We've learned tonight that Sam Raimi will replace Scott Derrickson as director of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first horror-esque movie, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness! Of course, we were bummed to hear of the Sinister director's abrupt departure a few weeks ago, but Marvel has very surprisingly kept it in the horror family and we couldn't think of a better replacement! It's quite a magical turn of events if I do say so myself!
Raimi's last horror-based directorial credit was "Ash vs. Evil Dead" in 2015, since then, he's produced a multitude of genre films, including Poltergeist, Don’t Breathe, Crawl and The Grudge, but it's great to find out he'll be returning to the director's chair very soon!
Variety reports that "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."
The site adds: "Rachel McAdams, however, will not reprise her role as Strange’s colleague Christine Palmer."
It's been said that Derrickson will remain on board as an executive producer, with the film expected to begin shooting in May.
As Lucas previously stated, following a box office take of an estimated $677 million, this second offering of the titular doctor had the promise of more horror elements, with Derrickson going as far as to say he would "be making the first scary MCU film."
Enter Kevin Feige, the president of Marvel Studios and de facto creative director for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, who went on record at a speaking engagement at the New York Film Academy saying that the scary moments of the film would be reminiscent of those in Gremlins and Indiana Jones, films that Feige argued "invented the PG-13 rating, after all."
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is scheduled for release on May 7th, 2021.
