Veteran actor Daniel Craig is no stranger to cameos, having featured in that capacity in a couple of movies, including Star Wars: The Force Awakens. According to MCU star Elizabeth Olsen, the Knives Out actor was slated to make a cameo appearance in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness as well.
Olsen made this revelation during an appearance on Josh Horowitz’s Happy Sad Confused podcast, where she discussed her career, including her latest project Love and Death. Given her role in the MCU is her biggest to date, she naturally fielded questions about the Doctor Strange sequel as well.
During the interview Horowitz asked if she knew about Craig’s cameo as Balder the Brave. Olsen responded that she did and revealed she had seen the art, design, and costume. In her words, "Yes, that’s what I thought was going to happen too. I saw the art. They made a costume. They had a design."
Olsen’s comments come after Graham Churchyard, one of the film’s costume designers, made similar claims last year. During an interview with Comicbook, Churchyard stated that Craig’s Balder was close to featuring in the film, with the design getting to the prototype stage.
He noted that the costume design team had made substantial progress on the costume and all that was left was for the actor to show up and don it. Churchyard further revealed that the character has long been in conversations to make his MCU debut but has never quite managed it.
Balder the Brave is Odin and Freyja’s son in the comics and, as a result, Thor’s half-brother. In the Doctor Strange sequel, he would have been a multiversal variant of the character and a member of Earth-838’s Illuminati.
If Craig’s cameo had happened, he would have joined several Hollywood A-listers like Sir Patrick Stewart, John Krasinski, Anson Mount, Hayley Atwell, and Lashana Lynch – all of whom featured in the MCU for the first time. While they had temporary roles, they were nevertheless important to the film’s plot.
In light of Olsen’s comments, we are given to speculating as to why Marvel decided to cut Craig’s cameo and deny MCU fans the joy of seeing Balder on screen. The studio also denied us an opportunity to see how Craig would have brought the character to life. The James Bond alumnus is an accomplished actor and, we are certain, would have brought refreshing energy to the MCU.
Given the uncertainty surrounding her death, Olsen’s return to the MCU remains a doubt. However, in February, she hinted that she is not done with the franchise and could yet appear in a future project. Against Disney CEO Bob Iger’s wishes, recent reports reveal that Marvel intends to produce a third Doctor Strange film with Sam Raimi back in the director’s chair.
In other Olsen-related news, her latest project, Love and Death, is currently streaming on HBO Max.
