Umar had been advocated as an addition to the films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) from before the release of the 2016 "Doctor Strange" feature film. The success of that film prompted speculation and suggestions on which villains should have been selected for that film's sequel. That November, Den of Geek! published a list of characters desired for the second "Doctor Strange" film. Contributor Marc Buxton included Umar, whom he named as the "nastiest" of Strange's enemies, comparing her to Cersei Lannister of the "Song of Ice and Fire" novel series. Buxton observed that while Dormammu represents raw power, Umar exhibits "guile and malevolent intelligence" and suggested that making her a film's antagonist would provide for an "epic" story. In March 2019, Ben Sherlock, writing for CBR.com, included Umar in that website's list of "9 Powerful Doctor Strange Villains We Hope To See In The MCU". Sherlock argued that the use of Dormammu in the 2016 "Dr. Strange" film would make appearances by his sister easy. Sherlock suggested that Strange's defeat of Dormammu at the end of that film would provide a revenge motive for Umar, and might lend itself to a personal and more intimate conflict than the one in the 2016 film. Sherlock also pointed out that this would increase address the dearth of female villains in the series, and that setting such a story in an otherworldly realm would avoid the question that occurs in MCU solo movies of why the protagonists do not contact their Avengers allies for assistance. Other outlets have called for the introduction of Umar into the film series as well, including Digital Spy, and Cinema Blend, which stated that Umar's introduction would also provide an avenue for the introduction of Clea. That same year, Marvel Studios producer Kevin Feige stated that glimpses of the Dark Dimension would be a part of the plot to that sequel.