Xochitl Gomez is very much aware of the character she’s playing and what that means not just to the MCU at large, but to an entire community watching. The actress, who made her debut as America Chavez in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, however, still retains the childlike sense of wonder at seeing herself in posters. Remezcla spoke to Gomez about this in celebration of the 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD release of her debut film in the MCU and learned not just what it means to her to be here – but what she wants for the character going forward.
For Gomez, just being where she is is a dream come true, especially as she read for the part without even knowing what she was reading for. And then she got to come in not for a cameo, or a couple of scenes, but to play an integral role in the movie, opposite Benedict Cumberbatch, who Gomez had nothing but praise for. “The relationship that Benedict and I have is literally the same as America (and Strange), and I had lots of fun just watching him, honestly, because I was a fan of Doctor Strange, but also Sherlock Holmes and all characters he’s played,” she told us, adding that it was a joy to get to have a front row seat as Cumberbatch was transforming into all the different versions of Dr. Strange.
But one of the most interesting America-related things Gomez shared was about her outfit, or her jacket, in particular. Eagle-eyed viewers, particularly now with the movie available to stream and on DVD, have noticed all the little details in her jacket, which Gomez likened to a diary, telling us that “when you travel throughout the multiverse, it’s crazy.” Writing in a diary isn’t exactly feasible. So America just “wrote her memories and everything that she’s gone through on her jacket.”
She expanded by explaining that the little doodles and drawings in the jacket are something that she discussed at length with the people in charge of America’s wardrobe and that the idea behind it was that “if you’re traveling through the multiverse, you’re going to get lonely and kind of bored, so what are you going to do? You write poems, and you do little drawings and kind of do little diary entries,” and you do them in a place you know you will continue to carry with you.
Because the truth is, America is lonely. “She’s used to losing people,” so she keeps everyone at arm’s length. And the movie is really “her journey of trusting people and letting people in.” And that journey culminates in that beautiful moment at the end of the movie where she tells Stephen she’s glad she fell into his universe, something Gomez called “a perfect thing for them because they both needed someone to trust.”
Teaming up with Dr. Strange aside, the future of America Chavez in the MCU is bright, and Gomez would like to explore it – perhaps in Phase Six? As she herself pointed out, there are a lot of untitled projects in that Phase, and perhaps one of them might be Young Avengers-related. Either way, the future of the MCU is brighter and more diverse than it’s ever been, something that, for Gomez, is just …normal. After all, “all the superhero stories that we’ve loved for so long, they also featured female characters.” They also featured diverse characters.
“I’m just happy that there’s people of all kinds that can look at the screen and be like, there’s a superhero.” I see them. “And I relate to them, and I see myself being represented because they’re there.” Because that means “I belong with the superheroes now, too.”
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is now available to stream on Disney+ and to purchase on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD.