Spider-Man: No Way Home Could Have Fixed It & Doctor Strange 2’s Most Criticised Moments With 1 Unused Scene

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One unused Doctor Strange scene from Spider-Man: No Way Home had the potential to address not just a controversial moment in the MCU movie itself, but also a criticized part of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The cast of Spider-Man: No Way Home saw several key returning faces, but few were more crucial than Doctor Strange for the film"s story. As the figure who cast the spell that set the main events of the movie in motion - and then cast the crucial Spider-Man: No Way Home ending spell - Stephen Strange"s role in the plot is an integral one.
However, it"s also one that looks as though it could have been quite different had certain unused moments and scenes been brought to life in the final release. The Spider-Man: No Way Home concept art is some of the MCU"s most prolific, with a range of scenes and interesting revelations becoming clear through this part of the production process. While Doctor Strange is not the only character who had a major moment that didn"t come to fruition in the film itself, his unused scene is unique in that it could"ve settled some criticisms about more than one divisive part of the MCU timeline had it made it to the big screen.
Spider-Man: No Way Home's Unused Doctor Strange Scene Could've Explained 2 Criticized MCU Moments Doctor Strange's Unused No Way Home Scene Would've Connected A Lot Of Dots Close Spider-Man: No Way Home has a lot of unused concept art that never made it to the final movie, but perhaps the most interesting of these pieces is that of one cut Doctor Strange scene that was somewhat overlooked in lieu of more dramatic unused moments like Ned using the Green Goblin glider, or the concept art of an MCU symbiote suit. In the unused No Way Home Doctor Strange scene, the magician can be seen lying in bed looking tired with Peter Parker visiting him. Artist Sean Hargreeves" description of the art states this is a "sick Strange", and that the scene was, "struck from the final film."
However, the cut scene carries some interesting implications for Spider-Man: No Way Home, and what could have been for the film. Having an unwell Stephen Strange carry out what appears to be an immensely complicated magical spell to have people forget Peter is Spider-Man would further justify why it goes awry, while also explaining why Doctor Strange is so willing to take what appears to be a major risk in the first place.
Suggesting the character could usually carry out such a feat with no issue - and simply underestimated his own illness - would have provided a stronger foothold for this moment on a story level. This could have thus alleviated at least some of the complaints about the spell scene itself and what it suggested about Doctor Strange as a character, which were rife from the point of the first trailer showing his role in the movie, which to some seemed so out of place that theories rose this was an evil variant or warped version of the MCU hero.
Similarly, an extended period of illness could have helped explain why Stephen had waited so long to visit Wanda, since Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has the Scarlet Witch state, "I knew sooner or later you"d show up wanting to discuss what happened at Westview", essentially confirming that he hadn"t checked in since the events of WandaVision. Since any news of these events should have seemingly clearly suggested something was wrong to Stephen - especially since he would have been aware that Wanda had lost Vision and would no doubt struggle with this - legitimizing his delayed visit could"ve also justified this part of the MCU"s story.
Why Spider-Man: No Way Home Didn't Use Its Doctor Strange Concept Art Scene No Way Home's Plot Looks Like It Explains Why The Unused Scene Didn't Make It To The Final Film Close The actual events of Spider-Man: No Way Home seem to explain why the movie avoided using the Doctor Strange scene via the portion of the movie wherein Strange chases Spider-Man to try and retrieve the Macchina di Kadavus that Peter intends to use to try and help the displaced villains who"ve found themselves transported to Earth-616. The action-packed dimension-hopping battle is one of the more exciting parts of the movie, and no doubt would feel quite different if instead of a version of Doctor Strange seemingly at full capacity, Spider-Man was facing off against a deeply ill and exhausted version of the character.
Similarly, Peter trapping an ill Doctor Strange who otherwise would have been recovering in bed in a different universe would"ve made the scene feel all the more cruel, and risked giving a moment where the otherwise empathetic hero looked decidedly cold. Combine all this with the fact that Doctor Strange"s prior illness would then somewhat need to be addressed or mentioned in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness itself, and it does make sense that the scene didn"t make it to the final cut, even if some major MCU complaints would"ve seemingly been lessened if it had.
Doctor Strange's Cut No Way Home Moment Would've Continued A Great MCU Trend The MCU's Relatable Hero Trend Would've Made The Unused Scene All The More Important Close Arguably the greatest strength of the MCU is the way it has managed to make its heroes relatable regardless of what mind-boggling powers or history they have behind them, with moments like the Avengers settling down after a life-threatening mission to eat some shawarmas often being cited as some of the most beloved scenes in the franchise"s entire history. With this in mind, showing the powerful magic-user dealing with regular human matters like being ill would"ve been a viable way to continue this kind of approach.
Stephen Strange is responsible for some of the MCU"s most dramatic magic use, and as such, ensuring audiences still think of him as relatable on some levels - even when he"s traveling dimensions or using eldritch spells - is paramount to the continued popularity of the character, and continued success of both his series and the greater MCU. That said, while the cut Spider-Man: No Way Home scene could have greatly bolstered this side of his story, it"s not the only opportunity the MCU will have to endear Strange further to audiences, as the Multiverse Saga is sure to provide further opportunities.

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*Availability in US For the first time in the cinematic history of Spider-Man, our friendly neighborhood hero is unmasked and no longer able to separate his normal life from the trials and tribulations of being a superhero. In Spider-Man: No Way Home, Peter Parker (Tom Holland) asks for help from Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) when his identity becomes a problem for the ones he loves. Unfortunately, when the spell goes wrong, Spider-Man will now have to face off with villains such as Doctor Octopus (Alfred Molina) and Electro (Jamie Foxx) as Peter finally comes to terms that he can't run from being Spider-Man. Supported by his close friends and help from an unexpected place (or multiverse), Spider-Man will go toe-to-toe with some of the most legendary foes in his storied history.
Release Date December 17, 2021 Cast Tom Holland , Zendaya , Benedict Cumberbatch , Jacob Batalon , Jon Favreau , Jamie Foxx , Willem Dafoe , Alfred Molina , Benedict Wong , Tony Revolori , Marisa Tomei , Andrew Garfield , Tobey Maguire Upcoming MCU Movies