Doctor Strange's Secret Wars Role May Be More Important Than You Thought

Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) has been a notable player in the Marvel Cinematic Universe since his self-titled 2016 solo movie. He helps the Avengers battle the Mad Titan, Thanos (Josh Brolin), fractures the Multiverse with Spider-Man (Tom Holland), encounters his alternate timeline variants, and more. Strange even opens his third eye. Unsurprisingly, it's expected that the former Sorcerer Supreme will be a major presence throughout the remainder of the Multiverse Saga, and according to the rumor mill, he'll stand at the forefront of the saga's highly-anticipated conclusion, "Avengers: Secret Wars."

According to entertainment leaker Alex Perez, whom Reddit has deduced has an 86.09% accuracy rate with his scoops, Strange will grapple with the concepts of right and wrong throughout the Multiverse Saga, and in doing so, he'll remove himself from the fray. "When presented with the fact that in most universes, Strange's actions often cause more harm than good, Strange-616 will struggle with the sense of whether what he is doing is right," Perez claimed during a Q&A with The Cosmic Circus' Discord. 

This struggle and subsequent exile will lead him to return in a big way in "Secret Wars." Perez added, "It's all a setup for Strange to step up to the plate and become one of the most important heroes of the Multiverse Saga."

It's unconfirmed if this is truly what comes next in Strange's MCU timeline, and it's unknown if Cumberbatch has even signed on for "Secret Wars." Still, the seeds have indeed been planted for Strange to confront his personal struggles, eventually coming out on the other side.

One of Doctor Strange's defining moments in the MCU so far is his giving up the Time Stone to Thanos in "Avengers: Infinity War." Having seen numerous potential futures, he knows that surrendering the stone and allowing Thanos to execute his plan to destroy half of all life in the universe would ultimately lead to his defeat. After five years, this turned out to be the case. In the time travel-heavy "Avengers: Endgame," the titular team makes an Infinity Gauntlet of its own to stop Thanos and bring back those lost during the Snap.

While it saves the universe, Strange's move comes with side effects. Countless lives are forever changed by half of the population's disappearance and reappearance, with all levels of society adversely affected. Beyond that, Strange later accidentally unleashes five dangerous multiversal villains onto Earth-616 in the process of helping Spider-Man and his friends in "Spider-Man: No Way Home." He then traverses the Multiverse to help America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez) in "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness." Sometime after, he joins Clea (Charlize Theron) to investigate incursions — the sudden destruction of timelines across the Multiverse — that are seemingly caused by his timeline-hopping shenanigans.

Throughout all of these events, Strange has to make difficult decisions. He has put his friends and other universes in danger, seeking or defying the greater good. Surely, his many missteps are weighing on his conscience, and his reckoning with his mistakes will be a major part of his story going forward. Perhaps it'll even culminate in him going on a journey of introspection and healing before taking "Avengers: Secret Wars" by storm, as Alex Perez has alleged will be the case.