One of the biggest topics of discussion regarding every Marvel Cinematic Universe project is the villain. Each of the solo venture projects for the characters gives us a completely new narrative to explore on the basis of the villain. It is the villain itself that makes the narrative of the movie and gives the hero some standing in his arc. The same thing has been under discussion for quite a long time with the upcoming Doctor Strange sequel. With the movie’s primary focus being on the multiversal chaos there are a lot of possibilities for the primary antagonist. But the very first villain that was discovered based on the leaked details about the movie appeared to be like Shuma-Gorath and yet this monster is given some other title. Let’s take a look at why Marvel has to use Gargantos as the name of the tentacled monster instead of Shuma-Gorath in Doctor Strange 2.
Shuma-Gorath
There has been a lot of excitement regarding Doctor Strange 2 considering the movie will dive deeper into the Multiverse. This theory has been something that the MCU has been working on for quite a long time now. Fans first got to witness the teaser for the project in the post-credits scene for Spider-Man: No Way Home. In this teaser, we saw Strange going against a tentacled monster who throws a bus at him with a single giant eye. This particular moment from the trailer also included the character of America Chavez along with him. Fans were quick to assume that this monster could be the villain and it even appeared like someone we had seen from Marvel before.
This tentacled monster looks exactly like the character Shuma-Gorath from Marvel Comics. Fans might have also noticed a similar character appearing in the Disney+ animated series What If…?. But there was no clear indication if this character was going to be Shuma-Gorath. It was fitting to the narrative of Doctor Strange 2 considering Shuma-Gorath could be an enemy of America Chavez who will also be making her debut in this movie. But later revelations cleared up these theories by stating that it is Gargantos. But there is a reason why this monster appears to resemble Shuma Gorath and yet does not hold the title.
Why Marvel Has to Use Gargantos
The title Shuma-Gorath first appeared in a short story about Kull the Conqueror written by the late Robert E. Howard. This title along with the Conan mythos belongs to Heroic Signatures and its parent company Funcom. The latter is a Norway-based video game giant. When Marvel first used this name they were trying to work on a Lovecraftian character in their comic universe. For bringing the character to the MCU, they didn’t inquire about Shuma Gorath and hence they had to for some other title. The title that they are using presently is the name Gargantos who had appeared in a couple of Silver Age Namor comics. This allowed them to stay away from the entire ordeal of licensing and negotiations.
But it seems that Marvel Entertainment, the unit that operates Marvel’s print comics had a working relationship with Heroic Signatures. According to details, Marvel Comics presently holds the license for the Conan-oriented comics books. Comicbook.com actually reached out to Heroic Signatures president Fred Malmberg if he wanted to work with Marvel Studios over this naming issue. Malmberg stated,
We have a great relationship with Marvel and have worked together to solve many snags over the years, but who can answer this hypothetical?
Upon asking whether fans will ever get to see Shuma-Gorath in a live-action interpretation, Malmberg replied,
As for our future plans for the character, that is not something we can reveal at the moment. Stay tuned.
Even though we might not get an exact Shuma-Gorath like a monster in Doctor Strange 2, we can see that it is gonna be a threat to both Strange and America Chavez. With a variety of new villains making their appearance in the latest trailer, we can be sure there are lot more things they have to face. The narrative might see Gargantos as a small villain who will actually pave the way for America Chavez to appear in the MCU.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will be released in theaters worldwide on May 6.
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