The sequel to the 2016 film Doctor Strange has been in the works for years, although directorial changes and the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the filming. With filming concluded now, however, fans are eager to see how Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness fits in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
Elizabeth Olsen, who will reprise her role of Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch in the film, said in an interview that Doctor Strange sequel director Sam Raimi wants the film to be the scariest one in the more than two dozen MCU movies.
“It was really hard. Sam Raimi is lovely, and I got to learn a lot from him. It was odd going from WandaVision and bringing this character to a different film that felt more based in the Marvel films.
I felt like I was putting on old shoes…It’s a very scary movie. It’s old Sam Raimi. They’re trying to create the scariest Marvel movie. So there’s that!”
As one might expect, the MCU hasn’t really dabbled much in horror, so it may not be too large of a task for Raimi to pull off. When Kevin Feige, the president of Marvel Studios, spoke about the film in late 2019, he said the movie did not really fit into the horror genre but that it would have some scary parts. That may have changed when Scott Derrickson, who was the director at the time of Feige’s comments, stepped down and was ultimately replaced by Raimi.
Raimi is possibly best known as the creator of the supernatural horror film series Evil Dead, as well as directing the Spider-Man trilogy starring Tobey Maguire. The upcoming Doctor Strange movie will be the first Raimi has directed since the 2013 film Oz the Great and Powerful.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is set to release in the United States on March 25, 2022.