Director Sam Raimi Is Racing to Finish ‘Doctor Strange 2’ After November Reshoots: ‘I Think We’re Done’
Samantha Bergeson
Not even Doctor Strange can speed up production.
“Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” director Sam Raimi hinted that there is still some uncertainty over wrapping production on the sequel film, starring Benedict Cumberbatch. The follow-up to Scott Derrickson’s 2016 film underwent “significant reshoots” in November 2021, according to Raimi’s recent interview with Variety.
“I wish I knew the answer to that question,” Raimi said of finalizing the film. “I think we’re done, but we just cut everything. We’re just starting to test the picture and we’ll find out if there’s anything that’s got to be picked up. If something’s unclear or another improvement I can make in this short amount of time left, I’ll do it.”
Raimi, who directed Columbia Pictures’ original “Spider-Man” trilogy starring Tobey Maguire that kicked off the MCU craze, added, “Marvel’s been a great team to work with. [They’re] super professional and have supported me every step of the way [but] one thing I know about the Marvel team is they won’t stop. They’ll keep pushing it until it’s as close to being great as it could.”
And Raimi noted that it was “so much fun” to witness Maguire reprise his original superhero role for the record-breaking “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” which “Doctor Strange 2” will follow.
“The audience I was with went crazy,” Raimi gushed. “It was delightful to watch Alfred [Molina] play his role, and Willem Dafoe, just seeing these guys take it to the next level. And Tobey was awesome as always. The best word I can say is it was refreshing for me.”
“No Way Home” also brought back former Marvel baddies played by Jamie Foxx, Thomas Haden Church, and Rhys Ifans, as well as J.K. Simmons playing J. Jonah Jameson across multi multiverses in both the Maguire and Tom Holland-helmed “Spider-Man” films.
Andrew Garfield additionally stepped back into his “Amazing Spider-Man” suit, teasing that he “lied to people for two years” to keep the “Spider-Man” mashup under wraps.
“It was fun to keep it secret, because you know when you’re planning a surprise birthday party for someone and they’re like, ‘I hate surprises. Tell me, is the party happening? No seriously, don’t mess around because you know I actually hate surprises,’” Garfield joked during “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” January 24. “So it felt like I was part of organizing a surprise birthday party for a bunch of people who would appreciate it.”
