Wong is a fictional character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film franchise, based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name and portrayed by Benedict Wong. In the franchise, Wong is depicted as Dr. Stephen Strange's friend and fellow sorcerer, being a member of the Masters of the Mystic Arts. He is also granted the position of Sorcerer Supreme, succeeding the Ancient One.
, Wong has appeared in six films, as well as in the Disney+ television series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022). Alternate versions of Wong also appear in the animated series What If...? (2021).
Concept and creation
The character is depicted in Marvel Comics as Doctor Strange's Asian, "tea-making manservant", a racial stereotype that Doctor Strange (2016) director Scott Derrickson did not want in the film, and so the character was not included in the film's script. After the non-Asian actress Tilda Swinton was cast as the other significant Asian character from the Doctor Strange comics, the Ancient One (who was rewritten as having "Celtic" ancestry), Derrickson felt obligated to find a way to include Wong in the film. The character as he ultimately appears is "completely subverted as a character and reworked into something that didn't fall into any of the stereotypes of the comics", which Derrickson was pleased gave an Asian character "a strong presence in the movie". Benedict Wong was also pleased with the changes made to the character, and described him as "a drill sergeant to Kamar-Taj" rather than a manservant. He does not practice martial arts in the film, avoiding another racial stereotype. Derrickson added that Wong would have "a strong presence" in the MCU moving forward.
Appearances
Benedict Wong portrays Wong in the MCU films Doctor Strange (2016), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Avengers: Endgame (2019), Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021), Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022), and in the Disney+ series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022). The actor was excited "to be sat at a table of Asian excellence" amongst the cast of Shang-Chi. He also voiced an alternate version of Wong in the What If...? episode "What If... Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands?", while another version of the character has a silent appearance in "What If... Zombies?!".
Fictional character biography
Mentor to Strange and resurrection
Prior to 2016, Wong becomes Kamar-Taj's librarian after the previous one was beheaded by Kaecilius. In 2016, he meets Dr. Stephen Strange while on the latter's journey to fix his hands, listening to the songs of Beyoncé after hearing Strange mention her. A few months later in 2017, he is killed while defending the Hong Kong Sanctum, but is revived by Strange using the Time Stone. After defeating Kaecilius and Dormammu, Strange takes residence in the New York Sanctum and continues his studies with Wong.
Infinity War and becoming Sorcerer Supreme
In 2018, Wong and Strange witness Bruce Banner crash-land into the Sanctum and learn about the coming threat. Wong then informs Banner and Tony Stark about the history of the Infinity Stones. Shortly, Ebony Maw and Cull Obsidian arrive in the city and battle Wong, Strange, and Stark, with Wong defeating Obsidian by sending him through a portal. With Strange kidnapped by Maw, Wong stays behind to guard the Sanctum. Wong later survives the Blip and becomes the next Sorcerer Supreme by default.
In 2023, Wong is called in by a restored Strange to get the other sorcerers, the restored Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, the Ravagers, and the armies of Wakanda and Asgard to defeat an alternate Thanos' army at the destroyed Avengers Compound. Shortly after, Wong attends Stark's funeral.
Fighting Abomination and meeting Shang-Chi
In 2024, in order to train as Sorcerer Supreme, Wong facilitates Emil Blonsky's prison escape and battles him in an underground fight club while in his Abomination form by creating a portal through which Blonsky punches himself. Wong offers asylum at Kamar-Taj, but Blonsky decides to return to prison.
Later, Wong appears before Shang-Chi and Katy in a San Francisco restaurant and has them accompany him to Kamar-Taj, where he calls Banner and Carol Danvers via holographic projection. They learn that the Ten Rings are sending out a beacon to a location unknown. Afterward, Wong joins Shang-Chi and Katy to sing karaoke at a nightclub.