Black Bolt's Costume From Doctor Strange 2 That Probably Shouldn't Have Been Greenlit

Marvel Studios kicked off their Multiverse Saga in Phase 4 of the MCU, with "Spider-Man: No Way Home" and "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness," giving fans a taste of the repercussions of interacting with the multiverse.

While "No Way Home" gave fans a star-studded look at different "Spider-Man" characters, "Doctor Strange" showed audiences what really lies beyond the main Marvel reality. During the adventure to stop the Scarlet Witch, Doctor Strange and America Chavez travel to Earth-838 — where the Avengers don't reign supreme and the Illuminati protects Earth from threats. Among the team's lineup is none other than Blackagar Boltagon, the king of the Inhumans. Better known as Black Bolt, actor Anson Mount reprised his role from ABC's flop, "Marvel's Inhumans," and his return surprised audiences. Although he didn't stick around for long, some fans thought he was a highlight of the movie and hoped for his return to the MCU. 

Unlike his first outing as the silent Inhuman, Mount got to play a more accurate version of the character on Earth-838. Even with a fairly comic-accurate suit, including his forehead-tuning fork and underarm wings, there's still one glaring reason why the outfit didn't work on screen.

While some fans thought the Illuminati's inclusion in "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" was fantastic, some CGI costumes drew attention from the surprise cameos, and not in a good way. Commenters on Reddit were split, with some upset at the faux garments and others enjoying a good laugh over the matter.

"Multiverse of Madness" costume designer Graham Churchyard sat down with SYFY to discuss the looks featured in the movie, revealing that not only was Black Bolt's costume CGI, but so was Mister Fantastic's. While Marvel Studios would usually make physical costumes for actors to wear, COVID got in the way of it for the "Doctor Strange" sequel. "there wasn't actually time to make physical costumes there," Churchyard said. He continued, telling the outlet that the design team started creating costumes for other characters that were initially part of the movie. However, with COVID and working out the schedules, Marvel changed which characters were part of the Illuminati. By the time they decided on who to include, there wasn't enough time to develop physical costumes.

Not only did he not wear an actual costume, but Black Bolt actor Anson Mount didn't even get to film with his fellow Illuminati members. Each hero recorded their scenes separately, he told Esquire, and Marvel Studios edited them together during post-production. Needless to say, the VFX team deserved more than their normal compensation for the sequel.