Exclusive: Sam Raimi on Spider-Man 2 Doctor Strange reference

The internet was set ablaze a few months back when it was announced that the Tobey Maguire Spider-Man trilogy helmer Sam Raimi would be returning to the comic book world for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and a select number of fans may recall that the writer/director mentioned the sorcerer in one of said films. Now the director has officially gone on record for the first time (!) about taking on the project, and you can check out his quote below!

RELATED: Doctor Strange 2 Continuing Remote Pre-Production for June Start Date

Whilst chatting with Raimi for his upcoming Quibi anthology horror series, 50 States of Fright, ComingSoon.net reflected with Raimi on the scene in which J.K. Simmons’ J. Jonah Jameson and Ted Raimi’s Ted Hoffman discuss possible names for Otto Octavius’ evil persona, Dr. Octopus. Before landing on the amphibious name, Hoffman offers Dr. Strange, to which Jameson appreciates but notes that it has already been taken, seemingly referring to the Marvel sorcerer.

“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,” Raimi described. “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.”

Benedict Cumberbatch will reprise his role as Stephen Strange, with Elizabeth Olsen as Scarlet Witch/Wanda Maximoff. Olsen’s upcoming Disney+ series, WandaVision, will also tie into the sequel. Additionally, Marvel’s Kevin Feige has confirmed that the Loki series will be linked to Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness as well. Filming was expected to begin in May, but due to global health concerns it has been pushed back to pre-production beginning remotely in June.

RELATED: Scott Derrickson Departs Doctor Strange

The film recently hired Loki head writer Michael Waldron to rewrite the script from Jade Bartlett and has entered talks with Spider-Man‘s Sam Raimi to take over the directorial reigns on the project, much to the joy of fans and Derrickson alike.

Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachel McAdams, and Benedict Wong have yet to be confirmed for the sequel. However, it’s likely that they will all return.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will hit theaters on November 5, 2021.

The first eight episodes of the horror anthology series, 50 States of Fright, are available to stream now on Quibi!

Recommended Reading: Doctor Strange Vol. 1: The Way of the Weird

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