Will the Doctor Strange sequel introduce America Chavez, the next member of the Young Avengers?
Xochitl Gomez has been cast in an undisclosed role in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. She joins Benedict Cumberbatch, Benedict Wong, and Chiwetel Ejiofor, who are reprising their roles as Doctor Strange, Wong, and Karl Mordo, respectively. Elizabeth Olsen also returns as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch, but sadly Rachel McAdams is not reprising her role as Christine Palmer. Sam Raimi, director of the original Spider-Man trilogy, is taking over from Scott Derrickson, director of the first Doctor Strange. While there's no official word on who Gomez playing, it's highly likely to be America Chavez, also known as Miss America.
America Chavez hails from an alternate dimension, and is Marvel's first Latin-American LGBTQ+ superhero. Her powers include flight and super speed, but her real speciality is punching open star-shaped portals into other realities, allowing her to traverse the multiverse at will. She's also an integral member of the Young Avengers, a team that is quickly coming together in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
It's quite easy to see how well Miss America fits into Multiverse of Madness. Besides her unique power set allowing travel between universes, Kevin Feige has promised that WandaVision will lead directly into the Doctor Strange sequel, and Wanda's twins will be introduced on that Disney+ series. Wiccan and Speed are members of the Young Avengers as well, but more importantly, Wiccan and Hulkling are Marvel's most iconic gay couple. All three of these Young Avengers could be seen in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness after their debuts in WandaVision.
The plot of the sequel is currently unknown, although one look at WandaVision will tell you that Scarlet Witch is probably going to go insane and shatter reality, leading to Doctor Strange stepping in to fix her mess. However, with Doctor Strange in Spider-Man 3 and the Loki series also dipping into multiverse shenanigans, it looks like this storyline will be an interconnected saga across several movies and Disney+ shows.
I'm excited to see the Young Avengers forming in the MCU, and I especially can't wait for Scarlet Witch's sons to enter the franchise. The multiverse storyline is developing more clearly now, and it looks like it's going to be the most exciting part of Marvel's Phase Four! However, given that Xochitl Gomez's age of 14, there is some cause for concern - none of us want to see the Young Avengers dialed down, but with actors so young, it's possible that Marvel will shy away from depicting more intense stories with the characters. I hope that isn't the case, but even if they continue to cast so young, the actors will be older by the time a Young Avengers project actually releases in 2023 or beyond. I also know that many people are angry at Hollywood's continuing issues with colorism, and I do agree that if Gomez is indeed America Chavez, they should have cast someone with darker skin.
What do you think about Xochitl Gomez's casting? Are you excited to see Miss America in the MCU? Comment below!
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness releases on March 25th, 2022.
Source: Deadline