Elizabeth Olsen confirms Daniel Craig was meant to be in Doctor Strange 2

MCU star Elizabeth Olsen confirmed that James Bond actor Daniel Craig was initially going to appear in Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness before the idea was scrapped from the writers room.

Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness released at the beginning of 2022. The film, while initially hotly anticipated by fans, was met with criticism following the convoluted and at times contrived plot. 

However, following the release of the film, it was revealed that the movie underwent multiple reshoots and had scripts changed and re-written almost constantly. Both Elizabeth Olsen and Benedict Cumberbatch, who starred and The Scarlet Witch and Doctor Strange, have been vocal about just how often the plot of the movie changed from beginning to end.

One aspect of the movie that brought a lot of discussion towards it was the various cameos. The likes of Patrick Stewart, John Krasinski and others all appear in the movie as different heroes.

However, one actor that was initially speculated to be in the film, Daniel Craig, never appeared on screen. In a new interview with Josh Horowitz on his Happy, Sad, Confused podcast, Olsen revealed that there was merit to the rumors that Craig would be appearing in the movie and that his inclusion was ultimately scrapped.

“Yes, that’s what I thought was going to happen too,” she said. “I saw the art. They made a costume. They had a design.”

Daniel Craig was going to star as Balder the Brave in Doctor Strange 2

Initially, the plan was to have Craig appear in the film as Badler the Brave. In the comics, Balder is the the half-brother of Thor and the son of Odin and Freyja. 

As well as Olsen’s confirmation, Graham Churchyard, a costume design on Doctor Strange 2, revealed to Comicbook that Balder was in fact almost in the film.

“Yeah, we got very far designing Balder the Brave and then we were waiting and waiting and waiting on casting and that, I took it to a prototype stage,” Churchyard said. “We were kind of in that design sort of thing, getting fabrics together and ideas and waiting for an actor. Poor Balder the Brave.”

Time will tell if Craig does ever appear as Baldur the Brave in the MCU. For all the latest TV and movie news and updates, be sure to check out Dexerto’s full coverage here.