Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will see Sam Raimi make his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut and return to the director’s seat after a long gap of nine years. Raimi is famous for directing The Evil Dead and its sequel in the 80s and later gained international fame and recognition for helming the Spider-Man Trilogy (2002-2007).

Through the Spider-Man films, that starred Tobey Maguire, Raimi revitalized the superhero genre, as well as the character’s presence in a live-action format. His approach towards Spider-Man’s origins, where he comes of age in the first movie, deals with moral conflicts in the second, and then battles much darker psychological demons in the third, established Raimi as a visionary director. Raimi often creates a goofy aesthetic around his characters and uses cameras to add motion blurs and intercuts to give them a comic-like vibe. This art-inspired directorial style has certainly made him the man he is, which seems like is something writer Michael Waldron also realized.

Waldron has penned the screenplay for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, closely working with Raimi to get the project right. The writer, in a recent interview with SFX Magazine (via ScreenRant) revealed that he closely watched Spider-Man Trilogy to prep for the writing process for Multiverse of Madness. Waldron said that the films helped him understand Raimi’s directorial style and fit in elements that will suit his filmmaking within the screenplay.

[l] tried to identify his strengths, the stuff where he really excels, and work out how I could write toward that, the same way you would an actor.

Michael Waldron is Carrying a Huge Responsibility

Waldron, who also wrote the Disney+ original Loki, has a huge responsibility to cater to a global fanbase. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is a highly crucial MCU entry as it is what will pave a path for the franchise’s future that shall have more crossover stories like that of Spider-Man: No Way Home. But firstly, he chose to write it like a hardcore Sam Raimi movie and studied the latter’s approach towards the story and its characters. Waldron’s idea to write a film with inclusivity toward the film’s director’s vision shows that he wants to make Multiverse of Madness a legacy of all previous Marvel films while establishing as the origin story of the concept of the multiverse.


Sam Raimi returning to his comic book roots already hypes up Multiverse of Madness and knowing that Waldron has artistic elements drawn from the Spider-Man Trilogy into the screenplay further makes it enticing. Raimi’s Spider-Man Trilogy has recently become further significant after Tobey Maguire’s appearance in No Way Home, which has given some momentum to that leftover storyline. And now, Multiverse of Madness may make the X-Men franchise canon, as referenced by Patrick Stewart’s cameo in the movie.

The story of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is currently being heavily protected, but the trailers have created enough enticement for its release. The film is slated to release on May 6, 2022. Directed by Sam Raimi and written by Michael Waldron, the film stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Rachel McAdams, Benedict Wong, Xochitl Gomez, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Patrick Stewart.

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