Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is set to cause a great deal of change in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Now, director Sam Raimi has talked about the horror elements of the film, which were mandated by Marvel Studios.
Doctor Strange is back and will be once again dealing with threats way above what's necessary. Any time Doctor Strange is involved, it is usually something serious. The last time fans saw the sorcerer was in Spider-Man: No Way Home, where he had to fix the problems caused by Peter Parker.
When Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige and director Scott Derrickson first announced Doctor Strange 2, they told fans it would introduce horror elements to the MCU. Eventually, Derrickson left Doctor Strange 2 over the direction the film was taking, but Raimi told Fandango that the Marvel Studios still wanted horror to be a part of the sequel when he took over directing duties. Raimi said, "[...] 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."
Raimi made sure to respect the wishes of Feige, and also to pay homage to the original director Derrickson. "I think that's what Kevin means, because it is spooky at some times and scary at others," Raimi said. "It's unknown what you'll find in the multiverse. It's within that unknown that suspense and darkness exists. A tool to titillate the audience's fear. Plus, Doctor Strange in the comics has always dealt in universes and dimensions that were quite spooky, so we tried to bring some of that into this film."
It would make sense that this would be the film that introduced the horror element because of the nature of Doctor Strange and Wanda Maximoff's powers. The supernatural element and spooky thematic presence are going to help bring in characters such as Blade, Ghost Rider, and Moon Knight when they eventually all come together on the big screen like fans hope. Many fans would love to see a live-action Midnight Sons film for the characters that are going to be joining.
Marvel Studios' What If...? had an episode dedicated to an alternate version of Doctor Strange who went the wrong way, which resulted in a much darker variant. This episode was arguably the scariest episode out of the series, even more than the one based on the zombies and apocalypse. This was a nice segway to where it looks like they'll be taking Doctor Strange 2, especially since they'll be connecting both projects.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is slated for a May 6, 2022, theatrical release.
Source: Fandango