Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness: Bruce Campbell Offers Update on New Film

When news broke earlier this year that Sam Raimi would be taking over as director of Doctor [...]

By Patrick Cavanaugh

When news broke earlier this year that Sam Raimi would be taking over as director of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness from Scott Derrickson, fans immediately began to speculate about whether the filmmaker would enlist some of his regular collaborators, with Bruce Campbell offering the update that, whatever could be in store for the film and his involvement, the various release date delays caused in the Marvel Cinematic Universe due to the coronavirus pandemic has complicated the future of all films in the franchise. Sadly, the actor didn't reveal whether or not he would personally be involved or in what capacity, but offering any insight into the process of developing the franchise would seemingly hint that he's been in talks with Raimi to some degree.

"For Doctor Strange, everyone is at the mercy of what Marvel is going to do and this backlog of movies they're going to do now," Campbell shared with Diabolique Magazine. "So, I think it won't be until 2021. Marvel has to figure this all out. They have to figure out what movies they are going to do next, what movies they are going to delay, what movies they are going to sh-tcan, what movies they are going to advance and speed up…the marketplace is ever fluid."

Raimi and Campbell's first feature-film collaboration came in 1981 with The Evil Dead, with the pair going on to make two official sequels and the sequel TV series Ash vs. Evil Dead. The pair also produced the 2013 Evil Dead reboot and will serve as producers on the upcoming film, Evil Dead Rise.

While horror fans might be most familiar with Raimi's Evil Dead films, he made a major breakthrough in 2002 with the first live-action Spider-Man film, with the filmmaker also going on to direct its two sequels. Campbell scored cameos in all three films, with his first installment seeing him as the ring announcer who officially deemed Peter Parker the "Amazing Spider-Man."

Fans can likely expect Campbell to show up in some capacity in the new Doctor Strange, but we shouldn't expect him to become a full-fledged superhero or supervillain, as the actor previously detailed what discourages him about such roles.

"Big blockbuster movies, whenever I see an actor get cast in one of those, I wince, because I go, 'Oh, that poor son of a bitch is going to be in that suit for 10 years,'" Campbell shared with ComicBook.com back in 2018. "If shooting schedule's seven months of shooting, you get your one month in the Bahamas, and then you're promoting for three months, then you go right back to the next sequel, back in that same f-cking suit.'"

He added, "You're looking at tennis balls on sticks. So, that process is actually not for me, even though Ash vs. Evil Dead was all that. It was all marks on walls, tennis balls on sticks, the monster's going to be here, noise over here, you know, that sort of stuff, it's a different type of acting, and modern day actors are learning new technical skills that the old-timey actors didn't have to learn. Acting with nothing. That's what they're doing now. Castle's not even there. 'Oh, we're going to put a great castle behind you. It's not there now, but it's going to be amazing.'"

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness hits theaters on March 25, 2022.

What do you think of Campbell's remarks? Let us know in the comments below!

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