Rachel McAdams will be returning for Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness. The actress played Christine Palmer in the first film. Palmer was Strange’s former lover turned friend. She helped Strange after his accident that made him unable to work as a neurosurgeon and acted as his tether to the human world as Dr. Strange became increasingly entwined in the world of hidden magic and alternate dimensions.

McAdams will join returning stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Benedict Wong, and Chiwetel Ejiofor for the sequel. Elizabeth Olsen will also be making an appearance as Scarlet Witch after her highly anticipated turn in WandaVision. Rounding out the cast is Xochitl Gomez from Netflix’s The Babysitter’s Club in an undisclosed role. Sam Raimi is helming the sequel after Scott Derrickson’s exit.

Deadline reports that McAdams will be reprising the role of Christine Palmer. Marvel had no comment on the report. It is not yet known how big of a role McAdams’ character will have in the sequel. Filming is set to begin in May in and around London after Cumberbatch finishes filming on Spider-Man 3.

Doctor Strange Benedict Cumberbatch Christine Palmer Rachel McAdams diagnosis

While details are scarce about McAdams overall role, bringing her back is a sign that Marvel is not done with the actress yet, or her character’s alter ego. In the comics, Palmer becomes Night Nurse, a doctor to many of Marvel’s heroes. Bringing McAdams back in a sequel already chock full of plot potential means no time can be wasted. Rosario Dawson already played an iteration of the character in Netflix’s Marvel series, but McAdams could be the big star to fulfill the role in the MCU.

With the Doctor Strange 2 set to explore the multiverse even further, it begs the question as to what iteration of Night Nurse we could see. Strange has primarily left his former life in New York behind, leaving little room for characters like Palmer to appear. However, the multiverse could allow for Palmer to show up as an already fully formed Night Nurse from another universe. With other characters like America Chavez rumored to appear, and Strange’s role in the increasingly large cast of Spider-Man 3Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is already gearing up to be a pivotal entry in MCU’s Phase 4. With McAdams returning, the door opens wider for more and more characters to appear as their original selves or alternate versions of the already beloved characters.