Dr. Strange: Multiverse of Madness, set to release on May 6 of this year, is predicted to be the most universe-building addition, since Avengers: Endgame, to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Directed by Sam Raimi, the director of his own Spider-man universe which is now canon in the MCU, Multiverse of Madness, is rumored to tie in the newest franchises that Disney has bought.

The latest Multiverse of Madness trailer revealed the voice of Patrick Stewark. Patrick Stewart is the actor that played Professor X in the X-Men franchise. Though the X-Men universe is separate from that of Marvel, fans speculate that, similar to Spider-man: No Way Home, Multiverse of Madness will bring together these separate universes. Although Patrick Stewart has denied claims that he will be present in this movie, Andrew Garfield denied the same claims about No Way Home, and we all know how that went.

This trailer also confirms Wanda Maximoff, the Scarlet Witch, played by Elizabeth Olsen. The trailer shows two versions of her, one as the Scarlet Witch, which is most likely her form after the WandaVision series, and the other is a bloody-faced version, which fans have theorized to be from a universe in which she was allowed to keep her children. As we last saw in WandaVision, Wanda’s only goal was to settle down and have a family, but that was torn from her by the multiverse itself.

Many fans also theorize that this movie is setting up a franchise-wide event with the introduction of Marvel’s Illuminati. As we see in the beginning of the trailer, Dr Strange, played by Benedict Cumberbatch, is handcuffed and brought to a multiversal court. This court hall is similar to the one featured in the Loki series. Although the TVA of that series was ultimately a sham, all controlled by Kang The Conqueror, played by Jonathan Majors.

In the comics, Marvel’s Illuminati is a secret group that works above all forms of government. Composed of the leaders of Marvel’s most successful teams: Reed Richards of the Fantastic 4, Black Bolt of the Inhumans, Dr Strange of the sorcerers, Namor of Atlantis, Iron Man of the Avengers, and Professor X of the X-Men. Although in the comics, this group works together for any threats to Earth itself, the MCU may be setting up the Illuminati as a multiversal council that gathers for any threats to the multiverse itself.

Although this trailer was very brief, working only to introduce the main cast and subtle plot details, it may as well be hinting at the introduction of MCU’s own multiverse, set to not only include the recently acquired X-Men franchise, but also the addition of Marvel’s own Illuminati. We’ll just have to wait and see until the movie is released on May 6th.