By Update: Longtime Raimi collaborator Bruce Campbell took to Twitter shortly after news broke of Raimi’s involvement with Multiverse of Madness being confirmed. The Tweet, embedded below, alludes to Campbell’s own involvement with the project, possibly as a part of the cast. This is purely speculative at this time.
Huh. Surely, there must be SOME character to challenge the good Doctor… https://t.co/1ZTpfoE3te
— Bruce Campbell (@GroovyBruce) April 15, 2020
The original story is as follows:
It’s been a hopeful rumor for a little while now, but until today Sam Raimi’s involvement with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has been just that: a rumor. Hold your breath no longer, for Raimi has confirmed–albeit in an extremely nonchalant manor–today that he is indeed working on the MCU sequel.
Speaking to Coming Soon, Raimi offhandedly reaffirmed the rumors that he is indeed involved with the upcoming, horror-tinged sequel. Who better for extra-dimensional-weirdness? In the interview Raimi’s 2004, pre-MCU film Spider-Man 2 comes up, and its minor reference to Stephen Strange’s not-so-secret moniker.
The full quote is as follows:
“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 described. “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.”
And so it would seem all those Hollywood negotiations ended amicably. Doctor Strange director Scott Derrickson dropped out of the sequel back in January, citing creative differences.
Like nearly every film production, Multiverse of Madness has had its photography halted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but is still slated for release November 5, 2021.
Sam Raimi Off-Handedly Confirms He’s Directing ‘Doctor Strange 2’ [Collider]