One of the many highlights of Marvel's Doctor Strange was the title character's trip through the multiverse, courtesy of The Ancient One. The incredible visual effects sequence gave both Strange and audiences their breathtaking first look at the many different dimensions and realities that exist within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While the sequences only lasted a few minutes in the final film, Visual Effects Supervisor Stef Ceretti says Strange's "Magical Mystery Tour" was originally conceptualized as a longer, seven-minute sequence
"The Magical Mystery Tour was a bunch of lines of The Ancient One telling Strange that the world that he knows is just a little piece of the world that really exists," Ceretti told Cinemablend. "So we tried to tie visuals to all these beats... there were tons of other things that didn't make it in the script, with relationships with his past. The Magical Mystery Tour was seven minutes long!"
Ceretti elaborated that due to the nature of the sequence, there was no real way to script it, opting to put together a reel with the editing team very early in production. "You can't describe it with words. And that's been the problem all along -- there was no way to write it in the script. It was a visual script that we did. I put together a reel, and then we put it together with concept art, the pre-vis guys put it together with concepts I'd taken, and made a story out of it. The editor came into the process early -- before we started to shoot. That doesn't happen so much. We started to edit the Magical Mystery Tour before the other sequences of the film. So we had the editor editing the film before we shot it!"
Ceretti also confirmed that all the material for the seven-minute sequence was filmed, so it might be possible we could see an extended version on the home video release!
Doctor Strange is now in theatres.
About The Author:
Matt is a graduate of the Ryerson University School of Journalism, and has been a fan of superheroes since he picked up his first comic book issue as a child. While he works as a professional musician, Matt has a massive passion for comic books, films and heroes, along with participating in discussion and debate with the CBM community.