The release of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is almost here, and there is a lot to be excited about for the Doctor Strange sequel. From a multiverse of possibilities in terms of cameos to picking up plot threads left from WandaVision and Spider-Man: No Way Home, one element that has audiences excited is director Sam Raimi.
Raimi has a long track record through the years from the cult classic Evil Dead franchise, his original films like Darkman and The Quick and the Dead, to his Spider-Man films being beloved the world over. Marvel Studios even knows this is a big deal, as the director's name has been featured prominently in the film's marketing, which is a rarity for the franchise that tends to put the characters front and center. Sam Raimi is as much of a sell for audiences as the Professor X cameo by Patrick Stewart.
Yet, why exactly is Sam Raimi directing Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness such a big deal? After all Doctor Strange itself was a successful film, but it was not the breakout smash hit that Black Panther or Captain Marvel was, and aside from 2020, the character has made an appearance in one film a year (2016's Doctor Strange, 2017's Thor: Ragnarok, 2018's Avengers: Infinity War, 2019's Avengers: Endgame, and 2021's Spider-Man: No Way Home). Plus, Raimi's past three films Spider-Man 3, Drag Me To Hell, and Oz: The Great and Powerful received mixed reactions from audiences (though Drag Me To Hell did perform better critically), so even the director's luster may not be so high.
However, one need only look at Raimi's four-decade filmography and see that Raimi's involvement upgrades this film from just another chapter in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to a massive event film years in the making. These are some reasons why Sam Raimi directing Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is such a big deal.
Sam Raimi's Return to the Superhero Genre After His Spider-Man Trilogy
Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy is to many still the gold standards of the superhero film genre, with Spider-Man 2 regarded as one of the best. Even the mixed critical reaction to Spider-Man 3 has not taken away from the love the trilogy receives, and Tobey Maguire's return as Peter Parker in Spider-Man: No Way Home was met with rapturous applause from audiences. Raimi was set to direct Spider-Man 4 but had a fallout with the studio, and plans were scrapped in favor of rebooting for The Amazing Spider-Man film series (interestingly, Spider-Man 4 was set for release on May 6, 2011, and now 11 years later, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness opens on May 6, 2022).
Raimi directing Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is him returning to the superhero genre after being away for 15 years, and in his absence, the MCU has risen as the new powerhouse of superhero films. How and what the director who helped launch the genre in the 21st century will integrate and bring to the franchise that now defines it is extremely exciting, and fans can hope that Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will be just as spectacular as Raimi's first two Spider-Man films.
Sam Raimi Loves the Classic Marvel Comics
Raimi stepping into another Marvel heroes film, especially one in the MCU, seems like the perfect fit for the director. He has openly talked about his love for the early 60s and 70s Marvel Comics, which is apparent in his Spider-Man trilogy which drew heavily from the Stan Lee and John Romita Sr. era of the character. Before directing Spider-Man, Raimi had actually pitched a Thor film in the 1990s. Like Spider-Man, Doctor Strange is also a Steve Ditko creation (and Raimi even included a reference to Doctor Strange in Spider-Man 2).
Part of the reason Spider-Man 3 was so troubled was the studio forcing Venom, a character Raimi had no familiarity with and was created in the 80s/90s, into a film where Raimi favored more classic Spider-Man villains like Green Goblin, Doc Ock, and Sandman, and had plans for Vulture and Lizard. While the upcoming Doctor Strange film is set to include many modern elements of Marvel Comics like The Illuminati and America Chavez, the director also is allowed to play around with not just Doctor Strange but Scarlet Witch, who has been a staple of the Marvel Comics since the 1960s. Raimi is allowed to include many different Marvel superheroes, a dream come true for the director that he was unable to fully realize during his Spider-Man films.
The Multiverse of Madness Will Be Sam Raimi's First Film in 9 Years
While it seems hard to believe, it has been almost a decade since Sam Raimi helmed a film. While the director had consistent output in the late 80s, '90s, and 2000s, where he was busy with his Spider-Man trilogy, Raimi's last film was 2013's Oz the Great and Powerful. While the director has been attached to a number of films that have yet to make it to the big screen and has been an active producer on films like the remake of Evil Dead, Don't Breathe, and Crawl (and also television including Ash vs The Evil Dead), Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is his first film behind the camera in a long time, and for film fans that is a big deal. Something about this film captivated Sam Raimi to want to return to the director's chair.
Sam Raimi's Horror Background Is Promising
When Marvel Studios announced Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, they pitched it as Marvel's first horror film. When Scott Derrickson left the project, many assumed Marvel was backing down from this idea, but hiring Sam Raimi only showed that they were serious about the idea. Sam Raimi got his start with Evil Dead, a low-budget horror film. He later followed it up with Evil Dead 2, which amped up the comedy, and then Army of Darkness created a full-blown horror-comedy fantasy.
One of his latest films was Drag Me To Hell which was a mix of horror and absurdity. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness already seems to be drawing heavily from the Evil Dead films, with the Darkhold having many similarities to the Necronomicon from the Evil Dead films. Various monsters and demons appear in the trailer, but also given Raimi's flair for comedy in his horror films there is plenty of reason to suspect while there will be scares there will still be enough playfulness to make it enjoyable for all audiences.
Hiring Sam Raimi Defies the Preconceived Notions About Marvel Studios
Marvel Studios is the biggest franchise in the world, and with that has come some preconceived notions. A common one is that Marvel Studios restricts the creative freedom of the various filmmakers who create the films, strong-arming them into fitting an established aesthetic and tone leading to a sense of homogenization. While this claim ignores statements from Marvel directors who have said that the studio gave them a great deal of creative freedom, and ignores how much each filmmaker like James Gunn, Taikia Waititi, and Chloé Zhao have been able to put their own stamp on the Marvel universe, hiring Sam Raimi bucks the convention.
He is not a director coming off of a smaller film straight to a blockbuster, like Jon Watts or Cate Shortland, and he isn't a director with a television background like Alan Taylor or The Russo Brothers. Sam Raimi is a long working established Hollywood filmmaker with a clear style and carries a certain amount of creative clout. Marvel Studios hiring him for a movie, and also a sequel to an already established franchises, shows that the studios know what they are looking for and went after the best filmmaker for it. If Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has all the great camera work and rich color palettes of Raimi's past films, it will not be in spite of Marvel Studios but because they hired Raimi for the job and knew what they were getting.