‘Doctor Strange 2’ Rating Confirms Marvel’s First Horror Film Is Set To Scare

The film includes "frightening images."

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness Benedict Cumberbatch

The official rating for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is accompanied by warnings that suggest the film is ready to delve into frightening new territory for the MCU.

Since it was first announced, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has been billed as the MCU’s “first horror film” by Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige. While unsettling imagery has certainly persisted throughout the film’s trailers, fans’ focus seems to have drifted away from the film’s bold genre claim and towards the countless possibilities introduced by the film’s multiversal premise. The exploration of various alternate universes has apparently opened the door for the return of Patrick Stewart’s Professor X from the pre-MCU X-Men franchise, possibly amongst other returning Marvel stars.

Despite the growing excitement for the film’s countless potential cameos and multiversal surprises, the warnings accompanying the film’s official rating reaffirm its place as Marvel’s first horror movie. While Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is rated PG-13 in the United States, as has been the case for all MCU movies to date, the Motion Picture Association notes the rating has been based on “intense sequences of violence and action, frightening images and some language.”

The mention of “frightening images” is unusual for an MCU movie and suggests that Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness‘s director, Sam Raimi, will be fully embracing his horror background. Trailers have hinted at the horror tones of the film, with shots of Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange staring at a desolate and crumbling Sanctum Sanctorum on a field of skulls, Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda Maximoff scarred and drenched in blood, and a look at a zombified Doctor Strange. Marvel is clearly ready to enter dark new territory.

Here is the synopsis for the upcoming film:

The MCU unlocks the Multiverse and pushes its boundaries further than ever before. Journey into the unknown with Doctor Strange, who, with the help of mystical allies both old and new, traverses the mind-bending and dangerous alternate realities of the Multiverse to confront a mysterious new adversary.

Directed by Sam Raimi from a script written by Michael Waldron, the Marvel movie stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Elizabeth Olsen, Benedict Wong, Xochitl Gomez, with Michael Stuhlbarg, Rachel McAdams, and Patrick Stewart.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness hits theaters on May 6, 2022. Stay tuned for all the latest news on the upcoming Marvel film, and subscribe to Heroic Hollywood’s YouTube channel for more original video content.

Source: Film Ratings