Concept art drawn for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness revealed that a scene from an early draft of the script saw Wong, or a version of him, suffer a gory death.
Marvel concept artist Rob Bliss created the images of Wong missing the top half of his head, likely killed by Scarlet Witch. It is unknown whether the art depicts the main Marvel Cinematic Universe (aka Earth-616) version of the character, or if Wanda was supposed to kill an alternate version of Wong alongside the Illuminati. The version of Wong from Earth-838 was teased in some other concept art and made appearances in merchandise, but was ultimately cut from the movie, with only the 616 iteration of the character appearing.
The concept art also included a proposed look for the decapitated head of Karl Mordo. The head comes from a cut scene which made it as far as the storyboard stage, in which Scarlet Witch would have presented Doctor Strange with Mordo’s head to intimidate him and his allies.
Doctor Strange’s Friends and Foes
The death of Earth-616 Mordo was also intended to appear early in the movie, as he attempted to confront Scarlet Witch and was hopelessly outmatched, resulting in his death and an earlier establishing moment for Scarlet Witch’s brutality. As a result of these scenes being cut, 616 Mordo is presumably still alive, and as Earth-838’s Sorcerer Supreme Karl Mordo was ultimately the only surviving member of the Illuminati, future appearances of both versions of the character are possible.
Wong has become a fan favorite character and a linchpin of Marvel’s Phase 4, with actor Benedict Wong jokingly saying, “I call it Phase Wong.” The character has been appearing in a number of unrelated projects to serve as the connective tissue between them, similar to Nick Fury in earlier movies. These include Spider-Man: No Way Home, a cameo and a post-credits scene appearance in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and numerous episodes of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is currently streaming on Disney+.
