In early 2020, director Scott Derrickson left Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness over creative differences with Marvel Studios. This also opened the door for Sam Raimi to come in to direct the Doctor Strange sequel. Raimi previously directed the original Spider-Man trilogy, which ushered in the current age of comic book blockbusters. Regardless, Raimi’s experience while making Spider-Man 3 nearly dissuaded him from superhero flicks altogether.
During a new interview with Collider, Raimi admitted that he wasn’t sure about returning to superhero movies. Raimi also explained why he ultimately decided to do it.
“I didn’t know that I could face it again because it was so awful, having been the director of Spider-Man 3,” said Raimi. “The Internet was getting revved up and people disliked that movie and they sure let me know about it. So, it was difficult to take back on. But then, I found out that there was an opening on Doctor Strange 2. My agent called me and said, ‘They’re looking for a director at Marvel for this movie and your name came up. Would you be interested?'”
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“And I thought, ‘I wonder if I could still do it,'” added Raimi. “They’re really demanding, those types of pictures. And I felt, ‘Well, that’s reason enough.’ I’ve always really liked the character of Doctor Strange. He was not my favorite, but he was right up there with the favorites. I loved the first movie, I thought [director] Scott Derrickson did a wonderful job, an incredible job. So, I said, ‘Yeah.’ They left the character in a great place. I didn’t think I would be doing another superhero movie. it just happened.”
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will hit theaters on March 25, 2022.
Are you looking forward to seeing Raimi’s work in the Doctor Strange sequel? Let us know in the comment section below!
Photo Credit: Michael Kovac/Getty Images for STARZ/Marvel Studios
Recommended Reading: Doctor Strange Vol. 1: The Way of the Weird
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