‘Doctor Strange 2’: Sam Raimi Opens Up About Returning To Marvel

The return of the king!

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Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness director Sam Raimi recently discussed his return to Marvel.

The comic book movie landscape was very different back when Sam Raimi exited the Spider-Man franchise back in 2007. Now Raimi finds himself back in the director’s chair for another Marvel film a decade later for Multiverse of Madness and told AMC Theaters he never thought a Doctor Strange film would get made in the first place:

“He was like a second or third-tier character for Marvel. Obviously, their big popular names were Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, The Avengers, Captain America, Thor. And because none of those other movies were being made, I actually never imagined they would make a Doctor Strange movie. Just seemed far from possible.”

Sam Raimi also previously admitted that he hasn’t been keeping up with the ever-expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe despite helming Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and elaborated on that:

“I haven’t seen all the movies, all the Marvel movies because after making three of the Spider-Man movies, I had a little superhero overdose and I had to get away from them for a bit; but I saw Iron Man. I was blown away with the characters and the great direction. And then I saw the first Avengers movie and I thought they really are finally bringing Stan Lee and Steve Ditko’s great visions to the screen.”

Scott Derrickson was initially attached to return for the Doctor Strange sequel before dropping out, and Sam Raimi explained how he got involved:

“I heard that Marvel was in a jam and they, their director had fallen out, Scott Derrickson, due to creative differences and they had to shoot right away and the script needed work. And that’s the kind of job I like, with challenges. I thought it would be really interesting. So I wondered how making movies of that size had changed since I last embarked on one in 2013.”

Here is the synopsis for the upcoming Sam Raimi 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 from Sam Raimi, and subscribe to Heroic Hollywood’s YouTube channel for more original video content.

Source: AMC Theaters

Ryden Scarnato

Ryden Scarnato

Ryden's affection for all things DC, Marvel, and Star Wars has led him to entertainment journalism at Heroic Hollywood as a News Editor.