We’ve known since February that “Evil Dead” and “Spider-Man” trilogy director Sam Raimi will direct “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” but until now Raimi hasn’t confirmed the news publicly. But on Tuesday, speaking to Coming Soon, Raimi did just that.
It came up during a chat about Raimi’s 2004 film “Spider-Man 2,” which focuses on Spider-Man villain Doctor Octopus. In one scene, Daily Planet editor J. Jonah Jameson is trying to come up with a snappy name for the villain, when one of his assistants suggests “Doctor Strange.” Jameson likes the idea but notes that it’s already taken, an Easter egg suggesting that Stephen Strange exists in the “Spider-Man” trilogy universe.
Of course, Doctor Strange never shows up in “Spider-Man 2” but it’s a funny line nonetheless. About that, Raimi told Coming Soon “I loved Doctor Strange as a kid, but he was always after Spider-Man and Batman for me, he was probably at number five for me of great comic book characters. He was so original, but when we had that moment in ‘Spider-Man 2’ I had no idea that we would ever be making a ‘Doctor Strange’ movie, so it was really funny to me that coincidentally that line was in the movie. I gotta say I wish we had the foresight to know that I was going to be involved in the project.”
So there you go. As reported in February, Raimi is taking over Marvel’s “Doctor Strange” series from Scott Derrickson, who stepped down in January citing creative differences and will remain as an executive producer of the project.
And who knows, maybe this time, Raimi will slip in a reference to another character he likes, and might end up directing in 2036.