Phase Four of the MCU has been a doozy so far, and there are a number of highly anticipated upcoming Marvel movies. Next up is Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which was rumored to be the shared universe’s most scary movie yet. Now Doctor Strange 2 director Sam Raimi has explained how much horror will be in the sequel.
Filmmaker Sam Raimi is known for his iconic horror movies like Evil Dead and Drag Me to Hell. And when he signed on to helm Doctor Strange’s upcoming sequel, there were immediately talks of his horror background being brought to the MCU. Raimi spoke to Fandango about just how scary the multiversal blockbuster will be, saying:
I think what [Kevin] meant, from my point of view, is that this film has a flavor of horror to it. I think when the original director, Scott Derrickson, and Kevin promoted the coming of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, they said that it was going to be the first Marvel superhero film that had an element of horror to it. I hope I'm not misquoting them. But even after Scott left the picture due to creative differences, that was still the mandate -- to make the first Marvel film that had an element of horror. So, I kept true to their original statements.
Well, there you have it. It looks like there will indeed be a horror influence in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. But rather than that being a concept that came from Sam Raimi’s mind, the higher ups at Marvel Studios wanted to see some scares in the sequel. Luckily they found the perfect director to bring this vision to life on the big screen.
Sam Raimi’s comments help to peel back the curtain on what it’s really like working within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While filmmakers are given some freedom to bring their vision to life, there’s also quite a bit of oversight from the execs. And when it came to Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, it was important that horror was factored into the storytelling.
Exactly how scary Doctor Strange’s sequel is remains to be seen, but there have definitely been some creepy images in the limited trailers. We saw a zombie version of Strange, as well as a bloody Wanda who looked straight out of Carrie. What’s more, both heroes are seemingly plagued by nightmares throughout the mysterious movie’s runtime.
Luckily for fans, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is nearly upon us, and is sure to answer the myriad questions and theories about what Sam Raimi’s scary movie will contain. Fans are especially eager to see the return of Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch, particularly now that she’s got new powers that were shown in WandaVision’s finale.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will hit theaters on May 6th. In the meantime, check out the 2022 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.
