Doctor Strange 2 Easter Egg: Earth-616 MCU Marvel Reveal Divides Fans

Doctor Strange 2 addressed a longstanding theory of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) that is dividing fans.

The new film stars Benedict Cumberbatch as the magician for his second standalone film, titled Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

In the sequel, he meets America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez), a superhero with the ability to travel a variety of universes filled with Marvel characters old and new.

*Spoilers to follow – you have been warned*

Strange travels the multiverse with Chavez and they end up in a world where they are being held captive by the Illuminati, a secretive group made up of several recognizable faces.

However, before Strange faces the Illuminati, he discovers that a variant of his former lover, Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams), is working there. It’s this version of Palmer voicing a line that elicits an enthusiastic response from viewers around the world.

Palmer tells Strange that the universe he traveled to is known as Earth-838. She then reveals that the world of the MCU is known as 616.

Marvel Comics readers have been trying to figure out if the MCU Universe was Earth-616, which is considered the “Primary Universe”. Jake Gyllenhaal’s Mysterio previously claimed it was in Spider-Man: Far From Homebut some fans thought the character might have lied.

However, the confirmation is in Doctor Strange 2 has divided comic book readers who believe there are many discrepancies with the way the world was translated on screen. Others felt that the film universe should be numbered differently so that it could exist as a different world within the multiverse that the film characters might find their way to in a future film.

Twitter user @KeyBrains wrote: “Doctor Strange is a really cool movie. BUT it’s really, absolutely, stupidly, actually wrong that they call the MCU universe the 616. That’s spoken! Wtf literally any other designation would work.”

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Another comics fan. @allsorrows, added: “This is so petty, but the MCU should NOT be called a 616. Like… the comic universe exists out there somewhere… so like… what’s up with it.”

But Twitter user @acscosplay leveled: “People are actually upset they called the main MCU timeline ‘Earth-616’? 616 is Marvel’s main universe in the comics, so they only keep the number for the main universe in the movies. It doesn’t create any problems. It’s just a number.”

As well as a number of surprise cameos throughout the film, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has a post-credits scene that brings an Oscar winner into play.

The film is now in cinemas. Read The Independent‘s review here and our interview with Elizabeth Olsen, who plays Wanda Maximoff in the film, is here.