We adore Scott Derrickson here at Bloody Disgusting and would have loved to see him return for Doctor Strange: In the Multiverse of Madness. With his abrupt exit a few weeks ago, we weren’t sure who would be a worthy replacement, but thankfully Marvel is staying in the horror family with their Doctor Strange sequel.
After several years of producing specifically for us horror fans, the great Sam Raimi is ready to step back behind the camera for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, reports Variety.
The site adds: “Benedict Cumberbatch is returning as the Sorcerer Supreme after his 2016 debut, and subsequent appearances in Thor: Ragnarok, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame. Benedict Wong and Chiwetel Ejiofor are also expected to reprise their roles from the original film as, respectively, fellow sorcerer Wong and Strange’s compatriot-turned-nemesis Karl Mordo. And Elizabeth Olsen has been tapped to reprise her role as Scarlet Witch, aka Wanda Maximoff, for a storyline that Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige has said will link up with her Disney Plus series “WandaVision,” which will debut in December.”
“Rachel McAdams, however, will not reprise her role as Strange’s colleague Christine Palmer.”
The sequel is billed as being the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first horror movie, although Marvel’s Kevin Feige had recently walked back that initial tease, saying that he “wouldn’t necessarily” call it a horror film but rather a “big MCU film with scary sequences in it.”
Derrickson has previously directed The Exorcism of Emily Rose and Sinister, which made him an exciting choice to tackle the dark side of the MCU. However, Raimi is a shockingly perfect replacement. From The Evil Dead to Drag Me to Hell, Raimi has directed some of the greatest horror films ever made before turning his attention to producing through his Ghost House Pictures. Lately, he’s delivered everything from Crawl to Don’t Breathe, The Grudge and the “Ash vs Evil Dead” series.
It’s been several years since Raimi has directed, and it’s also worth recalling that he broke new ground with his Spider-Man trilogy. It’s so damn cool that this time around he’s going to get to bring his roots directly into a Marvel movie.
For now, the film is scheduled for release on May 7, 2021.
What do you all think?
