In fact, the supposed revelation of Professor X was so obvious, it almost seemed like Marvel wasn’t even making an attempt to hide his identity, or shock viewers with his resurgence when Doctor Strange 2 finally comes to theaters this May. By giving viewers just enough information to figure out who this character is, Marvel Studios might have been trying to prevent fans from letting the rumors about Doctor Strange 2 get any crazier than they already have.

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Viewers have been waiting for the X-Men to resurface in the MCU since WandaVision was released in 2021, so the question fans have been asking themselves isn’t if the X-Men will return, but when. Hinting at the presence of Professor X in Doctor Strange 2 has both satisfied and excited audiences, and although the rumor mill is running wild, there haven’t really been any major spoilers about the movie posted to the internet, without the consent of Marvel and Disney. This could be because of Marvel’s proactive approach in showing fans which characters will play a role in the upcoming film.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has received about as much hype as Spider-Man: No Way Home did before its release in December. The excitement surrounding the possibility of there being a Spider-Man team-up amongst all three live-action Spideys is what led fans to keep digging and eventually ruin the biggest surprise from No Way Home. So, instead of waiting for people to get information about the character cameos in Multiverse of Madness on their own, it seems like Marvel is trying to stay ahead of their audience by willingly providing this information, without trying to keep any secrets.

Leaked set photos of Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield surfaced on the internet months before the film was released and fans were anticipating their return, despite adamant denials from both the actors and Marvel Studios of there being a Spidey team up.

In fact, one of the final nails in the coffin came from a suspicious shot in the No Way Home trailer, where Holland’s Spider-Man was facing off against three enemies. Given all that was spoiled for No Way Home through trailers and photos, it’s reasonable to assume that the MCU included shots of Professor X in the Doctor Strange 2 trailer to beat nosey fans to the punch.

Beyond the inclusion of Professor X, the Doctor Strange 2 Super Bowl trailer also features appearances by Evil Wanda and what looks to be a Captain Marvel variant of sorts. Within that single, 2-minute video, a total of 3 major characters were (seemingly) confirmed, and could mean that Marvel has already shown fans all the big cameos they should expect in Multiverse of Madness. That puts the power back in the MCU’s hands, assuming they dropped all the cameo bombs before fans could leak this information themselves.

There’s a divide in the Marvel fandom about whether leaks and spoilers are a good thing. Some people seem to enjoy finding out as much about MCU movies as possible before their official release and take pleasure in scouring the internet for any tidbits of information they can find. Others aren’t so happy about the possibility of having Marvel movies spoiled for them before they get the chance to see it in theaters, since they wish to experience every emotion and revelation first-hand.

This begs the question of whether leaking information about MCU projects is starting to ruin, or water down the experiences fans have in theaters, since a large majority already know what to expect before seeing the films for the first time. If Marvel and Disney are keeping curious fans at bay by revealing all the huge cameos before the movie is released, what other surprises will fans have to look forward to?

Of course, there’s always a chance that the Super Bowl trailer cameos were put in place as a distraction, drawing the attention away from the possibility of there being even more characters waiting to shock viewers, once Multiverse of Madness hits theaters. Even with all the attention, Marvel still finds ways to keep viewers entertained and on the edge of their seat, so even if all Doctor Strange 2 cameos have already been revealed, the movie will still be exceptional without all the added secrecy.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness hits theaters this May.

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