In seven weeks, the excruciating wait for Marvel Cinematic Universe fans will finally be over when Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness comes to theaters, and it’s been a hell of a journey to get to this point.
Benedict Cumberbatch’s second solo outing was initially announced in late 2018, with Scott Derrickson set to direct. However, he ended up dropping out of the project, before a more than suitable replacement was found in the form of Sam Raimi, making his return to the Marvel sandbox for the first time since his Spider-Man franchise was cut short.
Multiverse of Madness was originally scheduled for release in May 2021, before the pandemic saw it pushed back by an entire year. If that wasn’t enough, COVID-19 had a huge impact on the production process itself, and that’s without even mentioning the extensive and wide-ranging reshoots that may or may not still be ongoing.
With that in mind, it comes as absolutely no surprise that Cumberbatch admitted to Deadline that he’d had a pretty tough time on the Sorcerer Supreme’s sequel.
“It’s been tough. I’ll be honest with you. It’s had quite a journey, this film. But not in a kind of poor me way, just like the nature of where we’re at. To try and make a massive film like that under the constrictions of a pandemic and the delays that have ensued, partly because of The Power of the Dog, but also because of everything that was lined up and had to be pushed back from Marvel.
It’s been tough for everyone. Also, incredibly enjoyable and no less enjoyable than the first one. So, I hope the results are as good, but yeah, I think it can’t be underestimated. It’s really… This is a film that has a lot of resources. It’s nothing compared to the struggles of live performance. It’s really, it’s tough, but very rewarding, very fun.”
On the plus side, everything we’ve seen so far has made Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness out to be a can’t-miss blockbuster that takes the MCU into new territory, so we’re confident it’ll all be worth it in the end.