Almost a year ago it was reported that Marvel character Jericho Drumm, a.k.a. Brother Voodoo would be making his big MCU debut in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Well, it looks like that news has been confirmed thanks to The Illuminerdi. They’ve had a pretty solid track record for scoops like this, but we are still waiting for confirmation from Marvel.
Brother Voodoo was a concept that Stan Lee and Roy Thomas came up with and the character was created by Len Wein and John Romita Sr in 1973. If you’re not familiar with the character:
After spending a great deal of time learning to become a psychologist in the United States, Jericho Drumm returns to his native Haiti to find his brother on death’s door. He’s revealed to be a Houngan, a voodoo priest who has been struck down by a disciple of the serpent god Damballah. Jericho ends up studying under Daniel’s former teacher Papa Jambo and proves to be a gifted voodoo sorcerer in his own right.
Taking up the name Brother Voodoo, Jericho worked with the spirit of his departed brother Daniel to defeat the man who’d killed Daniel. Brother Voodoo quickly became an established superhero, assisting characters like Spider-Man, Black Panther, and Doctor Strange. Brother Voodoo even briefly held the title of Sorcerer Supreme for a period of time when Doctor Strange abdicated the position, although he was seemingly killed shortly after. He was restored during the events of the AXIS event however and has resumed his role as one of the dedicated magical heroes of Earth.
A description of the character popped up on a recent casting call, and that description pretty much revealed the identity. He is described as “a supporting male lead who is of Caribbean descent, and Haiti is specifically mentioned as a nation tied to the character. It’s also been noted that the character shouldn’t necessarily feel American, although the role is still potentially open to African-American actors.”
All of those traits indicate that the role will be Brother Voodoo. After all, there aren’t many Marvel characters of Haitian descent. Also, the character fits right into the world of Doctor Strange and it would be awesome to see the two sorcerers team up! Hell, this could eventually lead to Brother Voodoo eventually taking on the mantel Sorcerer Supreme down the road when Benedict Cumberbatch is done with the character.
The outlet also reports that America Chavez a.k.a. Miss America could be making her debut in the film as well. This character was created in 2011 by Jow Casey and Nick Dragotta as a new incarnation of the Miss America character. She first appeared in Vengeance #1. Her powers consist of superhuman strength, superhuman speed, flight, invulnerability/superhuman durability, and she can create a star-shaped portal to other realities/dimensions with her kicks. It was previously rumored that Miss America would be brought into the MCU, and it looks like maybe this is the film that will happen in.
If Brother Voodoo and Miss America do show up, it will be interesting to see how they are introduced into the MCU. With the film cracking open the multiverse, maybe that’s how they will come into play. Marvel Studios president Kevin Fiege did say that the movie will be used to introduce some new Marvel characters in the MCU, but that we’ll never guess who they are. He said:
“Sometimes you’re choosing the title hero, you’re choosing which main character or main team you want to bring to the screen and oftentimes, it’s as you’re making and developing the movie [asking] ‘Who will come into it?’ and ‘Who will fit into it?’ The next Doctor Strange film, for instance, features some new MCU characters that will be making their debut in that movie you won’t expect or won’t guess who it is, but we found a cool way to make it work because we want to make a particular type of movie there and there was a character we always wanted to do something with who will fit really well there.”
Could these be a couple of the characters that Feige has teased? I guess we’ll eventually find out! As of right now, Marvel is on the hunt for a new director to replace Scott Derrickson, who recently stepped away due to creative differences.