Doctor Strange Was Almost In 'Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse'

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is chock-full of characters and cameos, but there was one planned cameo that never came to fruition. Doctor Strange was originally set to make an appearance in Sony's acclaimed animated superhero movie, but never made it past the first draft.

Producers Phil Lord and Chris Miller, the former of which co-wrote the screenplay alongside Rodney Rothman, explained why the Doctor Strange Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse cameo never came to be.

Lord and Miller, the duo behind The LEGO Movie and the producers of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, revealed that they initially planned to have the Sorcerer Supreme appear in the film. Doctor Strange showed in the first draft of the screenplay, penned by Lord and Rothman, but ended up on the cutting room floor after several revisions. But what would have the movie been like with Doctor Strange in the picture? Lord told Den of Geek:

"The first draft ended with [Strange]. It ended with him saying, 'Okay, I have some things to tell you...' It was the first draft, like three years ago. It ended with Doctor Strange. Literally, the last frame was Doctor Strange, going, 'Hello.'"

This would have been a fun animated reunion for Doctor Strange and Spider-Man after the two teamed up in Marvel's Avengers: Infinity War — and would have maybe comforted fans after that team-up's tragic ending. This seemingly odd-couple pairing has happened frequently in the comics too: Doctor Strange and Peter Parker first met in The Amazing Spider-Man #109 and later went on to pair up in several other noteworthy collaborations, including 1992's one-off graphic novel, The Way to Dusty Death.

But it's likely that Lord and Miller would've had to pull off some sorcery of their own to negotiate the movie rights to Doctor Strange, who currently resides under Marvel Studios. Spider-Man appears in the Marvel Cinematic Universe thanks to a deal between Sony and Marvel, but it's unclear whether other Marvel characters could cross over the other way. I'm guessing that this is the reason that Doctor Strange's cameo was ultimately scrapped. But it seems like Lord and Miller won't need a flashy cameo to sell this movie, which is currently riding a wave of critical acclaim to 99% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse swings into theaters on December 14, 2018.

Bitten by a radioactive spider in the subway, Brooklyn teenager Miles Morales suddenly develops mysterious powers that transform him into the one and only Spider-Man. When he meets Peter Parker, he soon realizes that there are many others who share his special, high-flying talents. Miles must now use his newfound skills to battle the evil Kingpin, a hulking madman who can open portals to other universes and pull different versions of Spider-Man into our world.