Sam Raimi Directing Doctor Strange 3?
The Spooky Season is upon us, so what better time to learn that the director of one of the greatest horror franchises of all time has his next big gig lined up? This information comes from Jeff Sneider, the Hollywood insider whose blog, The InSneider, is responsible for some big scoops, like the cast of The Fantastic Four: First Steps (before it had that awful title) and Sigourney Weaver appearing in The Mandalorian and Grogu. Because of his excellent track record and his certainty about this piece of news, I’m not designating this as a rumor. (And since The InSneider is subscription-based, you can see the story on JoBlo.) According to Sneider, Sam Raimi will return to direct Doctor Strange 3 and is currently working on his deal with Marvel. Sneider says this is essentially a done deal, with Raimi having enjoyed working with Marvel on Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and wanting to collaborate with the studio again. As JoBlo says, Raimi’s next movie will be a horror film called Send Help for another Disney subsidiary, 20th Century Studios, in which Rachel McAdams is in talks to star.
I don’t know how a lot of people are going to feel about this, as Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is not looked on particularly fondly. I liked it, although I had some problems with it and wish certain things had been done differently. I was very happy that it dealt with the massive problem WandaVision created and made Scarlet Witch the villain, finally pointing out that what she did on the show was monstrous, and since nobody bothered to stop her – and, in fact, flat-out coddled her – she’d only gotten worse, with entire universes about to fall to her increasing power as she sought to murder an innocent teenager. It’s messy, and again, there are problems along the way (like how out-of-character it is for Doctor Strange to brush her madness aside in the beginning; I like what it was saying, but he was not the right guy to take that attitude). And one of the really great aspects of the film was Raimi’s clear influence as director, with some excellent bits of filmmaking ripped right out of one of his horror movies; Wanda pushing herself through puddles and mirrors like a demonic crab was exquisitely creepy. I’m more than happy to see Raimi have another crack at this corner of the MCU.
I wonder if this came about as a sort of consolation prize. If you’ll recall, a while back, Sam Raimi was rumored to be in contention to direct the next two Avengers movies, The Kang Dynasty (as it was titled back then) and Secret Wars. When Robert Downey Jr. agreed to return when the Avengers next assemble (as Doctor Doom, because Marvel is determined to give me a peptic ulcer), one of his conditions was that the Russo Brothers direct the films. This is a guess, but I wonder if Marvel offered to give Raimi Doctor Strange 3 instead of the newly-titled Doomsday and Secret Wars when they brought on the Russo Brothers. It fits, and since Raimi had so much fun with Multiverse of Madness, he’d likely be satisfied with another Doctor Strange movie. It also makes sense that Marvel wants another turn with the Sorcerer Supreme (for the love of God, Marvel, fix this Wong nonsense); Multiverse of Madness made more money than any post-Endgame MCU film that didn’t star Spider-Man, and Raimi directed it. And amid rumors that Marvel is course-correcting and leaving behind some of the loser heroes from Phases 4 and 5, Doctor Strange is one of the heaviest hitters still around.
My biggest questions are: when will this film come out – as in, will this be before Doomsday and Secret Wars – and who will be writing it? I assume Michael Waldron is out, which is fine, as while I liked Multiverse of Madness (and his Rick and Morty episode), I hated Loki. As for Doctor Strange 3’s position in the MCU, I don’t know. My immediate thought is that it will be before the Avengers films, but it could take place between them as well; it might be cool to keep Strange out of Doomsday and have him investigate whatever Doctor Doom is up to on his own before joining with the Avengers in Secret Wars. (In my mind’s wanderings, I daydreamed an ending to Doomsday that involved Strange, with a line that set up Secret Wars, because movie speculation encompasses about 84% of my thought processes) But whatever happens, I’ll be happy to see Benedict Cumberbatch’s Stephen Strange again; Sam Raimi guiding him along is a bonus.
Let us know what you think of Sam Raimi directing Doctor Strange 3 in the comments!
***
Get Your Geeks + Gamers merch here!
