The year was 2004. Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2 had just come out and was earning rave reviews. However, fans were in a tizzy over the Daily Bugle staff namedropping Doctor Strange. Even more exciting was that J. Jonah Jameson replied with: “That’s pretty good but it’s taken.”
Sixteen years later, Raimi has confirmed his involvement as the director in the upcoming Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Speaking to ComingSoon.net, Raimi talked about Doctor Strange and the Spider-Man 2 scene:
“I loved Doctor Strange as a kid, but he was always after Spider-Man and Batman for me, he was probably at number five for me of great comic book characters. He was so original, but when we had that moment in Spider-Man 2, I had no idea that we would ever be making a Doctor Strange movie, so it was really funny to me that coincidentally that line was in the movie. I gotta say I wish we had the foresight to know that I was going to be involved in the project.”
This is the first confirmation we have from Raimi that he has signed onboard as director after news outlets reported he was in talks in February. Fan are excited at seeing the legendary horror director bring his skills and scare tactics to the MCU sequel. Raimi hasn’t directed a feature film since 2013’s Oz the Great and Powerful, so let’s hope the man still knows how to make a good picture.
Personally, I’m hoping to see Raimi work his magic and convince Sony to let him borrow Tom Holland for the day so we can get a Spider-Man/Doctor Strange team-up moment. Maybe as a post-credits scene. Please, Sony/Marvel?
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is currently set to hit theaters November 5, 2021.
Do you think Raimi will be able to make the sequel darker and scarier than the original? What horror influences do you hope he injects into the film? Tell us in the comments!
