Sam Raimi Being Eyed to Direct ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’

The modern superhero movie genre wouldn’t be as big of a franchise if not for him. In fact, we would have never seen a Spider-Man movie if not for Sam Raimi’s passion for the character. That being said, the Spider-Man and Evil Dead director is currently in talks to replace Scott Derrickson in Doctor Strange 2’s director’s chair.

Titled Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Derrickson described it as the supposed first Marvel Cinematic Universe film entry to have horror elements in it, but it seemed that Marvel Chief Creative Officer Kevin Feige wasn’t open to that idea. The director left the project early January, a crucial four months before production is set to begin in May. Derrickson remains attached as a producer for Doctor Strange 2.

Raimi is no stranger to the Marvel fore albeit concentrating his creativity for Sony’s Spider-Man franchise. Spider-Man 2 saw Tobey Maguire’s Spidey duke it out with Alfred Molina’s Doctor Octopus and is also regarded as one of the best superhero movies to date—paving the way for the MCU’s birth four years later. Raimi’s love for the character actually extended beyond Spider-Man 3, with the would-be fourth Spidey film focusing on establishing the Sinister Six. The director eventually had to abandon the project due to too much meddling from the studio. Aside from directing the original Spider-Man trilogy, Raimi’s Evil Dead franchise gained a significant cult following with a few sequels and a remake on the table.

Raimi returning to the comic book genre paints a positive track for Doctor Strange 2. It’s noticeable, though, how the MCU is somehow opening up to Derrickson’s horror-themed Doctor Strange once again. For one, Raimi has the chops to execute that vision with multiple projects set within the horror movie genre. If that was ultimately the case, then why part ways with Derrickson in the first place?

Doctor Strange 2 will see Benedict Cumberbatch reprise his role as the titular master of mystic arts. The movie will tie into the Disney+ Marvel series, WandaVision, which will have Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda Maximoff and Paul Bettany’s Vision live in an alternate timeline created by the events of Avengers: Endgame.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is set to hit theaters on May 7, 2021.

Variety first reported on the news.