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Marvel fans are desperate to find out who’s who in the MCU Illuminati

Fans want Marvel to shed some light on the Illuminati.

doctor strange 2
Image via Marvel Studios

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will see Benedict Cumberbatch’s character facing some serious consequences for screwing with the fabric of reality in No Way Home. It appears his spell to force everyone to forget Peter Parker caught the attention of a group of very powerful people — and they’re not happy.

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These are the Illuminati. In Marvel Comics, they’re a secret society comprised of Reed Richards, Namor, Tony Stark, Black Bolt, Charles Xavier, and Strange himself, who collectively manipulate world events from the shadows.

The MCU version appears to be more extradimensionally preoccupied, with membership drawn from across the multiverse, including a variant of Patrick Stewart’s Professor X. Now fans are frantically theorizing about who else will be present.

Many are certain Reed Richards is a lock:

https://twitter.com/beanzyyyyy/status/1518599928871677954?s=20&t=YLnqf5WlJ5YAS5yF5vpIHA
https://twitter.com/adamjayyy27/status/1518963587343171584?s=20&t=YLnqf5WlJ5YAS5yF5vpIHA
https://twitter.com/kidconnoisseur_/status/1519620171731722240?s=20&t=YLnqf5WlJ5YAS5yF5vpIHA

One other name bandied about is Tom Cruise as ‘Superior Iron Man’:

https://twitter.com/ZTteta/status/1519894144545665025?s=20&t=YLnqf5WlJ5YAS5yF5vpIHA
https://twitter.com/Alejandro145894/status/1519391644486934531?s=20&t=YLnqf5WlJ5YAS5yF5vpIHA

There are also some wilder (and funnier) rumors out there:

https://twitter.com/FrownOfKhonshu/status/1493255869781266435?s=20&t=YLnqf5WlJ5YAS5yF5vpIHA
https://twitter.com/HylianEmo25/status/1509156369013821449?s=20&t=YLnqf5WlJ5YAS5yF5vpIHA

Fortunately, we only have a week’s wait to find out for sure. However, with the social media and review embargo expiring early next week, expect spoilers to come in thick and fast on Twitter. These will likely confirm or deny which cameos are in the movie, and though Marvel has been perhaps a little too open in trailers and TV spots, we suspect they’re still holding back some huge surprises.

That said, if Tom Cruise really is in this movie as Tony Stark/Iron Man, people are going to lose their minds.

We’ll see you at Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness next Friday, May 6.