It's been an interesting month for DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS; not only did original director Scott Derrickson drop out due to creative differences, but Marvel Studios also recently started negotiations with Sam Raimi (SPIDER-MAN) to take over as director of the sequel, a move which most fans are quite pleased with.
THR has now reported that a new writer will be taking over DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS, which has been billed as Marvel's first scary movie, and it's someone already involved with the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Michael Waldron, who is serving as the showrunner of Marvel's Loki series on Disney+, has been tapped by the studio to work on the DOCTOR STRANGE sequel, replacing previous writer Jade Barlett. Bringing in a new writer may indicate that the project could be going in a different direction, as THR mentions that just how scary the film was going to be may have been a source of disagreement. Loki, which will find Tom Hiddleston reprising the role, is set to debut on the Disney+ streaming service next year following the release of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and WandaVision.
As I mentioned above, DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS has been teased as the first horror movie in the MCU, which Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige and Scott Derrickson have both touched upon. "When I came and talked to [Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige] about doing a sequel, I said, ‘I don’t want to do just another sequel. If I’m going to do it, it needs to go into the territory that drew me into the Doctor Strange comics in the first place’ – which is how they dipped into the gothic and the horror and the horrific," Derrickson said while speaking at San Diego Comic-Con last summer. "And we’re going to make the first scary MCU movie." Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige also recently teased that the sequel will feature the debut of a few Marvel characters new to the MCU.
The next Doctor Strange film, for instance, features some new MCU characters which will be making their debut in that movie. You won't expect or won't guess who it is but we found a cool way to make it work because we want to make a particular type of movie there. And there was a character who we always wanted to do something with who will fit really well there.
The DOCTOR STRANGE sequel will see the return of Benedict Cumberbatch and Benedict Wong, with Elizabeth Olsen also set to star as Scarlet Witch/Wanda Maximoff. Rachel McAdams was expected to reprise her role of Christine Palmer, but recent reports have stated that she won't be back. DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS will hit theaters on May 1, 2021.