Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is an upcoming American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Doctor Strange. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is intended to be the sequel to "Doctor Strange" (2016) and the 28th film of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film is directed by Sam Raimi from a script written by Jade Bartlett and Michael Waldron, and stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Stephen Strange, alongside Elizabeth Olsen, Benedict Wong, Rachel McAdams, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Xochitl Gomez. In the film, Strange unleashes an unspeakable evil as he faces a friend-turned-enemy.
"Doctor Strange" director and co-writer Scott Derrickson had plans for a sequel by October 2016. He signed to return as director in December 2018, when Cumberbatch was confirmed to return. The film's title was announced in July 2019 along with Olsen's involvement, while Bartlett was hired to write the film that October. Derrickson stepped down as director in January 2020, citing creative differences. The next month, Waldron joined the project, and Raimi took over as director by April 2020. Filming began in November 2020 in London but was put on hold in January 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Production resumed by March 2021 and concluded in mid-April in Somerset. Shooting also occurred in Surrey.
"Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" is scheduled to be released in the United States on March 25, 2022, as part of of the MCU.
Premise.
After the events of "" (2019) and "WandaVision" (2021), Dr. Stephen Strange's continuing research on the Time Stone is hindered by a friend-turned-enemy, resulting in Strange unleashing unspeakable evil.
Cast.
Additionally, Jon Prophet plays "New Yorker 616".
Production.
Development.
"Doctor Strange" (2016) co-writer C. Robert Cargill stated in April 2016 that Marvel Studios felt some initial ideas for the film from him and director Scott Derrickson highlighted too much of the "weird stuff" associated with the comic book character Doctor Strange to feature in an origin story, but told the duo to hold onto them for potential future films. Derrickson revealed in October that he had plans for a sequel, expressing his love for the character and visual possibilities, and said the first film was "the tip of an iceberg. There's so much progress that can be made." He wanted to follow the example of "The Dark Knight" (2008) and introduce a villain in the sequel that would allow them to "go deep [and have] a more visceral experience". Star Benedict Cumberbatch added that he had signed on for at least one more Doctor Strange film. Derrickson expressed interest in featuring the villain Nightmare, and further exploring the characters Jonathan Pangborn and Hamir after their smaller roles in the first film. He also explained that, due to his close relationships with Joe Russo—the co-director of ' (2018) and ' (2019)—and Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige, he was "kept in the loop" on how the "Avengers" films were using the character. "Doctor Strange" co-writer Jon Spaihts also expressed interest in seeing the character Clea appear in a sequel.
In April 2017, Derrickson was reported to be returning for a sequel, beginning work after fulfilling his commitments to the television series "Locke & Key". By December 2018, Derrickson had quietly finalized a deal to return as director for the sequel, with Cumberbatch, Benedict Wong, and Rachel McAdams reprising their respective roles of Dr. Stephen Strange, Wong, and Christine Palmer. Marvel was beginning to search for a writer for the film. "The Hollywood Reporter" said the script would be written throughout 2019 for a planned filming start in early 2020, and added that the film could potentially be released in May 2021. Feige and Derrickson officially announced the sequel at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2019, revealing the title to be "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" and confirming a release date of May 7, 2021. Derrickson said he wanted the sequel to be the first scary Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film and explore more of the gothic and horror elements from the comic books than the first installment did. Feige also revealed that the Disney+ series "WandaVision" (2021) would directly set up the film, with that series' star Elizabeth Olsen reprising her MCU role of Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch in the film. The film also ties in with the series "Loki" (2021) and the film "" (2021), with the latter also starring Cumberbatch as Strange.
Pre-production.
Jade Bartlett, an "up-and-coming screenwriter", was hired to write the sequel's screenplay in October 2019. In December, Feige described the multiverse as "the next step in the evolution of the MCU", and said that this film would "crack it wide open" in a way that would have repercussions for the Disney+ series and the next films in Marvel Studios' slate. Later in the month, he clarified that the sequel would not be a horror film, as some reports had described it following the Comic-Con announcement, but it would be a "big MCU film with scary sequences". Feige compared these sequences to the films "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (1981), "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" (1984), "Gremlins" (1984), and "Poltergeist" (1982), and said that Derrickson was good at being "legitimately scary" due to his background making horror films. Feige also revealed that the film would introduce several surprising new characters to the MCU, including one that Marvel Studios had been looking for a way to use in an MCU film for some time.
In January 2020, Marvel Studios and Derrickson announced that he would no longer direct the film due to creative differences. In separate statements, they both said they were thankful for their collaboration so far, and that Derrickson would remain an executive producer on the film. This was not expected to delay filming, which was set for May 2020. Cargill added that he and Derrickson did not have the opportunity to write a draft for the film, and whatever version of the film Marvel chose to move forward with would not be derivative of their work. By February, Sam Raimi had entered negotiations to take over as director. Chiwetel Ejiofor was expected to reprise his role as Karl Mordo, while McAdams was no longer expected to appear. "Loki" head writer Michael Waldron was hired to rewrite the film's script. After a planned appearance by Cumberbatch in "WandaVision" was removed late in the development of the series, further rewrites to the "Multiverse of Madness" script were required. Feige described these as a "wonderful combination of very dedicated coordination, and chaos". The film's story was still set up in "WandaVision", but the film was being developed to work for viewers who had not watched the series.
In late March, pre-production work was being done remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Filming was expected to begin in June 2020. At the start of April, Disney shifted much of their Phase Four slate of films due to the pandemic, moving "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness"s release date to November 5, 2021. It was shifted again to March 25, 2022, after Sony Pictures rescheduled "Spider-Man: No Way Home" to the November 2021 date. Raimi confirmed he would direct in mid-April, and Ejiofor confirmed his involvement in late June when production on the film was delayed due to the pandemic. In early October, Cumberbatch confirmed that pre-production work on the film had continued and that filming was expected to start by the end of the month or in early November, to shoot in London, England. Later in October, Xochitl Gomez joined the cast. Although a national lockdown in England was announced from November 5 to December 2 , film shoots were not expected to be impacted.
Filming.
Principal photography began in November 2020, in London, under the working title "Stellar Vortex", delayed from an initial May 2020 start date due to the COVID-19 pandemic. John Mathieson served as cinematographer on the film. Olsen began filming her scenes by November 25, shooting back-to-back with "WandaVision". At the beginning of December, filming was taking place at Longcross Studios in Longcross, Surrey. Later that month, McAdams signed on to return as Palmer, shortly before Feige officially confirmed her involvement on December 10 along with that of Ejiofor, Wong, and Gomez. He also revealed that Gomez would portray America Chavez. Cumberbatch had begun filming his scenes by then, after completing his work on "Spider-Man: No Way Home".
Olsen shot for three weeks before increased restrictions near the end of December and another lockdown in England was announced from January 6, 2021. She said filming had been put on hold due to . Olsen expressed excitement for working with Raimi and stated that he used his preferred camera techniques for the film. She also said they were going for a "horror show vibe" for the film and described it as "bonkers". Cumberbatch felt there was a more collaborative nature to the film than his previous MCU appearances, having felt that he was "just along for the ride" on those. Filming had resumed by mid-March when Cumberbatch said they were in the middle of production, and Ejiofor began filming his scenes in London by then. Filming occurred at Broomfield Hill Car Park in Richmond Park for the week of March 25. For a few weeks in April, shooting took place at Freemasons Church in Central London. Feige stated on April 15 that they were in the final week of filming, with shooting taking place from that day until April 17 at Burrow Hill Cider Farm in Somerset. Jett Klyne and Julian Hilliard, who portrayed Maximoff's sons Tommy and Billy respectively in "WandaVision", were reported to be on set at the farm.
Music.
"Doctor Strange" composer Michael Giacchino was set to return for the sequel by October 2019, when Derrickson was set as director. After Raimi took over, Danny Elfman was hired as composer; Elfman previously worked with Raimi on "Darkman" (1990), "Spider-Man" (2002), "Spider-Man 2" (2004), and "Oz the Great and Powerful" (2013). Elfman said he would refer to Giacchino's "Doctor Strange" theme in a similar way to how he used Alan Silvestri's theme from "The Avengers" (2012) when working on "" (2015). By February 2021, Elfman had begun working on music to be used during filming, but was not beginning work on the actual score for the sequel for several months.
Release.
"Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" is scheduled to be released in the United States on March 25, 2022. It was previously set for release on May 7, 2021, but was pushed back to November 5, 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, before it was further shifted to the March 2022 date after Sony rescheduled "Spider-Man: No Way Home" to the November 2021 date. The film will be part of Phase Four of the MCU.