A fan of the character portrayed by Benedict Cumberbatch, the director has taken charge of the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe sequel 'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness'.
- October 2, 2021
AceShowbiz - Filmmaker Sam Raimi ruled out ever returning to the superhero genre after the disappointing reception to "Spider-Man 3".
The director has taken charge of the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) sequel "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness", but admits he was wary of tackling the genre once more following the lukewarm reaction to the 2007 conclusion of his "Spider-Man" trilogy.
Sam told the Collider website, "I didn't know that I could face it again because it was so awful, having been the director of 'Spider-Man 3'. The Internet was getting revved up and people disliked that movie and they sure let me know about it. So, it was difficult to take back on."
He continued, "But then, I found out that there was an opening on 'Doctor Strange 2'. My agent called me and said, 'They're looking for a director at Marvel for this movie and your name came up. Would you be interested?' "
"And I thought, 'I wonder if I could still do it.' They're really demanding, those types of pictures. And I felt, 'Well, that's reason enough.' "
Sam replaced Scott Derrickson - who had directed the first movie in 2016 - and was keen to take on a project involving one of his top characters, who is portrayed onscreen by Benedict Cumberbatch.
The "Evil Dead" creator said, "I've always really liked the character of Doctor Strange. He was not my favorite, but he was right up there with the favorites."
"I loved the first movie, I thought Scott Derrickson did a wonderful job, an incredible job. So, I said, 'Yeah'. They left the character in a great place. I didn't think I would be doing another superhero movie, it just happened."
