AVENGERS: DOOMSDAY Art Reveals Doctor Doom’s Witches and a Mysterious Character Who May Have Been Cut
Some interesting new Avengers: Doomsday artwork has surfaced, and it may have revealed a major change involving Benedict Cumberbatch's character.
The art features Doctor Doom alongside his Latverian Witches and a mysterious character named Boris, who may have been removed from the upcoming Marvel movie.
The artwork comes from a special Avengers: Doomsday x Magic: The Gathering trading card that will be available exclusively at Regal Theaters this December. The finished card features Doctor Doom standing with the Latverian Witches, but an earlier version included another character who could have major implications for the MCU.
Artist Jorge Molina, who created the artwork, recently shared a look at his creative process, including an early sketch featuring the mysterious Boris. While Marvel Studios hasn't officially identified the character, rumors suggest he could actually be Doctor Strange.
Leaked character portraits have reportedly shown Boris sporting a third eye, which is a pretty significant detail considering Strange developed one at the end of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
The possibility of a corrupted Doctor Strange serving Doctor Doom is particularly interesting when you consider their history in Marvel Comics.
In the Secret Wars storyline, Strange worked alongside Victor Von Doom to steal the power of the Beyonders, allowing Doom to save what remained of the Multiverse and create Battleworld. Strange became one of Doom's closest allies in this strange new reality.
It's a storyline that could easily influence the events of Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, especially with the Multiverse playing such a major role in the MCU.
However, Molina's response to a fan has raised questions about whether Boris will appear in the movie at all. When a follower asked about the mysterious fourth character in his original artwork, Molina replied: "[I] don’t remember the [character's] name but [he] was removed from the film."
That's an interesting development, but there's still some uncertainty about what Molina meant. One possibility is that the artist accidentally revealed a character Marvel Studios wants to keep secret.
If Boris really is Doctor Strange, removing him from the promotional artwork would make sense, particularly if his involvement with Doctor Doom is supposed to be a major surprise. The other possibility is that Boris actually has been cut from Avengers: Doomsday.
Directors Joe Russo and Anthony Russo have made significant changes to their Marvel movies during production and reshoots before.
One example comes from Avengers: Infinity War, where Bruce Banner was originally supposed to transform into the Hulk and burst out of the Hulkbuster armor. The sequence was ultimately scrapped.
Something similar could have happened with Boris, although there's no official confirmation that the character has been removed from the movie.
The situation gets even more interesting because this news follows reports that Lord Doom has also been cut from Avengers: Doomsday.
If Boris really was intended to be a corrupted version of Doctor Strange, his removal raises some big questions about Marvel's plans for Cumberbatch's character and how he might factor into the larger story leading into Avengers: Secret Wars.
For now, all we have is Molina's early artwork, his comments, and speculation about the character's identity. Personally, I think the idea of Doctor Strange becoming one of Doom's followers is interesting, especially if Marvel draws inspiration from the comics.
It would give Cumberbatch a very different version of Strange to play while creating an interesting dynamic between two of Marvel's most powerful sorcerers.
Whether Boris has been cut entirely or Marvel is simply keeping his identity a secret remains to be seen. Either way, it'll be interesting to find out what role Doctor Strange ultimately plays in Avengers: Doomsday.