This theory is based largely on the six chairs that Doctor Strange approached in the trailer, as well as the all-too-familiar voice of Sir Patrick Stewart, who is presumably reprising his classic role as Professor X. A new trailer for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has revealed that the movie will include a zombified Doctor Strange, as well as Professor X.
The Illuminati icon on Tony Stark's phone in Iron Man 2 points to various concepts that Tony was toying with at the time, including his yet-to-be-used Mark 5 suitcase armor. The invasion of Earth in 2012 could have changed Tony's approach to creating a suit of armor around the world.
The Illuminati app is the only readable logo on Tony's phone in Iron Man 2 that wasn't visited in some capacity within that same film, and the other apps shown were all "upcoming" events and ideas, alluding to the Illuminati also being something that would soon.
The existence of The Illuminati would be a more positive scenario in which fans didn't know about it because they didn't need to know about it.
In Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Nick Fury revealed that Tony Stark helped redesign his helicarriers, so perhaps the Illuminati never came to be, because Tony ended up trusting him and SHIELD.
There is a good chance that Doctor Strange will form his own iteration of the group based on the ideals Tony Stark lived and died for.
If The Illuminati is revealed to have been hiding in the shadows for a long time, its roster would have to look a bit different, since most founding members haven't even made their MCU debut.
There is one glaring Easter egg in Iron Man 2 that may be brought back into the spotlight in Doctor Strange 2, and Sir Patrick Stewart's return as Professor X has fans ready for this big question to be answered: will Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness include The Illuminati's
The Iron Man 2 Easter egg teasing the group's arrival will either be connected to it or written off as a joke. The logo on Tony's phone was a tease of what was to come because he wasn't offered an official role with the organization until the end of the film.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness seems to be the best chance for the group to come to life.
Even if the Iron Man 2 tease is nothing more than a joke about Tony being at odds with the United States government, the formation of the Illuminati could still honor Tony Stark. It would be difficult to make sense of the 2010 reference since the MCU has grown so much since then.
Based on the most recent trailer for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, it seems that the Big City Sorcerer will encounter some form of The Illuminati along the way.
Her late-to-the-game assist in Avengers: Endgame and her quick appearance in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings are just a few examples of her popping up at the right moment.
Potential members of the MCU's already-existing Illuminati could be Nick Fury, who's certainly up to something secretive up in space, or Captain Marvel, considering her limited and still-mysterious role in the bigger picture thus far. Doctor Strange has only been practicing the mystic arts for a few years, so there is a lot of MCU history where The Illuminati could have been established prior to his emergence as a powerful sorcerer.
With that in mind, the question is if Tony Stark's tease was a seed planted for a reference to Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
A big explanation as to why fans haven't seen more than a tease acknowledging their existence since 2010 is if the app on Tony Stark's phone indicates that The Illuminati is a real group within the MCU.
It's difficult to come back to a reference like that when it's an Easter egg, since it makes the story more enjoyable. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness would have the chance to introduce the concept in its own way without having to reference past events.
What do fans think of the Illuminati Easter egg in Iron Man 2?
There is a good chance that the group that Strange encounters will consist of comic-accurate members from across the Multiverse, since Patrick Stewart's voice as Professor X can be heard in Doctor Strange 2's latest trailer.