Doctor Strange 2: Why Loki's Head Writer Had So Much Fun Jumping Back Into The MCU With Sam Raimi
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Writer Michael Waldron has been on quite a ride in the Marvel Cinematic Universe recently. First he recruited to work within the superhero franchise as the head writer of Disney+’s Loki, and then he was brought aboard Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness to rewrite the script. The latter project is being directed by Sam Raimi, and Waldron had a great time working with the Evil Dead filmmaker on the Master of the Mystic Arts’ next solo movie.
CinemaBlend’s own Nick Venable recently sat down with Michael Waldron to talk about his work on Loki, but the conversation also turned to his soon-to-premiere Starz series Heels. At the time Waldron joined Loki, Heels, which Starz had previously shelved despite most of Season 1 having already been written, decided to put that back into rotation, hence why Mike O’Malley served as showrunner instead of him. Nevertheless, Waldron’s experience on Heels made him more comfortable writing for dramas, which helped informed Loki’s tone. When Nick asked if it was more satisfying going straight from Loki to Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, as opposed to having to wait a long time between the projects, Waldron answered:
Originally Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was going to be directed by Scott Derrickson, who helmed the first Doctor Strange movie. However, by early 2020, Derrickson relinquished his directorial duties due to creative differences (he’s still credited as an executive producer), and soon after, Sam Raimi, who previously helmed Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man trilogy, was tapped as his replacement. Clearly this worked to Michael Waldron’s benefit, but along with getting to spend so much time with Sam Raimi, he also appreciated the opportunity to work on a story centered on a tried-and-true superhero, as opposed to Loki, which chronicled a variant of the eponymous supervillain going on a redemption journey.
Along with the previously-mentioned projects, Michael Waldron also has plenty of comedy experience from working on shows like Community and Rick and Morty. When asked if his comedic background helped with going into the darker world of Doctor Strange, Waldron said the following:
It sounds like Sam Raimi and Michael Waldron made for an effective pairing, so it’ll be interesting to see how their collaboration on Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness turns out. Outside of Benedict Cumberbatch’s Stephen Strange visiting other realities, no specific plot details for the sequel have been revealed yet. The rest of the main cast includes Elizabeth Olsen as Scarlet Witch, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Mordo, Benedict Wong as Wong, Rachel McAdams as Christine Palmer and Xochitl Gomez as America Chavez, and Tom Hiddleston will reportedly reprise Loki as well.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will cast its spell in theaters on March 25, 2022. In the meantime, you can catch Michael Waldron’s Heels work on display when the show premieres Sunday, August 15 at 9 pm ET on Starz. Don’t forget that Loki Season 1 is also available to watch in its entirety on Disney+, so make sure you’re subscribed to the streaming service.
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Connoisseur of Marvel, DC, Star Wars, John Wick, MonsterVerse and Doctor Who lore, Adam is a Senior Content Producer at CinemaBlend. He started working for the site back in late 2014 writing exclusively comic book movie and TV-related articles, and along with branching out into other genres, he also made the jump to editing. Along with his writing and editing duties, as well as interviewing creative talent from time to time, he also oversees the assignment of movie-related features. He graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in Journalism, and he’s been sourced numerous times on Wikipedia. He's aware he looks like Harry Potter and Clark Kent.