One of the most highly anticipated Marvel Cinematic Universe movies of 2022 is Doctor Strange In the Multiverse of Madness. Originally slated for a March 25, 2022 theatrical debut, the upcoming Doctor Strange 2 was part of Marvel Studios’ recent rash of film delays.
It is now scheduled for a May 6, 2022 release, but marketing efforts for Benedict Cumberbatch (Doctor Stephen Strange) and Elizabeth Olsen’s (Scarlet Witch/Wanda Maximoff) next MCU installment are already beginning to ramp up following the success of Spider-Man: No Way Home.
The second Spider-Man post credits scene was the first trailer for Doctor Strange In the Multiverse of Madness — it featured a return to the WandaVision post credits scene’s Wundagore Mountain and thrilled Marvel fans.
Now, however, fans have noticed something strange (no pun intended) about a recent merchandise leak. A new LEGO set for the Doctor Strange (2016) sequel seemingly features the Marvel Comics villain known as Shuma-Gorath.
However, in this case, the box art suggests that the tentacled creature will go by the name of Gargantos.
This seemingly pointless name change frustrated some fans on social media, but it seems that there may be a very good explanation that has to do with copyright law. As Twitter user @UpToTASK noted:
After doing some research on ̶G̵a̵r̵g̵a̵n̵t̵o̵s̵/Shuma-Gorath, I get it but I hate it. The name “Shuma-Gorath” was first created by Robert E. Howard for Conan [Conan the Barbarian]. And yea, that’s a WHOLE problem that can be avoided by simply changing the name. UGH that SUCKS. But at least it’s him?
Marvel likely wants to avoid even the suggestion of a copyright battle with Conan creator Howard’s estate, as the works featuring the character and any adjacent characters are not yet in the public domain.
Furthermore, this isn’t the first time Kevin Feige and his team have made a name change to avoid a potential lawsuit. The “Quantum Realm” in Paul Rudd (Scott Lang/Ant-Man) and Evangeline Lilly’s (Hope Pym/the Wasp) Ant-Man films is referred to as the “Microverse” in the Marvel Comics universe.
The word “Microverse”, however, is already copyrighted as part of Hasbro Toys’ “Micronauts” franchise, so the MCU opted to make the name change. Presumably, that is what has happened with the villain now known as Gargantos as well.