Marvel’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness script supervisor says that “It’s going to be dark.” Jo Beckett posted an Instagram photo of Doctor Strange 2 director Sam Raimi and his crew on set in between scenes, with the caption, “It’s a wrap I’m going to miss this talented lot, especially Director Sam Raimi – a master of the craft and a creative force.” The photo was posted in commemoration of Doctor Strange 2 wrapping production back in late April, but fans on the Internet have zeroed in it, as excitement for the return of Marvel movies swells.
Fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe films know (at this point) that Kevin Feige and the executives at Disney aren’t looking to go full-horror with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Doctor Strange director Scott Derrickson (Sinister) didn’t come back for the sequel because he could not agree with the studio on the tone of the film (i.e., Derrickson wanted something scarier). As Doctor Strange writer C. Robert Cargill recently confirmed: “It was creative differences. [Scott Derrickson] wanted to do one movie, and Marvel wanted to do another movie.”
It seems clear that Marvel Studios chose Sam Raimi for Doctor Strange 2 because he is a filmmaker who has much more experience balancing horror with humor and action while keeping it all on the “safe” side of a PG-13 rating. Even Raimi’s 2009 horror film Drag Me to Hell managed to avoid an R-rating – even though the movie totally lived up to its flamboyant title. So far, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness‘s equally flamboyant title is about the only real indicator we have of what the film’s story will be, so Jo Beckett’s mention that this film is “going to be dark” is a sign of hope to a lot of fans that Raimi will still deliver the frights, within a Disney/Marvel framework.
Recent rumors about Doctor Strange in the Multiverse Madness have certainly left room for Raimi to fill this sequel with plenty of darkness. The villain of the film is rumored to be Shuma Gorath, an H.P. Lovecraft-inspired Marvel villain who exists as lord of his own chaos dimension, and looks for ways to invade and consume other dimensions. After the events of Avengers: Endgame word is that Shuma Gorath has his gigantic eye and hundreds of tentacles set on claiming the MCU; a young dimension-hopping girl named America Chavez (another Future Young Avenger) is apparently the Lord of Chaos’s target.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is scheduled to hit theaters on March 25, 2022.