One of the big positive takeaways from Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was having visionary filmmaker Sam Raimi on board, as the director was able to inject his unique style into the Marvel Studios film. But that wasn't always going to be the case, as writer Michael Waldron shared that Raimi was originally hesitant to embrace his signature style.
Following the events of Loki and Spider-Man: No Way Home, Marvel Studios' Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, as its title implies, follows Benedict Cumberbatch's sorcerer hero through the alternate realities of the multiverse as he tries to protect teenager America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez) from those looking to steal her dimension-hopping powers. Raimi replaced director Scott Derrickson, who helmed the first film.
Whether it was his trademark transitions, injection of horror elements, or reuniting with iconic composer Danny Elfman, who collaborated with Raimi on his Tobey Maguire Spider-Man trilogy, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness served as a fresher entry than most MCU films. But that wasn't always going to be the case. Speaking to Polygon, Waldron, who had Raimi in mind when penning the script, revealed that the director was originally set on being a team player rather than embracing his unique style that many fans have come to love,
"I was totally writing with Sam in mind the entire time. I had watched all his movies. I tried to really get an ear for the dialogue in his movies, because I wanted it to feel like a Sam Raimi film," Waldron shared. "But Sam, to his credit, had no interest in coming in and just playing the hits. Sam did not come in and say, I need you to give me a zombie. And in fact, when I presented the idea of Dead Strange to him, there was a real hesitancy on his part, because he didn’t want it to seem like he was just saying, 'I want to do my Sam Raimi thing.'" But once Waldron and Raimi were able to see eye to eye on the overall vision for Doctor Strange 2, the two were all in. "So when we could justify it in that way, then Sam was on board. It was like, 'All right, now let’s have some fun, let’s really go all in.'"
Luckily, fans were able to see Raimi go through with injecting his style into the film, as many scenes, particularly one featuring a zombie version of Doctor Strange, were very reminiscent of some Raimi classics such as Evil Dead. While it's unclear if Raimi will return for another Doctor Strange film or a new MCU film in general, it's great that fans will always have Multiverse of Madness to relish in.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is now playing in theatres.
Source: Polygon