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Last week’s What If…? Episode 3 explored the alternate reality where Marvel’s Avengers members were killed off one by one. Meanwhile, the upcoming episode will deal with a variant of Stephen Strange, who has been dubbed Supreme Doctor Strange.
The aforementioned mantle implies that this sorcerer supreme is the “superior” variant of all. This is a callback to Marvel’s Loki series, which laid the foundation of superiority amongst variants of the same characters.
Marvel’s What If…? Episode 4 is expected to give some hints about the status of Stephen Strange in the main MCU timeline after the events of Avengers: Endgame. Furthermore, with Captain Carter rumored to appear in future live-action MCU projects, it is not far off to expect Benedict Cumberbatch to appear in a double role to portray two variants of Doctor Strange.
Benedict Cumberbatch will be reprising his role as Doctor Strange in Disney Plus' What If...? on September 1, Wednesday, (12.00 am PT, 3.00 pm ET, 12.30 pm IST, 5.00 pm AEST, 8.00 am BST, and 4.00 pm KST).
Some theories regarding What If...? Episode 4
MCU’s Main Doctor Strange meets Supreme Doctor Strange
The version of Stephen Strange, whom fans have come to love in the live-action, is expected to appear in his animated avatar in the upcoming episode. Meanwhile, it may be some other variant of Strange. It is highly plausible that Marvel will have some cliffhangers for the upcoming Spider-Man: No Way Home or Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness.
From the promos of the episode, it seems like Supreme Doctor Strange learns how to navigate the multiverse to seek out teams of heroes, including his own variant.
Supreme Doctor Strange origin
It has been rumored that this "What If...?" version of Stephen Strange will not have an idealistic moral compass and will allegedly utilize dark sorcery. It has been theorized that this variant of Stephen had lost his version of Christine Palmer, which pushed him off the edge.
If the theories are true, then Supreme Doctor Strange is also expected to draw his powers from the dark dimension like Ancient One and Kaecillius in Doctor Strange (2016).
Multiversal team
Based on the What If...? Season promo: It is clear that the variants already portrayed in the series will team up to fight Ultimate Ultron in what is expected to be the season finale. The promo also showcased Supreme Doctor Strange meeting Captain Carter and fighting against the Ultron spawn bots along with T'Challa/Star-Lord.
Spider-Man gets the cloak of levitation
In another promo, a variant of Peter Parker is seen in his Spidey suit, hovering in the air with the cloak of levitation. It is plausible seeing Stephen Strange embracing a darker side; the cloak might have rejected him in favor of Peter.
Connection with No Way Home
In the latest Spider-Man: No Way Home teaser trailer, fans have spotted that Stephen Strange seemed a little off. While it has been theorized that Strange is manipulated by Mephisto or is Mephisto himself in disguise, the upcoming episode could also establish some connection with No Way Home.
Another popular theory suggests that the Sorcerer Supreme, which appeared in the NWH trailer, is the Supreme Doctor Strange from What If…?
Episode 4 of What If…? is highly anticipated as Benedict Cumberbatch is reprising the role of Stephen Strange (in voice) after two years.
