As we head deeper into Phase 4, it's becoming clear that Marvel Studios isn't shying away from tackling some riskier, edgier forms of storytelling. Moon Knight quite clearly has a very distinct horror vibe, and while Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness promises to take us to other worlds, Sam Raimi being at the helm all but guarantees the sequel will head down some scary new MCU avenues.
During a recent interview with Empire Online, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige explained that they hired Raimi for the movie because they "want it to be a Sam Raimi movie." He adds, "We would give notes like, 'This action is cool – you’re competing with Avengers and Spider-Man, no problem – but don’t forget the Sam Raimi parts.'"
Most intriguing, though, was the promise that, "You will see just how Sam Raimi it is, in ways that will make fans of Evil Dead II very happy."
We have to assume this is a reference to Marvel Zombie Variants of Doctor Strange and the Scarlet Witch factoring into in the sequel, though there have been conflicting opinions on what's going on there (Strange, at least, definitely appears to be undead).
It's been nearly a decade since Raimi released a movie (2013's underrated Oz The Great And Powerful), and Feige admits that he was unsure he could convince the filmmaker to make his big screen return. "Our executive producer, Eric Carroll, and Richie Palmer [producer] were calling around to see who was interested, and Sam’s agent said, 'What about Sam Raimi?'"
"We thought, 'That would be incredible, but there’s no chance of that.' But he wanted to come in and meet. And in the first meeting, it was amazing to reconnect with him, and see his enthusiasm to jump back into this world." Raimi, meanwhile, admits "I have missed directing" and notes that he's "thrilled to be working with my old friend Kevin Feige" (they collaborated on the Spider-Man trilogy when Feige was still rising through the ranks of what would one day become Marvel Studios).
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is set to be released in theaters on May 6.