Sam Raimi Details How He Agreed To Make 'Doctor Strange 2'

Even before his “Spider-Man” trilogy, filmmaker Sam Raimi arguably helped jumpstart the superhero genre with his Liam Neeson-starring flick “Darkman.” An R-rated take on the genre, the film came out a year after Tim Burton’sBatman” and years before popular mature comic book films like “The Crow” and “Blade.”

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The director is making a triumphant return to Marvel Comics adaptations with “Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness,” following Scott Derrickson’s exit from the sequel over creative differences.

During a recent chat with Collider, Raimi revealed how he learned the “Doctor Strange” sequel was looking for a new director through his agent and that the filmmaker’s name came up at Marvel Studios. Raimi said he was hesitant about making another big superhero film after experiencing the fallout of the poorly-received “Spider-Man 3” but eventually accepted the challenge because it would be a good challenge.

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“I didn’t know that I could face it again because it was so awful, having been the director of Spider-Man 3. The Internet was getting revved up, and people disliked that movie, and they sure let me know about it. So, it was difficult to take back on,” Raimi explained. “But then, I found out that there was an opening on ‘Doctor Strange 2.’ My agent called me and said, ‘They’re looking for a director at Marvel for this movie, and your name came up. Would you be interested?’ And I thought, ‘I wonder if I could still do it.’ They’re really demanding those types of pictures. And I felt, ‘Well, that’s reason enough.’ I’ve always really liked the character of Doctor Strange. He was not my favorite, but he was right up there with the favorites.”

Raimi also mentioned being a fan of Derrickson’s original film, “I loved the first movie, I thought [director] Scott Derrickson did a wonderful job, an incredible job. So, I said, ‘Yeah.’ They left the character in a great place. I didn’t think I would be doing another superhero movie. it just happened.”

The Multiverse will be a massive part of the film, and juggling many characters with various powers/motivations should be a challenge in itself. The project seems to be a continuation of story elements from “Loki,” “WandaVision,” and even “Spider-Man: No Way Home.” The latter will see Sam Raimi’s version of Doctor Octopus from “Spider-Man 2” return with actor Alfred Molina reprising the Spidey villain, among many other not-quite-confirmed cameos from past Sony “Spider-Man” films.

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“Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness” will hit theaters on March 25, 2022, and there is an expectation a first-look trailer will be released before the year’s end.