Before the Marvel Cinematic Universe realized the grand scheme of things, Benedict Cumberbatch’s 2016 movie Doctor Strange was already released. With the movie depicting the story of how Stephen Strange became Doctor Strange, the Nepalese culture has been present significantly throughout the first half of the movie.
Training in a place called Kamar-Taj, Strange understands the rules of the universe through the help of Tilda Swinton’s Sorcerer Supreme. However, when Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch comes to fight Dr. Strange in the sequel, Kamar-Taj has been relocated entirely to a different location!
Kamar-Taj Got Relocated For Benedict Cumberbatch’s Fight Scene!
Many Marvel fans must have forgotten, but in the 2016 movie, Kamar-Taj was a secret training school with its entrance in an alleyway. With small cramped rooms for Benedict Cumberbatch’s Dr. Strange, Kamar-Taj was shown as a place for the ‘not-so-rich’ people.
In the sequel, however, we see that Kamar-Taj is on a hillside with a rooftop training ground. Surrounded by hills and the mountains of Nepal, the change from an alleyway school to an institute situated at the top of a mountain is pretty noticeable. The film’s production designer Charles Wood revealed in the book The Art of the Movie: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (via The Direct) that they really did relocate Kamar-Taj in the sequel.
“We did actually move it… in the first film, it was nestled within the city of Katmandu, almost hidden in plain sight. In this film, we wanted to give the building more status. So we actually put it on a plateau, with the Himalayas behind it. So this version of Kamar-Taj was much more to do with the cinema, so that when you were on the rooftop set, you really felt the mountains behind you and had a view over the rooftops of the city.”
Charles Wood further continued that they had a pretty good reason for doing so since Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda Maximoff would attack this place and the views would be amazing to shoot.
Kamar-Taj Has Some Impressive Views
Production designer Charles Wood further stated that when Benedict Cumberbatch’s Dr. Strange is waiting for Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch, the views in the background are simply breathtaking. Stating in the book (via The Direct) that they wanted a big, wide, and impressive battle scene, Charles Wood also stated that he gave more attention to the interior of Kamar-Taj as well.
“And the reason for that when Scarlet Witch arrives through this storm and these rolling clouds, you get these great big, wide, impressive views. And in this film, we explored the interiors more. We wanted to make it as mysterious as we could.”
Suffice it to say, the relocation of the iconic building can be called a continuity issue but since the views were truly majestic, the move was forgiven by fans of the MCU.
Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange can be seen in the Doctor Strange franchise available to stream on Disney+.
Source: The Direct
