This is a major spoiler alert for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
“Illuminati” means a lot of things to many people, but the idea remains the same across its myriad uses. Somewhere, some small group of influential people is responsible for determining the outcome of global events, and the rest of us are left to live with their decisions. While this is (likely) false in the real world, that’s not the case in the world of Marvel comics, where the Illuminati is a narrative reality. With the release of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the group’s existence is now a critical part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
In Madness, viewers are introduced to what is (likely) just the first version of the Illuminati when Strange travels to an alternate reality in a scene that has several momentous reveals. The group consists of Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor, reprising his role from the first Doctor Strange film), Black Bolt (Anson Mount)—and then that’s where things get interesting.
This world’s Captain Carter and Captain Marvel are played by Hayley Atwell and Lashana Lynch, reprising roles they played in past MCU films in a totally different context, going from sidekicks to Captain America and Captain Marvel to assuming the mantles themselves. Then there's Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic, played by John Krasinski— our first glimpse at the MCU’s take on the Fantastic Four. A standalone FF film is forthcoming but until now, no casting had been announced. Rounding out the group is Patrick Stewart returning as Professor X from the series of early aughts X-Men films that pre-dated the MCU, in a hoverchair that harkens back to the beloved 90s animated series at that. It’s a lot of Easter Eggs and potentially impactful surprises in one fell swoop.
The appearances of the Illuminati, members of the X-Men and Fantastic Four, and the mention of an incursion set up some big arcs for the future of the MCU. Let’s break it all down.
Illuminati’s Origin Story. The Illuminati were introduced by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Steve McNiven, making their debut in 2005’s New Avengers #7 before being expanded upon in a dedicated Illuminati mini-series in 2006. Bendis’ story involves Tony Stark secretly bringing together various super-powered leaders all representing different fields, regions, or teams to make proactive decisions to protect Earth. The original group consisted of Namor (ocean), Stark (Avengers), Reed Richards (science), Black Bolt (Inhumans), Doctor Strange (mystical arts), and Professor X (mutants). Bendis retroactively placed the Illuminati at the scene of many key inflection points through Marvel’s history, positioning the group as critically influential behind the scenes of many comic book crossover events.
Familiar Faces. After much anticipation, both the Fantastic Four and the X-Men have entered the MCU. The rights to both groups of characters lived at Fox and thus prevented the Disney-owned Marvel from ever incorporating them into the MCU—until Disney’s purchase of Fox in 2019. The idea of the multiverse seemed like a good place to debut these characters but the initial announcement of a Fantastic Four movie made it seem like Marvel would hold off until later.
Multiverse of Madness allows Marvel to have their cake and eat it too. Patrick Stewart’s version of Professor X is likely to be recast, so why not let him get one more bite at the apple by bringing the beloved 90s cartoon version of the character to live-action? John Krasinski’s take on Reed is particularly interesting— he was often the number one draft pick in fantasy fan castings for the character. It’s unclear as to whether or not he’s the official MCU version of Reed but his inclusion in the movie could serve as a test balloon to determine whether or not that’s the case.
Incursion Events. As part of an overhaul of the Marvel publishing line in 2013, writer Jonathan Hickman and artist Steve Epting took control of the Illuminati under the New Avengers title. This time around, Black Panther brings together the original group plus Captain America and Beast (who stands in for the X-Men in the wake of Professor X’s death) after T’Challa witnesses the destruction of another Earth. In time, the heroes realize this event is what’s known as an incursion and that they must make a choice between saving an alternate Earth or their own.
Eventually, the group must decide who will pull the trigger on a reality-exploding bomb created by Reed and Black Panther, only each hero can’t bring himself to actually do it. That is except for Namor, who goes against the group and presses the button. Namor is exiled by the group but joins forces with Thanos to do the dirty work of destroying other Earths.
Continuing incursions ultimately led to the 2015’s Secret Wars. Written by Jonathan Hickman and drawn by artist Esad Ribić, the event comic series saw various Marvel Comics realities come into a new, patchwork world—complete with alternate versions of Marvel characters.
What Does This Mean for the MCU? The creation of an MCU Illuminati, albeit slightly altered from its comic book origins, along with the specific mention of incursions, provides the clearest evidence yet that the MCU is trending towards some version of Secret Wars as its next Endgame-level event. Secret Wars could be the opportunity to combine existing MCU cast members alongside any actor who previously starred in a Marvel movie. So think No Way Home, but on steroids. Want to see Bradley Cooper’s Rocket Raccoon ride alongside Nic Cage’s Ghost Rider? Or Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man team up with Ben Affleck’s Daredevil? Could Disney convince Hugh Jackman to come back for one last pop of the claws? That’s the appeal of Secret Wars in a nutshell.
On the FF/X-Men front, director Jon Watts stepped away from the Fantastic Four movie, so there’s a case to be made for Krasinski pulling double duty by starring and possibly directing the film , should the MCU move forward with officially casting him as Reed. As for the X-Men, it’s been said that the upcoming third Deadpool movie will likely serve as the on-ramp to more mutants.
There’s no telling where we’ll see more of the X-Men or the Fantastic Four before those two projects come to fruition, much less the Illuminati. But the madness of Doctor Strange’s multiverse suggests the scope of Marvel storytelling is going to get even more ambitious.