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Marvel fans have been chomping at the bit since the first teaser for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness dropped online back in December 2021.
Now with the highly-anticipated release of the 28th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) finally hitting theaters on Friday, Marvel fans are looking forward to seeing what unfolds in Phase 4.
A Collider article from April informed us to expect characters and references from Loki, WandaVision, What If...?, and Spider-Man: No Way Home to tie into the complex sequel to 2016's Doctor Strange.
But are fans really ready to take in all the intricate merging of plot lines from the vastness that is the MCU–which not only comprises the previous 27 superhero films but also six TV shows?
Brazilian film critic Gabriel Carvalho poked fun on Twitter and suggested fans had their work cut out for them in taking mental notes from MCU's wide slate of movies and shows to make heads or tails out of the Multiverse of Madness storyline.
Carvalho promised diehards that the sequel was not to be missed.
He also suggested Marvel fans:
"Make sure you watch the seventh episode of the season 6 of 'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D', the first episode of 'What If...?,' the whole 'Loki' series, 'Deadpool 2', the entire final season of 'X-Men: The Animated Series' and unbelievably 'Inhumans.'"
Not gonna spoil anything, but make sure you watch the seventh episode of the season 6 of "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D", the first episode of "What If...?", the whole "Loki" series, "Deadpool 2", the entire final season of "X-Men: The Animated Series" and unbelievably "Inhumans".pic.twitter.com/TBCZipnsFm— Gabriel Carvalho (@Gabriel Carvalho) 1651550011
While most of his recommendations were from the MCU, X-Men: The Animated Series and Inhumans are not.
Although Carvalho's post was purely satirical, it didn't stop exasperated fans from lamenting over the mental homework in preparation for the upcoming cinematic event.
wtf is this an exam or a movie?pic.twitter.com/fay13PfDHL— Being Second (@Being Second) 1651585663
remember when i said that it\u2019s harder to get into the mcu than it is to get into marvel comics at this point and people got mad at me. i was literally right thohttps://twitter.com/gabirucarvalho/status/1521337131653861377\u00a0\u2026— soph \ud83c\udf42 (@soph \ud83c\udf42) 1651560124
I know this is a joke but someone did tell me what to catch up on and I was like ENOUGH FROM THE MCU https://twitter.com/gabirucarvalho/status/1521337131653861377\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/yWl8hgQTyW— Kofie (@Kofie) 1651612370
Others had a more dramatic reaction.
This is the fall of the mcu, if all of that is required to understand the film, normies and new fans are going to be completely lost, only og marvel fans will enjoy it, which is fine by me do a little fan house cleaning, but it will definitely hurt the franchise— Shiagi (@Shiagi) 1651609837
Bruh this is exactly why I hate cinematic universes why the hell do I have to watch an animated series from the 90s to watch a live action movie today— garret bates (@garret bates) 1651584199
Marvels fans be like "watch basically the entire fucking MCU so you can actually understand who this character is"— Gung, Destroyer of Rocks (@Gung, Destroyer of Rocks) 1651588223
Some fans went even further by providing ridiculous recommendations that have nothing at all to do with the MCU.
They used Carvalho's "Not going to spoil anything..." intro and added their own watchlist contributions that additionally included the kitchen sink.
Not going to spoil anything about #DoctorStrangeInTheMultiverseOfMadness but if you want to be prepared for it, make sure you watch the original BLADE, Jennifer Garner's ELEKTRA film, all three LARA CROFT movies, the entirety of Netflix's IRON FIST, and Shaquille O'Neal's STEEL.— David Chen (@David Chen) 1651594831
Not gonna spoil anything, but make sure you watch the seventh episode of the season 6 of "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D", the first episode of "What If...?", \u201cSalo", "Mank", the entire final season of "The Human Centipede" and unbelievably "The White ribbon". #MultiverseofMadnesspic.twitter.com/aWZh65JChF— Flynn (@Flynn) 1651575154
not gonna spoil, but make sure you watch all episodes of our flag means death streaming on hbo max before you watch multiverse of madnesspic.twitter.com/XLcf8HT0gN— avery \ud83c\udff4\u200d\u2620\ufe0f HAPPY STAR WARS DAY (@avery \ud83c\udff4\u200d\u2620\ufe0f HAPPY STAR WARS DAY) 1651605586
Not gonna spoil anything, but make sure you watch 'The Power of the Dog,' 'Drive My Car,' and see #EverythingEverywhereAllAtOnce in theaters pic.twitter.com/Sx7a1gT27N— FILM DAZE (@FILM DAZE) 1651595836
And watch Maleficent too!https://twitter.com/gabirucarvalho/status/1521337131653861377\u00a0\u2026— HOOD VOGUE is tired of poverty (@HOOD VOGUE is tired of poverty) 1651591533
not gonna spoil anything, but make sure you watch the entirety of breaking bad, the entirety of better call saul and el caminopic.twitter.com/kFKoK6oPnD— better call strange (@better call strange) 1651563865
Things went bonkers.
Should I watch the entire final season of Friends and the first 5 episodes of Breaking Bad before I see Multiverse of Madness?— \ud83c\udf1fTheRDJ64\ud83c\udf1f (@\ud83c\udf1fTheRDJ64\ud83c\udf1f) 1651588839
Nah man you gotta watch all the greys anatomy seasons and season 6,8, and 20 of the Simpsons— aimlessly (@aimlessly) 1651616071
SPACE JAM 2 also essential.— Walter Chaw \u5468\u745c (@Walter Chaw \u5468\u745c) 1651596397
It was enough to make this user call it quits.
Yeah I ain\u2019t doing homework for an action movie.— Nate W. Gearhart (@Nate W. Gearhart) 1651555090
In addition to Benedict Cumberbatch, co-stars Benedict Wong, Rachel McAdams, and Chiwetel Ejiofor will be reprising their roles from 2016’s Doctor Strange.
Elizabeth Olsen was previously confirmed for the movie, and she will be joined by MCU newcomer Xochitl Gomez–who is most recently known for her work on Netflix’s The Baby-Sitters Club.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is directed by Sam Raimi, and the film’s script was written by Jade Bartlett and Loki writer Michael Waldron.
With Friday's premiere looming around the corner, have you been doing all your MCU homework?