Marvel Cinematic Universe has seen its fair share of disappointing villains. From Iron Man’s the Mandarin to Thor’s Malekith, there has been a revolving door of forgettable villains who play more as a story arc than anything else. Kevin Feige, the President of Marvel Studios has even stated that it is an intentional act by Marvel so that their heroes could shine. A logical point, but one that is getting old.
The latest Marvel hero Doctor Strange was another in the long line to suffer from the villain dilemma. The magic wielding zealot Kaecilius goes against his teacher The Ancient One in the pursuit for world domination.
The villain ends up being just a puppet for the vicious Dormammu. The villain’s dilemma becomes the sordid tale of what could go wrong with magic, a lesson that Strange learns whether he wants to or not. But he was actually not the first choice to be Doctor Strange’s villain.
In the Doctor Strange DVD Director’s Commentary, Scott Derrickson confessed that another villain was actually the first choice to be the supervillain. The director wanted Nightmare who is the ruler of the Dream Dimension to be an antagonist to the Sorcerer Supreme. Nightmare was a personal favorite for him but had to ultimately drop due to time constraints.
Since Nightmare would need more CGI than Kaecilius, the cut made sense from a studio standpoint. The villain often appears as a demonic figure who traps his sleeping victims in a nightmare realm of their own making from which escape is nearly impossible. With a sequel having already being ordered by MCU, there is still a possibility that Nightmare could still be on the silver screen, that is if Derrickson still has the villain on his mind.
Doctor strange in the meantime will make an appearance in Thor Ragnarok where he helps Thor to find his lost father Odin. Strange will also be featured in Avengers Infinity War battling Thanos in the fight to defend the Marvel multiverse.
