Chiwetel Ejiofor is excited to work with Sam Raimi on Doctor Strange 2

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

I was disappointed when it was announced that DOCTOR STRANGE director Scott Derrickson would not be directing the sequel DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS, but my disappointment was replaced by excitement when Sam Raimi, one of my favorite filmmakers, was brought on as Derrickson's replacement. So it makes sense to me that Chiwetel Ejiofor, who played the character Mordo in DOCTOR STRANGE and will be reprising the role in this follow-up, is also hyped about the choice of director.

Ejiofor is making the press rounds for the Netflix movie THE OLD GUARD, and while speaking with GamesRadar+ he said, 

I love Sam Raimi, so I'm very excited that he's making the second DOCTOR STRANGE. He brings to anything he does a wealth of imagination and passion. In this genre, he's just one of the seminal figures. I remember seeing DARKMAN when I was a kid. It was beyond, it's so amazing. So I think he has an incredible mind and I think he's really able to bring that mind into his storytelling in a really unique way, and it's very suited to the world that's been created by DOCTOR STRANGE, and I'm very excited to see what he does with that world."

It's cool to hear that Ejiofor is a DARKMAN fan. Raimi has previously confirmed to GamesRadar+ that he's a longtime fan of Doctor Strange, counting him among his top five comic book characters (and Doctor Strange was even referenced in Raimi's SPIDER-MAN 2), so this seems like a perfect match of director and material.

The screenplay for DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS was written by Jade Bartlett, and Michael Waldron (head writer on the Disney+ Loki series) was hired to handle revisions.

Benedict Cumberbatch will be reprising the role of Doctor Strange, and Benedict Wong is coming back as the character Wong. Cumberbatch's AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR and AVENGERS: ENDGAME co-star Elizabeth Olsen will also be joining the action as her super-powered character Scarlet Witch, as the story is tied in with her Disney+ series WandaVision.

Originally scheduled to reach theatres on November 5, 2021, the film had to be pushed back to March 25, 2022 due to the pandemic.