Doctor Strange 2: Will Baron team up with new villain?

Doctor Strange 2 has a writer and a new villain joins the group, but will previous baddie team-up with this Hanus newcomer?

Doctor Strange 2 now has a writer, according to That Hashtag Show. Sinister and Sinister 2’s scribe C. Robert Cargill is set to pen the Marvel movie sequel and according to him, there’s no groundwork laid out yet. However, I wouldn’t doubt they have something in mind as Mordo rejoins the cast and has a significant character arc to contend with and may have something to do with partaking in Nightmare’s agenda.

Doctor Strange’s friendship with Baron likened to Kenobi and Anakin?

As seen in the first movie, there was a switch from good guy to bad guy in an almost Ben Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker kind of way. In the comics, Baron was immediately introduced to Doctor Strange as the villain, but on the big screen, the writers found it necessary to create a friendship bond first and then break it later. According to Doctor Strange co-writer to CinemaBlend, Jon Spaihts, this makes for “great drama.”

I would say the Doctor Strange end credits scene looks to set up Mordo for the future of the mystical portion of the MCU. He has a mission of taking out all The Ancient One’s students, claiming the hypocrisy of not only herself but the others under her tutelage. It appears there’s a crusade he desires to follow.

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A new villain debuts, will Baron Mordo team-up?

Doctor Strange 2 will also include Nightmare, who in the comics was introduced as a villain that infiltrated peoples’ dreams to find out intel. The encounter with Strange entailed Nightmare trying to trap him in a dream while someone on the outside would attempt to kill Strange’s physical body.

This reminded me of the movie Dreamscape, where the protagonist had this ability to enter peoples’ dreams, one of which was trying to stop an assassination attempt by another with the same ability. From then on, Nightmare made it his mission to trap people in dreams to find out from his victims how to defeat Strange and The Ancient One.

That said, I wouldn’t put it past Marvel Studios to continue Mordo’s character arc in this fashion to include him in this mission. It appears both would be aligned in their goals. Cargill commented on Mordo teaming up with Nightmare in this sequel. It’s interesting that the studios make a concerted effort to not just parrot what happens in the comics, but rather make slight adjustments for the purpose of adaptation.

In The Hashtag Show interview, Cargill stated:

"“Nightmare will be the villain. Me and Scott have not laid the groundwork for it but what I can say is that I have a feeling that whatever Nightmare is involved with, Baron Mordo, being somebody who considers himself the defender of natural law will have something to do with it.”"

This could be a formidable combination of villains taking on Doctor Strange where it could be a literally nightmarish encounter. With the combination of dark magic and using Nightmare as a vessel to enter a dream environment, there’s no telling how perverse and dark this magic will become.

Baron likened to that of the Asgardian Loki

It seems the Doctor Strange sequel is likely going to have an involved process when it comes to furthering Baron Mordo’s development. Cargill likened him to that of Loki, the Asgardian god of mischief. No doubt, since he intently dabbles in the mystic arts, there’s no question that he’ll follow in a similar fashion the characteristics of Loki. Cargill even talked about Chiwetel Ejiofor’s character’s “definitive ending” and Marvel Studios’ goals for him.

"“And I do know that whether we’re attached or not, that Marvel plans on working towards that ending and fully realizing Mordo as more than just a cardboard cutout villain, but actually taking him to kind of Loki levels of awesomeness. That’s the goal with him.”"

How do you think the new villain Nightmare will translate? Where do you see Mordo going in the MCU as this flick continues its saga? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Doctor Strange 2 has a projected release date of May 2021.