Nightmare (Cauchemar in French version) is one of the oldest enemies of Doctor Strange. And just when we all thought this iconic supervillain was going to appear in ” Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness “, It did not happen. However, for a moment, there was talk of introducing it:
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness : an amazing journey
Released May 4, 2022, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness surprised the spectators. Directed by Sam Raimi, who is making a comeback to the Marvel universe after his trilogy Spidermanthis Doctor Strange 2 turned out to be a different experience compared to the shackles of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCUs). The filmmaker, accustomed to horror films, proposed a dark, violent, bloody and almost horrifying film, very far from the light and comic atmosphere of most Marvel Studios films.
Always worn by Benedict Cumberbatch, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness took the former Sorcerer Supreme to the depths of the multiverse, in pursuit of Wanda Maximoff. And fortunately for comic book lovers, all the risk-taking around the film has paid off since the feature film has brought in more than $955 million in box office receipts. An impressive score that will perhaps, hopefully, push Marvel Studios to offer more productions in this style.
Nightmare almost appeared
But maybe there was something missing Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness : a certain Nightmare. The latter appears in 1963 as Dr. Strange’s first true enemy. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, he instantly becomes the nemesis of the Sorcerer Supreme. Very powerful, this character feeds on the dreams of humans that he can torment and turn them into horrible nightmares. Somewhere between Dream and Freddy KruegerNightmare is a third-class demon, of extra-dimensional origin and ruler of the dream world.
Considering the importance of Nightmare in the comics, it’s surprising that this terrible antagonist has not yet appeared in the two films. Doctor Strange. However, after the first film, Scott Derrickson, before Sam Raimi inherited the project, wanted to use Nightmare as the main antagonist of the second installment. Truth be told, the character was so present in the development phase of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness that concept-arts have even been created around his universe, in particular by Aaron Black from Weta Digital Studios:
On this image, the most savvy in terms of comics will have recognized Nightmare on his faithful steed: Dreamstalker. The latter, which generally takes the appearance of a winged horse, is Nightmare’s recurring mount. He uses it to travel through dimensions.
Yet, it’s yet another missed opportunity for fans to experience Nightmare on the big screen. And it’s not the first time that we miss this cult super-villain since during the development phase of the first Doctor Strange, Scott Derrickson wanted to use Nightmare. But the latter was finally replaced by Dormammu.
