Exclusive: Rachel McAdams Will Be Clea Strange In The Marvel Multiverse
In the latest Giant Freakin Robot exclusive scoop, we have it that Rachel McAdams will be Clea Strange moving forward in the MCU
Update May 6, 2022: Rachel McAdams returned in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, but Clea Strange was played in a mid-credits scene by Charlize Theron.
It looks like the Marvel Cinematic Universe is adding another cool character to their ranks. With the Multiverse being built out, branches shooting off like tentacles from the Sacred Timeline, we are getting all new characters added to the mix. Some will be different versions of existing folks while others are brand new additions. Giant Freakin Robot now has the exclusive from a trusted and proven source that Rachel McAdams is going to have the role of Clea Strange the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Multiverse.
This is an interesting set of news considering what we know about Rachel McAdams and her upcoming role in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. She is credited with the character of Dr. Christina Palmer, a surgeon who enters into a relationship with Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange. That is all well and good, but this scoop has it that McAdams will play Clea Strange in another universe. That could mean a couple of things. On the one hand, it could mean her character of Palmer is there in disguise, having become interested in Strange from afar (inter-dimensionally), and is using the Palmer cover to get closer to him. Or, it could mean that in Stephen’s galavanting through the Multiverse, he runs into another version of McAdams who is Clea Strange, his now-wife.
This, again, will be part of the Multiverse being proliferated throughout future storylines. It is unclear if this version of Rachel McAdams as Clea will already be aware of and know Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange, or if the story will deal with how they first meet each other. There are a few ways to take this kind of thing considering the mechanisms and devices the MCU now has at their fingertips.
Rachel McAdams playing Clea Strange is an interesting way to go with a character who gets the last name following her inter-dimensional marriage to the good doctor. The character of Clea is a Faltine, an energy being related to Dormammu who Doctor Strange fought off in the first movie. When Strange casts Dormammu back to the Dark Dimension, this could be where Clea begins to work into things. That is her realm and where, in the comic book pages, she and Strange meet for the first time. It stands to reason that either in Spider-Man: No Way Home or more likely, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, we see a character pitstop in this place and that is where we first meet Rachel McAdams as Clea.
For Rachel McAdams, we could see her become one of the stronger beings in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. At times, Clea Strange has had powers that eclipse Stephens and though they are on the same side, she has significantly more in her bag than the good Doctor. It could make for a very interesting interplay especially considering Cumberbatch’s arrogant take on the character throughout his first few appearances. From early looks at Spider-Man: No Way Home, he continues to imbue a significant level of hubris.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is set to hit the big screen on March 25, 2022. It is then that we could first see Rachel McAdams as Clea Strange. She is also working on a live-action adaptation of the bestselling novel Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.
