Spider-Man: No Way Home was a bigger success than perhaps anyone expected. In addition to the rave reviews, the Spider-Man sequel has grossed $1.8 billion worldwide, a big chunk of change to be sure. The film also helped to bring the multiverse into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, something which will continue in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, but will the Doctor Strange film be able to best Spider-Man?
While speaking with Empire, Benedict Cumberbatch teased that Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is a “big, big movie,” one that could perform just as well as the recent Spider-Man film.
It’s going to be an absolute riot. And if it brings off the level of ambition it’s got, we’re going to have a success on the level of Spidey. There you go, I’ll put my flag in the sand.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will find the MCU unlocking and pushing the boundaries of the multiverse as Doctor Strange traverses its mind-bending and dangerous alternate realities to confront a mysterious new adversary with the help of mystical allies both old and new. Although Doctor Strange helped open up the multiverse in Spider-Man: No Way Home, director Sam Raimi teased that Strange is “still learning about the multiverse.” One of the new characters helping him this time around will be American Chavez (Xochitl Gomez), a young woman with the ability to navigate her way through different realities.
“There’s a lot of reckoning,” Benedict Cumberbatch teased. “And a lot of self-discovery. Strange is almost a stranger to himself before this film unfolds and reveals what, essentially, is in his nature, that he then has to either confront or resist or fall into or become. There are some very bold ideas, and some extraordinary tests of Strange and encounters. There are some very unexpected conclusions.” In addition to Benedict Cumberbatch and Xochitl Gomez, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness also stars Chiwetel Ejiofor, Elizabeth Olsen, Benedict Wong, Rachel McAdams, and Michael Stühlbarg. The Doctor Strange sequel will hit theaters on May 6, 2022.
Will Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness be a Spider-Man: No Way Home level of success?