DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS Director Sam Raimi Talks Deleted Scenes And Longer First Cut

Much has been said about Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness' reshoots last year, but it's become commonplace for Marvel Studios to make sweeping changes to its movies with additional photography, so we really shouldn't be surprised that this was the case with this sequel as well. 

While we may never know how different the movie once was, director Sam Raimi confirmed during a recent interview with Collider that his original cut was quite a bit longer. That's not unusual, of course, but what's interesting about this is the fact that reshoots actually helped shorten the blockbuster. 

"I actually don't remember the length of [the first cut]. It was probably like two hours and 40 minutes, and it slowly came down even though we did the reshoots. We took out material even though the reshoots went in. So, it slowly got down to about two hours and five minutes."

Based on early leaks for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, it sounds like there are major scenes missing from the theatrical cut. For example, [SPOILER ALERT] it's widely believed that Bruce Campbell was cast as Balder the Brave, Thor's brother in a different reality. Whether that's something we see on the Blu-ray remains to be seen, but there will be some deleted scenes.

"I'm trying to remember what Marvel is including in the deleted scenes," the filmmaker told the site. "It's really going to be their decision, but I know that there are at least two or three deleted scenes that will be included. I don't know the full extent of them though."

The sequel is only just beginning to roll out into theaters, so it will be a while before any home entertainment details are revealed by Disney and Marvel Studios. It's not uncommon for the latter to hold on to deleted scenes for several years, so don't bank on seeing everything from this one quite yet.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is now playing in theaters!