For all the speculation over the secrets in the trailers for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the film's biggest mystery is ignored.
The trailers for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness have inspired a frenzy of theories, yet the mystery of how the Eye of Agamotto returned has been largely ignored. The mystic artifact that once held the Time Stone was apparently destroyed in Avengers: Infinity War, yet Doctor Strange still seemed to possess his trademark amulet in Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: No Way Home. Benedict Cumberbatch has also been depicted wearing the Eye of Agamotto in the trailers and posters promoting the upcoming Doctor Strange sequel, leading fans to wonder if an explanation will ever be offered.
The Eye of Agamotto is one of the most powerful items in Doctor Strange's magical arsenal in the comics, allowing him to see through any kind of illusion or deception. It is decidedly less powerful in the MCU, where it only seemed to act as a carrying case for the Time Stone. It is possible that the Eye of Agamotto has other powers unique unto itself, but none of Doctor Strange's appearances in the MCU confirmed this. Still, the question remains as to why Doctor Strange once again has the Eye of Agamotto in the Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness trailers.
Despite the Eye of Agamotto apparently being crushed by Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War, Doctor Strange has been seen wearing the magical talisman in his later MCU appearances. Some have speculated this may have been a continuity error, with the image of Doctor Strange wearing the Eye of Agamotto being as part of his costume being so ingrained into peoples' heads that the entire production team forgot he shouldn't have had it. This seems unlikely given the strict attention paid to these details in the MCU and the more likely explanation is that the Eye destroyed by Thanos was a conjuration and that Doctor Strange kept the real Eye of Agamotto, wearing it later out of habit even after it lost the power of the Time Stone. It is also possible that Strange remade the Eye of Agamotto simply because he liked the look of it. If the MCU Eye of Agamotto is as powerful as the one in the comics, it might even have reforged itself.
More complicated theories regarding the Eye of Agamotto have been created tying into the existence of the multiverse revealed in Marvel Phase 4. Some believe that Doctor Strange is wielding a new Eye of Agamotto taken from another Earth and that he may have sent it to his past self from some point in the future, explaining away the apparent paradox. Some have also theorized that the Doctor Strange depicted in his most recent MCU appearances is a Doctor Strange variant who never lost his Eye of Agamotto and that the Doctor Strange of the MCU might be lost in time and space, trying to return and deal with the imposter that replaced him. This possibility seems plausible since it is known that Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will feature at least one Doctor Strange variant.
It will be interesting to see if the movie will address this point and if the Eye of Agamotto is more than a fancy means of storing the Time Stone. If this is the case, it would explain why Doctor Strange continues to wear it apart from habit or simply because he likes the look of it. The answer remains a mystery to be pondered, like so much of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
