Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness may bring some major comic book characters into the MCU just to eliminate them. The film is one of Marvel’s most promising upcoming titles, and with characters like Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen), and America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez) at its center, the studio is doing its best to keep details about Multiverse of Madness’ plot under wraps.

That hasn’t stopped the online rumor mill from churning, and one of the biggest rumors is that it’ll feature a powerful Marvel Comics team who hasn’t yet been seen in the MCU. Unfortunately, a new Multiverse of Madness leak also suggests those characters won’t make it out of the film alive.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE SCI-FI MOVIE? Tell us now for a chance to get paid to write an article for Inverse.

Introducing the Illuminati — It’s been rumored for months that Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will see Cumberbatch’s Stephen Strange end up in a universe governed by the Illuminati. The secretive team typically counts characters like Professor X, Black Bolt, Tony Stark, Black Panther, and Mister Fantastic among its members and, according to several leaks, many of those characters will appear in Multiverse of Madness. That specifically includes Professor X and Black Bolt, two characters Marvel fans have long wanted to see in the MCU.

However, Marvel leaker @MyTimeToShineHello recently tweeted that viewers shouldn’t expect to see the Illuminati survive Multiverse of Madness. The same Twitter user has also repeatedly claimed that Olsen’s Wanda is the main villain, which suggests that she’ll be the person responsible for the demise of the Illuminati.

Saying Goodbye to the Illuminati — Notably, this leak lines up with one from late 2021, which claimed that Multiverse of Madness will feature a fight scene between Wanda Maximoff and Professor X. That doesn’t necessarily mean the Illuminati will, as this leak suggests, be totally destroyed in Multiverse of Madness, but it certainly makes it seem more likely.

Of course, the first Multiverse of Madness trailer goes out of its way to suggest that the film’s villain isn’t Wanda but a dark variant of Stephen Strange. But WandaVision ended by sending Olsen’s Scarlet Witch down a grim path, and many of the biggest rumors surrounding Multiverse of Madness have suggested that she’ll be the primary antagonist.

Taking all that into account, it seems not only possible but likely that Marvel constructed the Multiverse of Madness trailer to make fans think Wanda won’t be a villain. If that’s the case, then there’s no reason to believe the film won’t also see Wanda unleashing her wrath upon even the most surprising — and powerful — of Marvel Comics characters.

The Inverse Analysis — Thanks to its alternate reality-centric premise, Multiverse of Madness has the chance to do whatever it wants.

So there’s nothing stopping the Illuminati from appearing in Multiverse of Madness, especially now that Marvel Studios has the rights to use characters like Professor X and Mister Fantastic on-screen. However, accepting that possibility also means understanding that the team could very well end up being slaughtered by Wanda and her chaos magic.

Having her single-handedly destroy a superhero team led by Professor X would be an effective way to show us just how powerful Wanda has become.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness hits theaters on May 6, 2022.