“Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” is probably one of the year’s most eagerly anticipated Hollywood films. Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong, and Rachel McAdams star in the film, which is directed by Sam Raimi.
It is currently scheduled to premiere in the United States on May 6, 2022, and the early responses to the new addition to the MCU are flooding the internet, with film critics describing the long-awaited sequel as everything from “totally going horror” to “a mixed bag.” It’s good to see Sam Raimi returning in the director’s chair, as practically everybody seems to admit.
Directors’ Words on Making of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Samuel M. Raimi, famously known as Sam Raimi, is an American movie maker, director, and producer. He is well recognized for his work on the Spider-Man trilogy (2002–2007) and the Evil Dead franchise (from 1981 to present). He also directed Darkman, a 1990 superhero picture, A Simple Plan, a 1998 neo-noir crime thriller, The Gift, a 2000 supernatural thriller, Drag Me to Hell, a 2009 supernatural horror film, and Oz the Great and Powerful, a 2013 Disney fantasy film.
His first Spider-Man film was released on May 3, 2002. Now, after two decades, with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the director is prepared to take the superhero movie multiverse to another level. In April 2020, Sam Raimi’s involvement as director for Doctor Strange 2 was revealed.
Sam Raimi hadn’t made a film and attempted a superhero feature in 9 years before taking over ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.’ In a Rolling Stone interview, Raimi says, “It’s a really complex movie. It’s probably the most complex movie I’ve ever had anything to do with. Not just dealing with one character or even five characters, but multiversal versions of those characters — and each one has a storyline.”
Raimi also talks about the pressures of directing a film that serves as a sequel to three separate Marvel projects at the same time. “I think the hardest part was the time deadlines,” Raimi says while discussing the film’s challenges. “Not having the story or the script ready, being halfway into it and not knowing what the ending was. Michael was (Michael Waldron – the scriptwriter) trying to stay a couple of days ahead of us with the next page coming out of his computer printer, and it’s hard because you want to make sure that everything is supporting the whole—that the themes are running through the picture. But when you don’t quite know everything about the picture, it’s hard to do that job as effectively as possible.”
[Benedict Cumberbatch, the lead star of the film, told Esquire Middle East that “I think almost definitely it is the most frightening Marvel film of all time.”]
Ties to the Previous Marvel Projects with This Sequel
In Raimi’s “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” Benedict Cumberbatch reprises his title character. The film takes up after the events of “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” in which Doctor Strange opened up the multiverse and transformed the face of reality. As he goes throughout the multiverse to combat a new enemy, Strange is compelled to band up with old and new companions.
The new Doctor Strange movie is not only tied with Spider-Man: NWH but also some other projects of Marvel such as WandaVision, the tv series, What If, the animated series, and Loki, the tv series.
Spider-Man: No Way Home
When Peter Parker’s (Tom Holland) secret identity as Spider-Man is uncovered, he seeks Strange’s assistance. Strange casts magic against his better instincts to make people forget Parker’s true identity. A gap in space-time and the continuum is created as a result of Parker’s continuous disruptions of the spell being performed, allowing those from different universes who know Spider Man’s true identity to pass over.
WandaVision
In WandaVision’s second post-credit scene, Wanda was seen in a remote room gaining a thorough understanding of The Darkhold, a cursed book of magic, and Wanda’s newfound power will put her higher on the magical totem pole than Strange himself, according to Agatha Harkness. In the trailer of Doctor Strange in Multiverse of Madness, Strange isn’t approaching Wanda because of the events of Westview. Wanda has the potential to be the next villain.
[Elizabeth Olsen, one of the lead stars of this movie, told in Sunday’s press conference for the movie that “I think we all know who would win punch for punch.”]
Loki
In the ‘Loki’ tv series, we have seen an alternate version of Loki, who was brought to the TVA (Time Variance Authority), after stealing the Tesseract in Avengers: End Game. Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and Sylvie (Sophia di Martino) meet the real leader of the Time Variance Authority, the man known as ‘He Who Remains’, in the final episode of Loki Season 1.
He Who Remains proposes Loki and Sylvie take his place and keep the peace during their meeting, but Sylvie executes him nevertheless. There’s nothing left to prevent the timeline from splitting off now that the time dictator has died and thus the multiverse starts getting out of control. That’s how Loki sets up Doctor Strange 2 by showcasing the multiverse’s resurrection and emphasizing how frightening it is.
What If…
In Loki’s season one conclusion, the universe is created, and the animated anthology series follows it. The Watcher observes key events from the MCU in a unique way. In episode 4, after the death of Dr. Christine Palmer, Doctor Strange desperately started trying to get her back by traveling and discovering the dark dimension, ignoring the warnings of the Ancient One.
The Ancient One then divides himself into two different versions: one Strange and the other Strange Supreme. We can see in the trailer that there are 2 Stephen Stranges in Madness of the Multiverse.
Return of Professor X to the MCU
Patrick Stewart will reprise his role as Professor X in ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’, and it’s nearly official. In the final trailer, we hear a bald guy who sounds like Patrick Stewart. Despite the fact that we can’t see Stewart’s face this time, his voice is very distinct.
Furthermore, Stewart’s character, like Professor X, appears to be in a wheelchair when Stephen is brought to the Illuminati, in a recently deleted 10-second teaser dropped in Canada. The Illuminati of Marvel Comics is a group of some of the world’s most powerful heroes who make decisions that will impact humanity’s destiny behind their teammates’ backs. Professor X is a founding member of the Illuminati and that’s why we are pretty sure that we are going to see Professor X in this movie.
Kevin Feige’s Creative Retreat Following the Reunion with Sam Raimi
Kevin Feige is the president of Marvel Studios and has been the company’s Chief Creative Officer since October 2019. It’s difficult to deny Marvel Studios’ huge success, and it’s even harder to ignore that most of that success is due to Kevin Feige’s leadership.
According to Collider, Feige recently appeared at CinemaCon to announce that he will be going on a creative retreat to plot out Marvel’s next 10 years of projects. There was no other information regarding the retreat, such as where it will be held or what initiatives will be covered.
Kevin Feige is very happy to collaborate with Sam Raimi on ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’. The Marvel boss expressed his delight at working with Sam for the first time since the conclusion of his ‘Spider-Man trilogy and believes he gained a lot by observing the director at work.
In an interview with Rotten Tomatoes, Kevin said: “I spoke earlier about how everything we do in Marvel Studios is from the point of view of the audience – how do we make the audience feel one way or how do we evoke an emotion out of an audience?
A Quick Fact
‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ included an LGBTQ character America Chavez, who is likewise Lesbian according to the comic books. Saudi Arabia asked Disney to cut the LGBTQ scenes from the movie and upon the refusal from Disney, they have banned the movie to screen there.
