In what has now become an annual tradition due to Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness being delayed so many times, frequent Sam Raimi collaborator Bruce Campbell has posted a “spoiler” online which very quickly unravels due to today’s date. The Evil Dead actor posted a photo of himself in a make-up chair on social media, writing in the caption: “I always feel a little strange when I work on a Sam Raimi movie. #multiverse.” The accompanying photo features Campbell in poorly photoshopped make-up that makes him appear like HE is playing Doctor Strange, or perhaps more appropriately a variant.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Last year Campbell also posted an April Fool’s Day joke related to the Marvel Studios sequel, tweeting a page of the purported script to Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness which teased a cameo by Campbell as his Evil Dead hero, Ash Williams. Campbell and Doctor Strange 2 director Sam Raimi co-created the horror franchise with Campbell starring in the first three films, plus the TV spinoff Ash vs. Evil Dead. The joke scene featured Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange having a conversation with Campbell’s “Disheveled Man,” who is clearly Ash, even referencing a magic book, the franchise’s Necronomicon.
It has long been rumored that Campbell will appear in the upcoming movie, at the very least a cameo, since his long-standing relationship with Raimi has resulted in him making a cameo in multiple movies (including all three Spider-Man films that Raimi directed). The actor previously revealed that his scene may have been cut out though, revealing in an interview it may have hit the cutting room floor.
“It’s hard with the Marvel movies, it’s hard to even lie because I could be caught out as a liar in my lie. If I told you I think I’m not in it, I could still wind up being in it,” Campbell said on the Radio Labyrinth podcast last month. “They make about 86 of these movies at the same time, so even Sam Raimi’s had to film additional material that was not in the original script. ‘Because now we’re going to put Captain Stinko in, and introduce him at the end because we’re going to spin him off here.’ So they’ve always had to add and subtract as they go.”
Campbell added, “Even if I were to have done a pivotal cameo — because I only do pivotal cameos, and I can explain if you see it — we won’t really know the answer until May. If I were [Doctor Strange actor] Benedict Cumberbatch, I would be worried that I would get cut out.” Marvel’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness opens only in theaters on May 6, and it may or may not feature Bruce Campbell.
