Marvel Studios has tapped Michael Waldron to rewrite Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Waldron is the head writer on Marvel's upcoming Disney+ series Loki. He has also written for the animated cult classic Rick and Morty. The news comes after it was reported that Sam Raimi has been brought in to take over directing duties from Scott Derrickson, who left the project a few weeks ago, citing creative differences with the studio. Derrickson later went on to publicly endorse Raimi for the gig.

Michael Waldron has been brought on to take over for Jade Bartlett who was the previous writer on Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. When Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige first officially announced the sequel, Scott Derrickson revealed that it was going to be the first Marvel Cinematic Universe project to have some major horror elements. However, while it has not been confirmed, it's believed that the horror elements may have been what caused the rift between Derrickson and the studio.

It has been rumored that Scott Derrickson wanted to fully embrace the horror element of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and that Marvel Studios didn't want to go too far into it. Sam Raimi directed Sony's Spider-Man trilogy in the early 2000s and is arguably best-known for his work on The Evil Dead franchise. With that being said, it will be interesting to see how much of a horror element remains in the movie now. Doctor Strange contained a decent amount of darkness and left the door open for plenty more, but we'll just have to wait and see what happens with the rewrite and new director.

Marvel Studios has not yet announced if Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will be delayed. Production was set to begin this spring, but with a new director and writer, it would seem that a delay would be inevitable. The studio has plenty of projects in development, so fans aren't really going to be missing out. However, MCU fans have been waiting a long time to see the sequel. Plus, the horror element was a big selling point for a lot of those fans, who may be disappointed now.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness still has a release date of May 7th, 2021. As for Michael Waldron is concerned, this just goes to show how much faith Marvel Studios has in him. It also bodes well for the Loki Disney+ series, which will premiere in early 2021. It's important to note that Marvel Studios has not yet confirmed that Sam Raimi will be taking on the directing gig, though with Scott Derrickson talking about it on social media, it sure seems like it's a done deal. The Hollywood Reporter was the first to reveal the Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness writer news.