Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness could see a significant shift in the Illuminati ‘s role in the MCU. The Marvel Comics Illuminati appear to be making their MCU debut in the Doctor Strange 2 trailer, based on what was shown. It’s even more shocking that Professor X from the X-Men movies, played by Patrick Stewart, maybe a member.

It was shown in the trailer that Dr Strange was captured by futuristic drones and taken before a mysterious council.’ Professor X and, it appears, Baron Mordo, who holds Strange responsible for the multiverse’s chaos, are the group’s representatives. There is a strong possibility that the Illuminati are a part of the MCU, based on the interests of this council and Professor X’s surprise appearance in the film. They were a group of Marvel’s most powerful and brilliant leaders in the comics. For the sake of the planet’s safety and future, they met in secret. Black Bolt and Namor the Sub-Mariner were also counted as members of the Avengers.

MCU’s Illuminati Will Be Different From The Comics

From what we’ve seen so far in the trailer, it looks like the MCU’s Illuminati won’t be anything like their comic book counterparts. Unlike the comic book Illuminati, the MCU’s Illuminati appears to have ties to the multiverse. The fact that Stewart’s Professor X appears in the Illuminati is evidence that the organization’s members hail from various timelines. In addition, the location they chose for Strange, as well as their apparent familiarity with these concepts, suggest that they have a duty to protect the multiverse (as opposed to just one version of Earth). The Illuminati ‘s status as a multiverse-monitoring organization speaks volumes about their role in the MCU as a whole.

This change could have an impact on which conflicts they get involved in and which ones they avoid. Since Secret Invasion is a global event, it would have made sense for the Illuminati to intervene when the Skrulls make their move, prior to the Doctor Strange 2 trailer. Illuminati, on the other hand, may not be aware of what the Skrulls are doing in the Disney+ show. For the comic book Illuminati, the Skrulls were a major issue, but the MCU version may have bigger concerns than the fate of a single planet in an entire multiverse.

Dr Strange’s appearance in the Multiverse of Madness seems to indicate that the Illuminati appear only when things are at; they’re most dangerous, which is the case. The time travel shenanigans of Kang the Conqueror could easily qualify as a threat that necessitates the involvement of the Illuminati. The Illuminati may come back in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Loki season 2, or even Avengers 5 depending on how Kang plays out.