Earlier this year a surprising victim of “creative differences” was made when it was revealed that Marvel Studios and Doctor Strange director Scott Derrickson had parted ways while developing the upcoming sequel, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Just one month later it was reported that none other than Spider-Man’s Sam Raimi had been tapped to direct the film, marking an exciting director to be added to the Marvel Studios fold. Marvel never officially confirmed Raimi’s involvement with the movie (in fact Marvel.Com still lists Derrickson as the director), but Raimi himself has now confirmed the news!
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Speaking on a conference call with ComicBook.com and other journalists, Raimi was asked about the scene in his film Spider-Man 2 that name-drops Doctor Strange. The director went on to talk about his adoration for the character and confirmed he’s working on the sequel.
“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,” Raimi said. “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.”
To his credit, Derrickson himself had nothing but high praise for Raimi when it was revealed that he would be replacing him as the director of the sequel, writing on Twitter earlier this year: “I’ve worked with Sam Raimi. One of the nicest people I’ve known in the film business, and as a director, a true living legend. What a great choice to take over Doctor Strange.”
Production on the Doctor Strange sequel was originally set to kick-off just a few weeks from now, but due to the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus Marvel Studios and The Walt Disney Company have paused all productions and even delayed the entire Phase Four slate of MCU movies. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was previously set to arrive in May of 2021 and is now scheduled to hit theaters November 5, 2021.
We’ve yet to hear much about what the Doctor Strange sequel will feature, though a previously released synopsis teases both the return of the Time Stone as well as Chiwetel Ejiofor’s Baron Karl Mordo. You can see that below.
“After the events of Avengers: Endgame, Dr. Stephen Strange continues his research on the Time Stone. But an old friend turned enemy seeks to destroy every sorcerer on Earth, messing with Strange’s plan and also causing him to unleash an unspeakable evil.”
