It took me a while to come around the MCU. I’d seen a few of the early installments—when they were making Marvel movies without really knowing how big it would get, and the lack of planning showed—and at the time I thought they were somewhat fun, but mostly disposable. Then a few of the later additions like Black Panther and Thor: Ragnarok made me suspect that maybe it was all coming together into something greater than I’d initially thought. Finally I saw Doctor Strange, and they got my attention once and for all. Its trippy weirdness had me hooked.
Then a little while ago it was announced that the next MCU wave would include Doctor Strange 2: Multiverse of Madness, and that it would be the first horror movie to edge into the mix. Interesting…
…never a good sign when movies that are already in production replace the director…
Then it was announced that the original director, Scott Derrickson, had either quit or been fired or some combination of both. This did not bode well for the Doc’s sequel. Not only is it never a good sign when movies that are already in production replace the director, but Derrickson had been at the helm of the first movie and had done a bang-up job with its general bizarreness.
But then it was revealed that Sam Raimi—renowned director of The Evil Dead and Spider-Man trilogies—would be likely be taking over. And that is fantastic news.
Sam Raimi Is the Ideal Director for Doctor Strange 2
While Derrickson started the Doctor Strange movies off well, Sam Raimi will take the concept to a whole new echelon of weird perfection.
First of all, let’s consider the horror aspect of the situation. Raimi is considered one of the greatest living horror directors, having written and directed the likes of Evil Dead, Evil Dead 2, Army of Darkness, Darkman, and Drag Me to Hell. He’s also produced a number of modern horror flicks that have been well received, like Don’t Breathe and Crawl. Raimi is a master of horror, knowing how to build tension, create disturbing monsters and imagery, and even leveraging the typically over-used jump-scare to great effect.
Raimi is a master of horror, knowing how to build tension, create disturbing monsters and imagery…
Then there’s the trippy, psychedelic aspect of the Doctor Strange films. There are scenes in the first movie that could have been extracted straight out of an LSD trip (and probably were), and we should expect the sequel to be just as out-of-this-world. It is about the multiverse, after all.
And Raimi’s movies tend to be weird. Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness are both wacky to the point where they could almost be labeled as psychedelic horror films, and even his more “normal” movies like The Quick and the Dead tend to have a uniquely warped elements to them.
Finally, the fact that Raimi tackled the original Spider-Man trilogy suggests that he’s capable of translating his talents from the horror genre into the realm of comics. Yes, Spider-Man 3 was bad, but the first two installments offered big entertainment that would fit right alongside anything in the MCU lineup.
The Sam Raimi Tone Suits the MCU
In the end, it’s all about tone. The MCU leans hard on thrilling action pieces in which the tension is relieved by moments of humor (some would say that they take this too far, but I digress…), and it’s likely that Doctor Strange 2: Multiverse of Madness will leverage a similar concept with horror being tempered by laughs.
As anyone who has seen Evil Dead 2 knows, this is where Sam Raimi excels. His movies deliver the perfect balance of exciting horror and weird hilarity. And as he’s proven with his big-budget Spider-Man movies, he can certainly make the most of all the money Disney is sure to give him.
In other words, Doctor Strange fans should rejoice, because the follow-up is in good hands.
