black Bolt's mouth. He speaks a word in surprise, and it backfires through his body and blows his skull off. 

Richards tries to attack, but she grasps him psychically and shreds him like cheese through a grater, destroying him. 

Carter and Rambeau engage, but she hurls Carter's own shield through her body, bisecting her, and contrives for one of the Illuminati's statues to fall on Rambeau, crushing her. 

Professor X goes to the bench and invades her mind, trying to free the Earth-838 Wanda trapped in her subconscious. This Wanda is scared, but is keeping her cool, asking for the Professor’s help. He almost succeeds in pulling her out, but Crazy Wanda is too fast and tears his psychic head off, killing him in real life. 

This isn't without effort - Wanda gets hit and bleeds, and - having left her possessee's home without even putting on shoes - is getting her feet cut up by rubble on the ground. But she's still dangerous.

But by this point, Strange has managed to escape Mordo's custody and trap him, and flees with Chavez and Palmer.

Pursued by Wanda, the three finally manage to re-enter the space between worlds Chavez visited in the prologue. 

Chavez  pick up the Book with Strange and Palmer reading over her shoulder and asks it how to get control of her powers, and start seeing an answer forming. 

In a few moments, she sees an illustration with words underneath, but only has time to see the former - her standing on a platform on one side, creating one of her portals on the right. And two figures recognizable as Strange and Wong standing beside her. But also a figure shaped like Wanda by the portal. And the writing under the illustration has an explanation, but before she can read it, Maximoff blows it to pieces. 

Having finally cornered her prey, she brutally takes over Chavez's mind and uses her powers to violently throw Strange and Palmer into a destroyed universe (letting them know that’s what it is), and Chavez back to Mount Wundagore, where she’ll kill Chavez to extract her powers. Her work done, she travels back to Earth-838 and ceases her dreamwalk possession of her counterpart. She has won.

ACT THREE

Strange finds himself stuck in a grey, formless Manhattan, without his Sling Ring, without Chavez and her powers, with no one in this world who looks like they can help, with only the knowledge that Chavez will be killed soon. He lost emotionally, physically and is now literally lost. He kneels in despair for a second, exhausted, angry, and sad, Palmer looking on anxiously. But a second later, he opens his eyes and gets up and starts walking. Palmer asks him what he’s doing, and he notes that the Book showed them an answer. That means there IS a way for Chavez to get her powers working. That means she can rescue them. So they can’t wait on their laurels. They have to keep going. Persevere. And do whatever they can to save her in the time they have (the picture after all, did show Strange and Wong there with Chavez, so they can’t assume she’ll rescue them unaided).So they’d best hurry. Dr. Palmer follows after him. 

Since they’re in Manhattan, they head out to find this world’s Sanctum again to look for answers. But they discover a Dr. Strange who’s also not very pleasant, with a third eye in the middle of his forehead. This one was trying to cure disease, and also messed with the Darkhold. Once again, a Strange who chose wrong. All using the Darkhold did was incite an incursion. Not a great track record, this batch of Stranges.

Wary, and short on time, Good Strange asks a straightforward question - in this universe, is there any way left to interact with the multiverse besides dream walking? 

The other Strange says, “no”. There’s only the one way. 

Strange reflects for a second, and then declares that he’s going to have to use this Strange’s copy of the Darkhold then. Palmer objects for his soul’s sake, but Strange affirms it:

STRANGE

In the infinite calculus of the universe, my soul isn’t worth more than that kid 

Strange knows this - he isn’t someone who sacrifices someone else for his mistakes. He sacrifices himself. Everything all day has been trying to convince him otherwise. But now it’s time to stop listening and time to start proving them wrong. 

But unfortunately, this Bad Strange still doesn't want to give it to him. Maybe he should work for it.

Strange squares up and lets Bad Strange know what’s coming. Bad Strange scoffs, but our Strange is undeterred. And the two engage. The two don’t have Sling Rings, but that doesn’t mean anything. 

Absent sling rings, the two blast through the sky at high speed. Bad Strange suddenly starts warping them between dimensions, putting Good Strange through a high-speed hellish obstacle course, effortlessly controlling his environment. But Good Strange perseveres and steers through the mess, not being intimidated by the wild surroundings. He makes his way closer to Bad Strange and the two eventually end up in the Darkhold’s home dimension, filled with deadly rays of red power as red as Wanda’s own aura. And while it’s deadly, Good Strange finally reaches Bad Strange and puts him in a headlock, holding him facedown over a stream of deadly power as they race along. 

STRANGE

Yield.

BAD STRANGE

No.

STRANGE

Yield! 

BAD STRANGE

No! 

He laughs maniacally, utterly unafraid. 

Pressed, and with zero hesitation at having his bluff called, Strange accepts the ultimatum and slowly lowers Bad Strange into the stream of power, slowly magically grinding his face off in the deadly flow. He lowers all of him, every bit, Bad Strange screaming all the while, and eventually Bad Strange explodes into magical dust, destroyed utterly down to the last atom. Our Strange slows down, Bad Strange is finally silent, and the battle is over. Our Strange won. 

—

Our Strange returns to the Sanctum with his theme music somberly playing, back on top again. Palmer is awed a little by his return, but the two don’t linger and quickly set up for the dream walk. Palmer asks if this is okay considering the corrupting nature of the book, but Strange, knowingly echoing Wanda, somberly retorts that power is power, and what matters is what he does with it. Palmer asks him how this will help him save Chavez if there's no version of his body in his own universe, but Strange reveals that there is - the body of his deceased counterpart that he buried at the start.

Strange’s dream walking body is a zombie, decaying already, but he’s still alive now, and he can still use magic. He flies to Mount Wundagore, and meets up with Wong, who managed to escape in the interim. Wong is shocked at first, but comes around to it, and the two come up with a plan, just like at the film’s start. Wong asks him what he has in mind.

From Wanda’s point of view, things are going swimmingly, but suddenly Wong attacks, and the two dance back and forth. Wanda furiously exclaims that her demons are going to kill Wong in a second, but suddenly Strange announces himself, standing at the cliffside entrance to the Mount . Wanda looks around in confusion, then sees Wong has magically anchored himself to the ground. 

WONG

Have you ever heard of this obscure art movie, “Aliens”?

Zombie Strange - also with a magical anchor - waves his hands and suddenly a tornado is swirling through the room, blowing horribly, pulling the demons slowly but surely out of the cave and off the cliff. Wanda is pulled into the air, but uses her flying power to stay on the surface. And slowly Strange’s spell peters out.

Wanda states that it makes little difference, she can still beat the two of them alone. She and the two fight, the two desperately evading her. Strange and Wong both land physical strikes on her, but she angrily turns Wong’s sword to dust after the second one. 

Meanwhile, Chavez has been strapped down on a sacrificial altar, trying to free herself, but she has been unable to do so. She had the idea to try creating a portal, but it kept not working. But then early on in the two-on-one, the tip of Wong’s rope dart lands by her wrist, and she starts sawing her hand free. She and Strange exchange looks throughout the battle, him trying to communicate that things are going to be okay, even if he in his heart isn’t really sure. 

But Wanda stops messing around. After turning Wong’s sword to dust, she blasts him through a wall, knocking him unconscious, and magically pins Strange against another. She hits with him the same spell that she half-hit him with in Kamar-Taj, but this time, it isn’t blocked, and it starts slowly draining the life out of Strange, his veins popping as it travels through him. He screams at the agony it inflicts. He exchanges a final look with Chavez. But just as Wanda declares him lost, she hears a yell, and sees Chavez - nigh tearful - standing on top of the altar, finally having freed herself.

Chavez says that if she wants her family so badly, she can have it. With some prior practice, and finally the threat of her friends dying motivating her, and yeah, just straight-up being a little stressed, Chavez waves her hands and successfully opens a portal ... 

... To Earth-838 and the room young Billy and Tommy are in, and even slides it forward so that Wanda is forced through it.

Wanda recognizes her kids and is even happy to be reunited with them so suddenly, but Billy and Tommy recognize her - she’s a witch! Their mother told them about her. 

Their own mother - the one Wanda possessed - hears their screams and runs into the room. Her wounds have been dressed, but she’s clearly injured and in no shape to win this fight. She tells Bad Wanda off and places herself in front of her boys, holding her arms out. No one’s getting to them.

Bad Wanda demands that she move aside. But Good Wanda refuses. Says if she had children, wouldn’t she do anything to save them? Bad Wanda exclaims that it’s not the same thing but is ignored, and she eventually snaps and hurls Good Wanda aside, leaving her gasping in pain and watching in vain. 

The boys are even more scared, and Tommy stands in front of Billy, imitating his mother’s protection. 

Bad Wanda tearfully moves over to Good Wanda and reveals that this isn’t how she wanted this to go, but that this has to happen. She’s going to make it so the kids don’t remember, and she’s going to wipe their mom’s mind so she never remembers she had them. She lifts her counterpart up by the throat and raises a hand. But Good Wanda looks up at her with tearful eyes, and the thought of literally inflicting pain on herself is just a little more psychosomatically damaging than Bad Wanda can take. A long moment passes in this pose. And looking into Good Wanda’s eyes, the Darkhold aura in Wanda’s eyes dies. Her powers fade. She was wrong. 

This isn’t how it was suppose to go. Wanda looks back at Strange and Wong and Chavez, all exhausted and injured because of her. She reaches out to touch the children, who shrink back … and she wipes their memories ... to forget the moment, to forget the last ten minutes. That they spent the period playing video games and eating popcorn. That any memory they have of this was a dream. And their mother is normal. And then she steps backwards through the portal and sees it close.

She falls to her knees soundlessly. Strange brings himself to his feet and kneels by her side, comforting her, telling her it’s okay. Wong regains consciousness and stands up with Chavez’s help, watching her. And then Wanda rises to her feet, floats over to the edge of the cliff and falls off. Strange screams “no!” But she turns out to not be dead, just having fallen down a bit before floating up into the air. She tells them, “you should be running”. Wong and Chavez get the message and the two start running, forcing Strange after them, weakly floating away on the same hovering spell. But Strange looks back a distance away, and sees Wanda begin destroying the mountain, bringing down its peak, collapsing its walls, destroying it with a magical plume of power. It’s a mighty display, and the mountain seems to spark back, almost resisting destruction. Wanda looks back, and gives him a heartbreaking look. And then turns, recommits, and destroys it, setting off a magical red wave that washes out and is so bright it eclipses her and the screen.

We cut to Kamar-Taj an unmentioned amount of time later. Most of it’s repaired. Our regular Strange - not Zombie Strange - and Wong are both injured but recovering, sitting at an outdoor table. Wong remarks that it’s lucky Chavez was able to bring him back, and put Dr. Palmer back. Strange remarks that it was, and we cut to a shot of them watching Chavez train with the other apprentices. “It would be nice if she could do that consistently, though.” Wong counsels that people’s talents are unpredictable, and that with time she’ll be able to control it, and maybe even return home. Strange gets up to leave, but before he does, Wong asks him if he knows where Wanda might be. Strange sadly says that she could be anywhere, or exactly where it seems she is. Either way, we’ll find out soon enough.

We cut to Strange back in New York, walking through the city in normal clothing, just appreciating the sights and sounds of his own universe. We see him knock on a door, and Palmer’s husband answers, and he passes him a gift box with Christine’s name on it, presumably something he meant to give them at the wedding. The two appear to have a pleasant conversation, and Strange makes his departure, walking down the street with people just like him.

But unfortunately, as he crosses a street in Manhattan, he falls to his knees in pain, and a third eye - identical to the one Bad Strange had - sprouts from his forehead. Cut to black. 

END

Mid Credits Scene

Walking down a different street in Manhattan, Strange is approached by a sorceress played by Charlize Theron(!) who warns him that his and Wanda's actions have triggered an incursion that he must help fix. She opens a portal into what looks like the Dark Dimension, and Strange agrees to follow her, suddenly sporting the third eye we just saw. So apparently that wasn't really dangerous at all. Strange follows her into the Dark Dimension and it ends.