It’s clear that Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was drastically altered by reshoots, but Sam Raimi’s distinct visual style is still seeping out of every frame. The balance between the filmmaker’s unique sensibilities and penchant for horror doesn’t always mesh will with the constraints of a PG-13 Marvel Cinematic Universe blockbuster, so it’s easy to understand why a lot of footage ended up on the cutting room floor.
Despite initially being posted by stunt performer Liang Yang way back at the beginning of July, a deleted behind-the-scenes video showcasing a stunt sequence that didn’t make the theatrical version of the Doctor Strange sequel has now gone viral, even if it’s very easy to see why it didn’t get past the censors – if it was even filmed in its entirety at all.
The obvious instance is that Wanda Maximoff decapitates a Kamar-Taj resident and then puppeteers their headless corpse to fight against several other sorcerers in training, but that still hasn’t stopped fans from questioning why it was removed from the film.
An R-rated cut of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness would no doubt be a thing of terrible, terrifying, beauty, but it’s not as if the top brass at Disney or Marvel would sit there and watch a scene that features geysers of blood, heads being lopped off, and all sorts of dismemberment, only to give it a hearty thumbs up.
$955 million at the box office underlines why the frenetic showdown was ultimately scrapped, but we’d be lying if we said it wasn’t something we’d love to see happen for real with all the bells and whistles that come with a $200 million production.