Doctor Strange (2016) introduced us to Baron Mordo, a sorcerer who was originally loyal to the Ancient One, but decided to turn away from her once he realized that she drew power from the Dark Dimension, the same as the antagonists of the film, Kaecilius. The film closes out with Mordo concluding that there are too many sorcerers, which causes him to begin hunting anyone and everyone who has the power to channel magic.
In Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, we learn that Mordo and Strange have clashed offscreen, as Mordo had allegedly tried to kill Strange multiple times before Strange met the Earth 838 variant of Baron Mordo. Strange revealed this bit of information to America Chavez, who was responsible for the character’s accidental multiversal travel. A new theory speculates why the character was absent from the Doctor Strange sequel, and how he would be making an appearance in Doctor Strange 3.
Baron Mordo is stuck in the Dark Dimension after Doctor Strange (2016)
It is completely possible that Doctor Strange and Mordo clashed multiple times in between all the instances that we saw Strange assist the Avengers. Mordo would have faced defeat at the hands of Strange time and time again and might have embarked on a quest to accumulate more power, something that Dormammu could have exploited to turn the sorcerer to his side.
Turning to the dark dimensions to increase his power, Baron Mordo could appear in Doctor Strange 3, for multiple reasons. To begin with, Doctor Strange was in the dark dimension as of the conclusion of his second solo outing, assisting the sorceress Clea with an incursion in the Dark Dimension.
Baron Mordo, who was absent from Multiverse of Madness, might have been growing stronger in the Dark Dimension and could have used Clea as a lure for Doctor Strange. There is also the fact that Chiwetel Ejiofor is too great an actor to jettison from the IP, and including him in the third Doctor Strange film as the chief antagonist will set up an amazing arc from Strange, who finds himself inflicted with Dark magic in the wake of using the Darkhold.
Baron Mordo could be responsible for the Incursion in the Dark Dimension
Doctor Strange was implied to be in the Dark Dimension for quite some time. He was infinitely killed by Dormammu until the entity struck a deal with Strange never to invade Earth 199999 again. However, this did not cause any sort of incursion, despite Strange’s extended stay in the dimension.
However, it is possible that Strange’s adventures through the multiverse and Scarlett Witch’s dreamwalking could have caused incursions to become more commonplace throughout the multiverse, which would have been accelerated by Mordo’s existence in the Dark Dimension.
Mordo could be in the Dark Dimension to consolidate his power, but could also be there to deliberately destroy it in a bid to rid the world of sorcerers who draw their power from it. Strange might be keen on saving the Dark Dimension simply because it has inhabitants like Clea and Dormammu, combined with how closely Strange holds his ‘no harm’ principle.
