Not only did Marvel really bring the goods to Hall H on Saturday night of San Diego Comic Con, they full on owned it and no where was this more prevalent than with their Doctor Strange presentation where they showed a full clip of Dr. Stephen Strange, the ex-surgeon, meeting with The Ancient One (Tilda Swinton) for the first time and being shown the multi-verse, before then going in to a super-sized trailer that included a couple clips from the film along with the trailer we see here.
In this trailer, we see a lot of new information and see a lot more of the story than we did in the teaser earlier this year. But what are the top things we noticed in it? Here are our top five moments, questions and observations from the Doctor Strange trailer.
“I’VE SPENT SO MANY YEARS PEERING THROUGH TIME — LOOKING FOR YOU.”
The Ancient One presumably says this to Doctor Stephen Strange at one point in the film. In the comics, Strange’s potential for magic, control and power is what brings him to the attention of the Ancient One as a viable candidate for one day taking over as The Sorcerer Supreme. It seems that this is still the case in this film.
This is also partially evident in the use of two different scenes in the trailer where Stephen Strange the student is looking at the Cloak of Levitation encased in its glass and then later putting it on as he marches off to a fight. In the comics, the Cloak of Levitation is a badge of the Sorcerer Supreme and it seems to have some significance here.
Also, we’ve heard rumors that this film plays with concepts of time-travel in some way and hearing the Ancient One punctuate that word as she did, it seems that maybe those rumors might turn out to be true in some way. In fact, we even see a brief bit where a city street is in utter destruction, but somehow Strange seems to rewind time and repair all the damage, making it as if it never happened. There have been rumors that this film will include the Time Stone for Thanos’s Infinity Gauntlet. It’s even possible that the Eye of Agamotto will get it’s power from there.
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“BE CAREFUL WHICH PATH YOU TRAVEL NOW, STRANGE. STRONGER MEN THAN YOU HAVE LOST THEIR WAY.”
This is a classic trope in the Doctor Strange comics, with many sorcerers falling to the temptation of the power that sorcery offers. Kaecilius (Mads Mikkelsen) is among a very powerful list of other sorcerers, including Baron Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor), who believes that his power is greater than that of The Ancient One’s.
We’ve already seen in the preview comics, released last month, that Kaecilius is trained as a Master of the Mystic Arts in Kamar-Taj, just like Mordo and Strange and everyone else. Now, in the trailer, we see just how far he’s fallen. We also get a sense of just how strong Kaecilius is as he is referred to as a stronger man than Strange. This gives us the full breadth of what Strange is up to in this film — he’s got a thin line to walk in that he has to become more powerful than Kaecilius in order to defeat him, but he cannot cross the line to darker powers — he must resist that temptation.
Related: Doctor Strange Prequel Comic Reveals More of Mads Mikkelsen’s Kaecilius Plus Some Possible Easter Eggs
THE SANCTUM SANCTORUM IS INVADED
This is something that rarely happens in the comics, but when it does, it’s always by someone very powerful and very threatening. It’s no simple feat to invade the Sanctum Sanctorum — it’s the safest, most magically protected place in the universe. In this trailer, we see Doctor Strange defending it from the top steps against Kaecilius who is no doubt there to steal something or jump through one of the many doors that lead to a thousand other dimensions. In fact, we see some pretty epic magic from Doctor Strange here when he pulls out a magical fire whip!
THE THREE WINDOWS
In the trailer, we get a shot of Doctor Strange opening a window and staring out at an ocean of rolling waves, but just a quick second before, if you look closely, you can see that when Doctor Strange approaches that window, there are two others looking out at completely different environments. What is the significance of this? Are these windows to places the Masters of the Mystic Arts have to travel to often? Are these places where there’s a lot of magical energy or artifacts? Are they even all the same dimension?
DOCTOR STRANGE ON AN OPERATING TABLE
It appears, at some point in the film, that Doctor Strange is hurt so terribly, that he’s brought to the hospital where his ex-girlfriend and colleague, Dr. Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams) looks over him as sparks fly. We can assume that whatever damage Kaecilius is wreaking in New York is what brought Strange to Dr. Palmer, but what is her reaction to her ex-boyfriend’s newfound calling?
RELATED: Top Seven Reads to Get Into Doctor Strange Before the Film’s Release
THE MAGIC
Okay, we said five, but here’s a sixth thing — the representation of the magic as illuminated runes surrounding Doctor Strange is the best special effect of all time. But, perhaps we are just biased because we like Doctor Strange.
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