What’s Next for the Illuminati From Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

Warning: full spoilers for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness!

With Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness introducing the infamous Illuminati from Marvel Comics, we’re left to wonder what’s next for this powerful and influential superhero team. We’re going to run through the members of the team and explain where we may see them again in a future MCU project.

Be sure to check out our review of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

Meet the Illuminati

After Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez) (learn more about Miss America with our explainer) travel to the seemingly utopian Universe-838, the two are subdued by that world’s Karl Mordo (‎Chiwetel Ejiofor) and taken to the headquarters of the Illuminati. Strange is put on a trial of sorts by the council consisting of Baron Mordo, Peggy Carter aka Captain Carter (Hayley Atwell), Maria Rambeau aka Captain Marvel (Lashana Lynch), Charles Xavier aka Professor X (Patrick Stewart), Blackagar Boltagon aka Black Bolt (Anson Mount), and Reed Richards aka Mister Fantastic (John Krasinski). 

The group is quick to condemn Strange because of the the actions of 838-Strange, who abused the corrupting magic of the Darkhold and was executed for causing an “incursion” that destroyed an entire universe. But the trial is interrupted by a dream-walking Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and the group is quickly decimated in horrific fashion. This leaves us to wonder what future the Illuminati will be in the MCU, if there’s even going to be one at all, so let’s run through what happened to each member and where we may see them again.

Karl Mordo (‎Chiwetel Ejiofor)

The sole survivor of Wanda Maximoff’s attack on the Illuminati headquarters is Mordo, who only managed to survive the ordeal because instead of fighting the Scarlet Witch he was brawling with Strange in the council chamber. If any of the Illuminati members have a chance of appearing in a future MCU project, it’s likely going to be him. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see this version of Mordo show up again, seeking revenge on 616-Strange for what happened to his fellow Illuminati members, even though it’s actually all Wanda’s fault. You know how villains are! Then again, even if we’ve seen the last of 838-Mordo, there’s still the matter of 616-Mordo, who turned heel at the end of the first Doctor Strange movie and, according to Strange, has been trying to kill him. The Multiverse of Madness credits did end with a message promising that Doctor Strange will return, so perhaps when he does–possibly for Doctor Strange 3–we’d love to see ‎Chiwetel Ejiofor reprise his role once more.

Captain Carter (Hayley Atwell)

Considering her powers begin and end with super strength, Captain Carter put up a good fight against the reality-warping Scarlet Witch, teaming up with Captain Marvel and using her jetpack and trusty shield to keep Wanda off balance, but in the end she didn’t stand half a chance. (Too soon?) This character may appear to be the Captain Carter from Marvel’s What If…? animated series on Disney+, but it seems this was a variant Captain Carter from a different universe, so while this one met her demise, we still expect to see the character return for the already-announced Season 2 of What If…?. 

Captain Marvel (Lashana Lynch)

Captain Marvel’s cosmic superpowers were able to give Wanda a run for her money, but in the end she was defeated and seemingly killed after Wanda brought down a statue that crushed her to death. Those who saw 2019’s Captain Marvel movie first met Maria Rambeau as the longtime friend and fellow pilot to Brie Larson’s Carol Danvers. Then in WandaVision we met her daughter Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) and learned that she had passed away after a battle with cancer. But it seems in this universe, Maria was the one who got super powers and went on to become a superhero instead of Carol. Unfortunately, this feels like a one-and-done appearance for the character–just a fun surprise return for Lashana Lynch. However, her daughter Monica is set to return alongside Carol and meet newcomer Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani) in the Captain Marvel sequel, The Marvels.

Professor X (Patrick Stewart)

The original leader of the X-Men himself, Professor X, did his best to save Wanda from herself, but in the end his telepathic powers were not enough and Scarlet Witch killed him with a brutal telekenetic neck snap. Between his green suit, yellow hover-chair, and the familiar theme music, this Professor X variant was clearly inspired by the 1997 version from X-Men: The Animated Series. It makes sense this is a different Professor X than the one whose adventures we followed in the Fox X-Men movies, given that we never saw other heroes like Captain Marvel and Black Bolt running around in the Fox-verse. While we don’t expect to see Sir Patrick Stewart reprise the role again, we still don’t know Kevin Feige’s plan for bringing the X-Men to the MCU, so it’s entirely possible Professor X will have a role to play. Stewart did hint in an interview with Variety that he may play the role beyond Doctor Strange 2, saying, “Yeah. There may be [a chance I’ll play Xavier again]. You know, the whole X-Men comic series is so huge, so vast, there might be an opportunity in which he comes back. We’ll see.” In the meantime, fans of the X-Men cartoon will be able to enjoy a continuation of the series when it comes to Disney+. Fun fact: Professor X is one of the original members of the Illuminati in the comics, along with the next two characters. 

Black Bolt (Anson Mount)

Even though Black Bolt can obliterate a person with his unbelievably powerful voice, he was effortlessly dispatched by the Scarlet Witch when she magically sealed his mouth, causing his power to build up inside his head and explode. Yikes. The king of the Inhumans has a spotty MCU record, as the infamous Inhumans show bombed and was canceled after one poorly received season. Marvel hasn’t announced any upcoming plans for an Inhumans return, so this may be the only time we get to see Black Bolt on the big screen. 

Mister Fantastic (John Krasinski)

Finally, Mister Fantastic tried to reason with Scarlet Witch, but she was fine turning him into a pile of blue raspberry Twizzlers knowing that the Invisible Woman would be around to raise his kids. John Krasinski was the top fan-cast choice for years, so it was a surprise delight to see that Marvel actually made it happen. That said, it’s unclear whether he will reprise the role in the upcoming Fantastic Four movie (which currently doesn’t have a director after the departure of Spider-Man director Jon Watts). As the Loki series showed us, variants can look just like the original or they can look wildly different, so it’s possible Krasinski will return, but it could be that this was just a one-time cameo appearance done as a treat for the fans. 

What’s Next for the Illuminati?

While the 838 version of the Illuminati was wiped out–save for Mordo, and maaaybe Captain Marvel, if she survived being crushed–this may not be the last we see of that team. Doctor Strange was a founding member of the Illuminati in the comics, so perhaps meeting this version will inspire him to start his own version of the team on Earth-616.

The original Illuminati comics roster also included Professor X, Mister Fantastic, Black Bolt, Iron Man, and Namor the Sub-Mariner. While that roster isn’t a possibility at this time in the MCU, it wouldn’t surprise us if Doctor Strange recruited the world’s top minds to help protect the multiverse. The likes of Bruce Banner, Shuri, Hank Pym, and Jane Foster come to mind. Whoever winds up on a potential 616 Illuminati team would have their work cut out for them, because in the comics it’s the Illuminati who tackle the growing threat of the incursions, and that eventually leads to the iconic Secret Wars storyline, which may very well be where all of this is headed for Marvel’s next big crossover movie.

For even more on the film, check out our explainer on Charlize Theron’s Doctor Strange character Clea, our biggest Doctor Strange WTF questions, or dive in on our Multiverse of Madness ending explained.