Marvel Studios Courts Sam Raimi to Direct Doctor Strange Sequel

Variety reports exclusively that Spider-Man trilogy director Sam Raimi is in talks to enter the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the director of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness for Marvel Studios.

The film’s original director, Scott Derrickson, left the picture in January due to creative differences, and will continue to serve as an executive producer.

Per the article: “This is something of a coup for both Raimi and Marvel, given Raimi’s reputation with comic book fans — 2004’s Spider-Man 2 is still widely regarded as one of the best superhero movies ever made. And with 15 features to his name as a director — including the beloved horror trilogy The Evil Dead, Evil Dead II, and Army of Darkness — Raimi is also the most established filmmaker to join the Marvel Studios fold since the earliest days of the studio, when Kenneth Branagh and Joe Johnston respectively directed the first Thor and Captain America movies in 2011.

“Since then, Marvel’s m.o. has been to hire talented filmmakers who’ve made just a few (or zero) features before, and nothing at a blockbuster scale, like Joss Whedon, Anthony and Joe Russo, James Gunn, Ryan Coogler, and Taika Waititi. Raimi, by contrast, comes to Doctor Strange 2 with his own distinctive visual style and decades of experience with making tentpole movies, especially featuring Marvel superheroes.”

Filming is slated to begin in May on the project, which has been described as the MCU’s first truly scary film that will tie into events from the upcoming Disney+ series WandaVision. The film is set for release in May 2021.