Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness/Transcript

The Abridged Script

written by
Alex W., Craig, and Jill G.
Movie:
November 9, 2022
[After the opening logos, we see a mysterious void, full of various colors and weird lines. On
one of the lines are running America Chavez and Defender Stephen Strange, trying to do
their best to escape a demon chasing them. Defender Strange turns to his opponent and
casts a spell that freezes him temporarily.]
America: [in Spanish] Did it kill it?
Defender Strange: [in Spanish] No! We'll kill it with this!
[The camera pans over to a spinning pedestal, floating in the middle of the ether. A book,
glowing with magic, rests on it]
America: The Book of Vishanti!
Defender Strange: We can't let it get your power. Get to the book.
America: How do we get across?
Defender Strange: Jump!
Defender Strange: It's too strong. I can't hold it.
[Defender Strange then starts taking America's powers away from her.]
Defender Strange: I'm so sorry. This is the only way.
America: What are you doing?!
Defender Strange: We can't let that thing take your power. You can't control it. But I can.
America: But we're friends!
Defender Strange: I know. But in the grand calculus of the Multiverse, your sacrifice is worth
more than your life.
[Defender Strange suddenly gets impaled through the chest by the demon. America starts
running to get the Book of Vishanti, but the demon stops her from going any further. The
demon then restrains America and lifts her up, who screams and opens up a star shaped
portal. Defender Strange sees this and fires bolts to release the demon's grip on America,
who falls through the portal. Defender Strange then falls into the portal as well, the camera
spinning around as he does. A flash of white and the scene then cuts to present day Doctor
Strange, who bolts awake and sits up in his bed, breathing hard and he puts his hands over
his face to clear sweat off it. He runs his hands through his hair, looks around to calm himself
down, then he sees his broken wrist watch, his face reflected into the watch face. Strange
gets out of bed and picks up his watch. We then see Strange in formal clothing and walking
to a mirror to sort out his tie. After he short cuffs it, he uses his magic to straighten it, then
he snaps his fingers to retrieve the Cloak of Levitation, which goes into his front shirt pocket.
After Strange has his jacket on and walks through the New York Sanctum, the scene cuts to a
church.]
[Stephen sits down on a bench, waiting for the ceremony to begin. On his left he notices a
familiar face. Doctor Nicodemus West, his former colleague and rival.]
Doctor Nicodemus West: Doctor Strange.
Doctor Stephen Strange: Doctor West.
Doctor Nicodemus West: Haven't seen you in a while.
Doctor Stephen Strange: I was a little preoccupied being dust in the air for five years.
Doctor Nicodemus West: So were a lot of us. While I was gone... thank you for asking... I lost
both my cats. And my brother.
Doctor Stephen Strange: I'm very sorry.
Doctor Nicodemus West: Thank you. I, uh... I guess what keeps me up at night is
wondering... Did it have to happen that way? Was there any other path?
Doctor Stephen Strange: No. But I made the only play we had.
Doctor Nicodomus West: Of course, you do. The best surgeon and the best superhero. But
you still didn't get the girl.
[camera pans over to Christine Palmer walking down the aisle as flower girls follow. Scene
change.]
[We follow doctor strange as he walks in a rooftop bar. This is presumably the party after
Doctor Christine Palmer’s wedding reception.]
Doctor Christine Palmer: Glass of red, please? [to the bar tender.]
Doctor Stephen Strange: Allow me, Miss.
[Doctor Strange uses his magic to change the water in Christine Palmer's glass into wine.]
Doctor Stephen Strange: A little too on the nose?
Doctor Christine Palmer: What, for you, at my wedding? Nah. It was perfect.
Doctor Stephen Strange: Congratulations.
Doctor Christine Palmer: Thank you. There's Charlie. I have to introduce you because he's
kind of... It's embarrassing, but he's a big fan.
Doctor Stephen Strange: So... Hey, uh, Christine... umm... I should have... I wish it had been
different. I never stopped caring about us, but I had to make sacrifices. To protect you. I'm
sorry.
Doctor Christine Palmer: It was never gonna work out between us.
Doctor Stephen Strange: Why not?
Doctor Christine Palmer: Because Stephen... You have to be the one holding the knife. And I
always respected you for it, but I couldn't love you for it.
Doctor Stephen Strange: How long have you had that one in the barrel?
Doctor Christine Palmer: Long time.
Doctor Stephen Strange: Yeah. I bet. Truly, I'm just glad that you're happy.
Doctor Christine Palmer: I am. I really, really am.
Doctor Stephen Strange: Good.
Doctor Christine Palmer: Are you?
Doctor Stephen Strange: I'm happy.
Doctor Christine Palmer: Good. You deserve it.
Doctor Stephen Strange: Thank you.
[ A giant green tentacle monster with a huge eye comes ramping down the street destroying
everything in its path. Doctor strange takes his ascot out of his pocket and it turns into his
cloak. As he floats down, his dress suit turns into his mystical robes. The same girl from
Doctor Strange’s dream comes running down the street.]
America: Look out!
Doctor Stephen Strange: Do I know you?
[He has a sudden flashback of the girl in his dream.]
Wong: Help! You're welcome. Do you know it's ancient custom to bow in the presence of the
Sorcerer Supreme?
Doctor Stephen Strange: Yeah. I'm aware of the customs. Hold it. Hold it.
Charlie: Woah! That's incredible.
Doctor Christine Palmer: Yeah.
Doctor Stephen Strange: Oh, god!
Wong: Who's this?
Doctor Stephen Strange: Yeah, I was gonna ask the same question. (grabbing her wrist) Hey,
kid. What did that creature want with you?
Wong: Where are your parents?
Doctor Stephen Strange: Take her back to the Sanct... She took my slingy.
Wong:She took your slingy.
[the girl runs away but Wong and Strange catch up through a portal.]
We're not gonna k*ll you, kid. I just bust my ass trying to save your life, remember? Giant
monsters, I can clearly handle. But what bothers me, is that last night, you were in my
dream.
America: That wasn't a dream. It was another universe.
America: How much experience do you guys have with the Multiverse?
Doctor Stephen Strange: We have experience with the Multiverse. Most recently, there was
an incident with Spider-Man...
America: With what Man?
Doctor Stephen Strange: Spider-Man. He has the powers of a spider.
Wong: Hence the name.
America: Gross. Does he look like a spider?
Doctor Stephen Strange: No. More like a man.
Wong: Climbs walls, shoot webs.
Doctor Stephen Strange: Yeah. Bingo.
America: Out his butt?
Doctor Stephen Strange: No. Maybe. I don't know.
Wong: Ew.
Doctor Stephen Strange: Honestly, I hope not.
America: Super weird.
Doctor Stephen Strange: You're gonna get a stomachache.
America: I'm from another universe. How do you know my stomach works the same as
yours?
Doctor Stephen Strange: I don't. I don't even know if you're from another universe. Which is
why I'm still sitting here waiting for you to enlighten us.
America: [in Spanish] Frankly, of the two Doctor Stranges that I've met, you are not my
favorite.
Doctor Stephen Strange: Which means?
America: [in Spanish] He can't speak Spanish?
Wong: [in Spanish] I don't even know if he speaks his own language.
Doctor Stephen Strange: Look, I left a very nice wedding to save a smartness kid from getting
eaten by an octopus. Tell me--
Wong: Whose wedding?
Doctor Stephen Strange: Christine's.
Wong: You went?
America Chavez: Holy shit. You married Christine?
Passer-by: Do you mind?
Doctor Stephen Strange: Yes, I do. No, I didn't. Yes. You need to explain to me what's going
on. Why was that octopus trying to eat you?
America Chavez: That thing was trying to kidnap me. It's like a henchman who works for a
demon. All we knew is that they wanted to take my power for themselves.
Doctor Stephen Strange: What power?
America Chavez: I can travel the Multiverse.
Doctor Stephen Strange: What?
Wong: You can physically move from one universe to another?
Doctor Stephen Strange: How?
America Chavez: That's the problem. I don't know how. I can't control it. Only happens when
I'm really, really afraid.
Doctor Stephen Strange: Okay. Did the other me know how to defeat this demon?
America Chavez: Well, you just knew this magical book of pure good, that gives a sorcerer
whatever they need to defeat their enemy.
Doctor Stephen Strange: The Book of Vishanti? It's not real. It's a fairy tale that doesn't exist.
Wong: Actually, it does. I found out in the secret book you get when you become Sorcerer
Supreme.
Doctor Stephen Strange: Unbelievable.
America Chavez: You're not the Sorcerer Supreme?
Doctor Stephen Strange: No, I am not the Sorcerer Supreme.
America: Other you was Sorcerer Supreme in his universe.
Wong: Although it does exist, the Book of Vishanti is said to be unreachable.
America: It is, except... we reached it. Then the demon caught up with us. I thought you'd
protect me, but... You didn't.
Doctor Stephen Strange: That was the fight in my dream.
America: That wasn't a dream.
Doctor Stephen Strange: Prove it. It wasn't a dream. That means... Dreams are windows into
the lives of our Multiversal selves.
America: That was his theory.
Wong: So that recurring nightmare where I'm running naked from a clown...
America Chavez: Somewhere out there, it's real.
Doctor Stephen Strange: Somewhere out there, I had a ponytail.
Wong: There could be more creatures coming for her.
Doctor Stephen Strange: That power is dangerous enough in the hands of a kid. Imagine if a
real threat acquired it.
Wong: It occurs to me, young one, we don't know your name.
America Chavez: America Chavez.
Wong: Miss Chavez, will you come with us to Kamar-Taj? You'll be safe there.
America Chavez: How do I know you won't betray me like he did?
Doctor Stephen Strange: I guess you're just gonna have to trust me.
Wong: What do we do with him? That's gotta violate an ordinance.
Doctor Stephen Strange: I've buried worse.
( he says while burying the dead strange.)
Wong: The creature that killed him, did... did it have the same markings as the octopus?
Doctor Stephen Strange: Runes.
Wong: This isn't sorcery.
Doctor Stephen Strange: It's witchcraft.
Wong: Do we know anyone who's faced such a thing?
[The WandaVision episode 2 motif picks up in the background]
Doctor Stephen Strange: I think I might.
Billy and Tommy: Chocolate!
Wanda 2: Hey! What did I say?
Billy and Tommy: But we can't wait.
Wanda 2: Well what did I say? Go wash your hands.
Tommy: Mom, come on. I'm too old for that.
Wanda 2: Okay.
Billy: You can tuck me in, Mom.
Wanda 2: I will. You know... A family is forever. We could never truly leave each other even if
we tried.
Tommy: Mom, I changed my mind. You can come tuck me in if you want.
Wanda 2: Okay. Love you.
Strange: Apples, right?
Wanda: Eventually.
Strange: Smells...
Wanda: Sweet.
I was gonna say real.
It's all very real. Thanks. I put the magic behind me.
Strange: So I can see.
Wanda: Well, I knew sooner or later you'd... show up, wanting to discuss what happened at
WestView. I made mistakes, and people were hurt.
Strange: But you put things right in the end and that was never in doubt. I'm not here to talk
about WestView.
Wanda: Then what are you here for?
Strange: We need your help.
Wanda: With what?
Strange: What do you know about the Multiverse?
Wanda: The Multiverse. Vis had his theories. He believed it was real. And, dangerous.
Strange: Well, he was right about both. We found a girl who can somehow travel across it
but she's being pursued.
Wanda: Pursued by who?
Strange: Some kind of demon. One that covets her power for itself. Now we've taken her to
Kamar-Taj, and... We've got our defenses, but... We could use an Avenger.
Wanda: There are other Avengers.
Strange: Yeah, but given a choice between the Archer with a mohawk, and several bug-
themed crimefighters, or... One of the most powerful magic wielders on the planet, it's an
easy call. Come to Kamar-Taj. It'll get you back on a lunch box.
Wanda: What if you brought America here?
Strange: Here?
Wanda: Yeah. I know what it's like. To be on your own, hunted for abilities you never
wanted. I can protect her.
Wanda: You never told me her name, did you?
Strange: No. No, I didn't.
Wanda: You know, the Hex was the easy part. The lying, not so much.
(She conjures a barrier to that reveals the real farm she was living on)
Strange: The Darkhold.
Wanda: You've heard of the Darkhold?
Strange: I know it's the Book of the Damned. And that it corrupts everything and everyone
that it touches. I wonder what it's done to you.
Wanda: The Darkhold only showed me the truth. Everything I lost... can be mine again.
Strange: What do you want with America? What do you want with the Multiverse?
Wanda: I'm going to leave this reality, and go to one where I can be with my children.
Strange: Wanda, your children aren't real. You created them using magic.
Wanda: That's what every mother does. If you knew... there was a universe, where you were
happy, wouldn't you wanna go there?
Strange: I am happy.
Wanda: I know better than most what self-deception looks like.
Strange: What you're doing is a flagrant violation of every natural law. If you take that child's
power, she won't survive.
Wanda: I don't relish hurting anyone, Stephen. But she's not a child. She's a supernatural
being. Such raw power could wreak havoc on this, and other worlds. Her sacrifice would be
for the greater good.
Strange: Well you can kiss the lunchbox goodbye because that's the kind of justification our
enemies use.
Wanda: Is it the one you use? When you gave Thanos the Time Stone?
Strange: That was war, and I did what I had to do.
Wanda: You break the rules and become a hero. I do it and I become the enemy. That
doesn't seem fair.
Strange: What happens now?
Wanda: Return to Kamar-Taj, and prepare to hand over America Chavez by sundown.
Peacefully. After that... You'll never see me again.
Strange: And if we don't?
Wanda: Then it won't be Wanda who comes for her. It will be the Scarlet Witch.
Wong: Scarlet Witch.
Wanda's gone. She's got the Darkhold and the Darkhold has her.
Wong: Scarlet Witch is a being of unfathomable magic. She can rewrite reality as she
chooses, and is prophesized to either rule, or annihilate the cosmos.
Strange: She took over a whole town using her mind. If she gets America's power... she could
enslave the entire Multiverse.
America: So the person you went to ask for help, and told exactly where I am, is the person
that's trying to kill me?
Strange: Yeah.
Wong: Suspend teaching at once. And arm the students. Kamar-Taj must now become a
fortress.
Rintrah: That's the Masters of the Hong Kong and London Sanctum.
Master of Hong Kong Sanctum: Honored to face death again by your side.
Wong: The honor is ours.
Master of London Sanctum: Whatever the Sorcerer Supreme asks of us, it shall be done.
Wong: It's ancient custom. Choose your words wisely. The fate of the Multiverse may
depend on it.
Strange: Got it. No pressure, then.
Wanda: All this for a child you met yesterday?
Strange: Wanda, you are justifiably angry. You had to make terrible sacrifices.
Wanda: I blew a hole through the head of the man I loved... and it meant nothing. Do not
speak to me of sacrifice, Stephen Strange. If you give me what I want... I'll send you to a
world where you can be with Christine.
Strange: The full might of Kamar-Taj stands against you.
Wong: Defensive positions. Now!
Strange: Do not dare to enter these sacred grounds.
Wanda: You have... no idea just how reasonable I have been.
Strange: Yeah. Book of the Damned, calling yourself a Witch, conjuring creatures to abduct a
kid... I don't exactly call that being reasonable.
Wanda: Sending those creatures after her instead of myself was mercy. And in spite of your
hypocrisies... and insults, I have begged you to safely get out of my way. You have exhausted
my patience. But I do hope you understand... that even now... what's about to happen... This
is me, being... reasonable.
Wong: Hold! Hold!
Strange: Nailed it.
Wong: Reinforce the shield!
Strange: She's trying to get in their heads.
Wong: Sorcerers! Fortify your mind!
Wanda: Run...
Wong: The shield is down!
Sara: Fire!
Wong: Yes!
Sara: Take cover!
Wong: Fire at will!
Strange: Fall back! Wong!
Wong: Get out of here!
Strange: You want the girl, you're gonna have to go through me.
Wanda: Fine.
Strange: We gotta get you out of here. Now.
America: Why? What happened?
Wong: Kamar-Taj has fallen.
Strange: Reflections. She's using the reflections.
Wong: Cover them!
Wanda: You gave all those lives just to keep me from my children.
Strange: You took those lives. You cannot be allowed to cross into the Multiverse.
Wanda: I'm not a monster, Stephen. I'm a mother.
Strange: Wanda, you have no children. They don't exist.
Wanda: But they do. In every other universe. I know they do. Because I dream of them...
Every... night. Of my boys... Of our life together. Every night, the same dream. And every
morning... the same... nightmare.
Strange: What if you reach them? What happens to the other you? What happens to their
mother?
Doctor Stephen Strange: You okay?
America Chavez: You saved me.
Doctor Stephen Strange: I hope so.
[Doctor Strange and America Chavez stand up and observe their surroundings from the
rooftop.]
America Chavez: Surprised you didn't puke.
Doctor Stephen Strange: That's not my first weird trip, kid. So. This is New York in the
Multiver...
[Doctor Strange is quickly proven wrong when he runs to a nearby chimney and pukes into
it, the chimney stack covering up what Strange is puking.]
America Chavez: There it is.
[America Chavez watches Doctor Strange puke two more times before he recovers.]
Doctor Stephen Strange: Crap. [The Cloak of Levitation wipes Strange's mouth.] Cut it out.
[Doctor Strange takes the Cloak off and examines it. It has a nasty gash on it.]
Doctor Stephen Strange: Yeah. You got pretty dinged up. [Doctor Strange puts the Cloak back
on him.] We'll get you fixed. All right, America. You've gotta open a portal to get us back
there right now.
America Chavez: I don't know how.
Doctor Stephen Strange: You just did it.
America Chavez: Not on purpose.
Doctor Stephen Strange: Wong is back there alone with Wanda and I'm the only hope he
has.
America Chavez: I can't control my powers...
Doctor Stephen Strange: You must be able to control it somehow. Even I could... [Doctor
Strange sees America Chavez shrink back, and realises that he is bringing up bad memories
of Defender Strange.] Sorry. Well, what about this universe's version of you? Maybe she can
control her powers.
America Chavez: This universe doesn't have a me.
Doctor Stephen Strange: What?
America Chavez: None of them do.
Doctor Stephen Strange: But how do you know that?
America Chavez: Because I've looked. And... because I never dream.
Doctor Stephen Strange: It's okay, kid. Even if you could get me back there, I have no way of
fighting Wanda.
America Chavez: What about the Book of Vishanti?
Doctor Stephen Strange: What about it?
America Chavez: Other you thought it could stop whoever was after me.
Doctor Stephen Strange: Yeah, well, good for other me. He's not here, is he? I don't know
where it is. So unless there's another other me...
America Chavez: We need to go find...
Doctor Stephen Strange: Other "other me".