‘Spider-Man’ Director Sam Raimi is currently in talks to fill the recently vacated director’s chair on the upcoming Marvel sequel ‘Doctor Strange 2’.
Raimi would replace Scott Derrickson who parted ways with Marvel due to that most beloved phrase of “creative differences”. Derrickson will however still be on board as an executive producer.
Benedict Cumberbatch will return as Stephen Strange, the good doctor-turned-master of the mystic arts, as will Benedict Wong, who plays his right-hand man, Wong. Rachael McAdams, who played Stephen Strange’s love interest, will not be returning. Elizabeth Olsen has been signed up 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’.
The film will begin production in May and there are not expected to be any delays when it comes to shooting. The search for a replacement is currently underway.
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‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ is scheduled for release on May 7, 2021.
The fourteenth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) was released in 2016 and directed by Derrickson, who also co-wrote it with Jon Spaihts and C. Robert Cargill. As well as Cumberbatch, Wong and McAdams the film starred Chiwetel Ejiofor as Karl Mordo, Michael Stuhlbarg as Nicodemus West, Benjamin Bratt as Jonathan Pangborn, Scott Adkins as Lucian, Mads Mikkelsen as Kaecilius, and Tilda Swinton as The Ancient One. In ‘Doctor Strange’, surgeon Stephen Strange learns the mystic arts after a career-ending car accident.
The film grossed over $677 million worldwide, and was met with praise for its visuals and cast, but also received criticism for the title character’s origin story.
Raimi was at the helm of ‘Spider-Man’ trilogy between in 2002 and 2007. He has also directed films such as ‘Drag Me to Hell’ and ‘Oz the Great and Powerful’.
