Marvel Studios has unveiled an excerpt from Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness in which Stephen Strange uses his powers to fight a giant monster.
A few days before the release of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Marvel Studios has just unveiled an excerpt from Sam Raimi’s film.
Stephen Strange, still played by Benedict Cumberbatch, faces a sprawling one-eyed monster that wreaks havoc on the streets of New York. The wizard then uses his magic to save America Chavez (played by Xochitl Gomez).
This video reveals a little more Shuma-Gorath aka the Lord of Chaos. This demonic creature is a recurring enemy of Strange in the comics.
Appeared for the first time in 1973 in the comics Marvel Premiere #10 by Steve Englehart and Frank Brunner, this monster from an extra-dimensional realm appeared on Earth millions of years ago to feed on humans. Banished, the demon attempts to return to Earth through the spirit of the Ancient One (embodied in the first Doctor Strange by Tilda Swinton).
Seen for the first time on screen at the end of the first episode of the series What if…?, and then in the trailer of Multiverse of Madness, the monster changed its name between the comics and its adaptation to the screen. The latter is indeed called Gargantos in the MCU. A name already given to the monster of the Marvel comics of 1969 Sub-Mariner.
Why this name change?
Despite its name, the creature looks more like Shuma-Gorath than the “real” Gargantos. So why this change?
The reason is simple, Marvel does not own the rights to the Shuma-Gorath name. The name of the character is indeed taken from the work of the novelist Robert E. Howard who created Conan the Barbarian in 1932 and coined the name Shuma-Gorath.
In the 1970s, Roy Thomas, with the approval of Stan Lee, decided to adapt Howard’s work into comics. The creators of marvel premiere decide to take this monster and make him face the wizard Stephen Strange in their comics.
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But Marvel has since lost the rights and therefore can no longer use the creature’s name. The studio therefore renamed the multidimensional monster Gargantos.
Which does not seem completely absurd since in the comics Sub MarinerGargantos takes on the Atlantean Namor who is part of the secret society of the Illuminati, who is known to enter the MCU via Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
As a reminder, this team consists of Iron Man, Mr Fantastic, Namor, Black Arrow, Professor Xavier and Doctor Strange.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness hits theaters on May 4.
The Doctor Strange 2 trailer