By Gill Pringle
No stranger to superhero movies, Sam Raimi directed and produced Darkman in 1990 before going on to direct the original Spider-Man trilogy starring Tobey Maguire, which would gross US$2.5 billion at the global box office. But his first love has always been the horror genre, starting with his debut short horror film, Within The Woods, from which he used the proceeds to direct the horror classic, The Evil Dead.
In perhaps one of the most ambitious entries into the MCU, Raimi’s Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness reunites Benedict Cumberbatch’s Stephen Strange with Benedict Wong’s Wong and Rachel McAdams’ Christine Palmer, alongside Elizabeth Olsen’s Avenger, Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch. Throwing a spanner in the works is the arrival of newcomer Xochitl Gomez’ teenage girl America Chavez, who possesses powers to slide into multiple universes, making her a target for evil forces. Raimi, 62, talks spooks and superheroes.
What tempted you back to the superhero genre almost 15 years later?
“When Kevin Feige announced that he wanted to bring a little bit of a horror element to Doctor Strange, that was interesting to me. Horror and suspense have always been fun aspects of moviemaking to me. One of the reasons I’m interested in Doctor Strange as a character is because he’s a magician. Growing up, I was a magician for weddings and kids’ parties. I really enjoyed creating illusions. A superhero who is an illusionist and a magician is of particular interest.”
How exciting was it to bring some of your beloved horror elements into the MCU?
“It was great. When The MCU’s Kevin Feige announced that this movie would be their first entry into putting their toe into the world of horror, I was thrilled that he called me to come in and talk to about the possibility of directing the picture. I was able to think about those horror films that I made in my youth, and what I had learned from them in building suspense sequences, and titillating the audience. That’s stuff I was able to apply in the spooky sequences in this film, so it was very helpful.”
Obviously, Kevin Feige felt you were the right director for the challenge?
“Well, there were really a lot of Marvel movies being made when we made the Spider-Man movies with Kevin. Kevin was also working on the X-Men movies and the Iron Man movies. So, Kevin was already developing the Marvel Cinematic Universe even back then. So, I was very fortunate to get that directing job. I loved Spider-Man.”
In the MCU, the Multiverse presents multiple origins and outcomes for its characters – and multiple alternate realities also means multiple alternate characters. Please explain?
“In the Multiverse, there are alternate versions of everything. So, it gives the characters a unique opportunity to meet themselves and see where they went right and where they went wrong. They recognise qualities that they may have been blind to in themselves that are clearer to see in another. They also see better versions of themselves, and the people who they could be. That’s what movies, superhero movies especially, offer all of us: the chance to see possibilities. I could do good. I could be a better person. In this movie, the superheroes themselves get to see that. The first Doctor Strange film really opened up people’s minds, and in Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness, we get to push it further.”
This film sees the return of fan-favourite, original stars, who headline a stellar cast that includes cameos and other not-to-be-divulged surprises. With all the characters and their stories to continue from the last film, what was the challenge to service them all while also introducing America Chavez?
“Marvel does a great job in mining their characters, and making sure they all have enough growth. But that was actually challenging on this picture because telling the story of the Multiverse was such a gigantic endeavour. Telling the story of our main character, Doctor Strange, learning a little bit about himself, learning a bit of humility, learning to trust in others, and his ongoing story with Christine, was a big part of it. Then, there’s Wanda’s whole story, which is complex. Not to mention the story of Wong, who became Sorcerer Supreme. There’s not a lot of room to tell a lot more stories. And yet, we were challenged with the task of introducing America Chavez, so, we tried to keep it at that. We’re introducing her as someone who is new to her powers and is coming into her own. It’s a fitting story of a teen learning to trust themselves and their own power. That’s the journey that she goes on.”
I imagine moviemaking and special effects has changed a lot since your original Spider-Man trilogy?
“Well, the technology has changed. And it’s just become a lot easier. But mostly, the technological difference that really enabled me to work on this movie so effectively was Zoom! I could speak to tons of crew members at once. We could show a storyboard from an artist. The editor could bring up a piece of the cut. We really had great communication audio/visual. And we were able to speak to a hundred people at once. It’s fantastic. But, as far as the most important thing that changed? The thing that didn’t change is how I want to answer your question. The most important thing is having great actors, like we have on this film – and them knowing that the most important thing they can do is within themselves. That’s how people connect to our superheroes.”
Can you talk specifically to this cast?
“These are all great actors. And they know what it’s like to be a human being. They’ve got a vast set of experiences that they’re not afraid to pull into their performances. And they also know their characters very well. Elizabeth and our two Benedicts have played their characters for so many years now in so many important Marvel movies. It’s great to see that knowledge of their characters that they had in this film. Because what they meet is the Multiverse, which is basically a mirror, and they meet altered versions of themselves. And these actors are so good; they know they just have to change the slightest aspect of their character’s personality to make an interesting conflict with the alter-self.”
And you kept making script changes, sometimes only two days ahead?
“The script was oftentimes changed minutes before. And, you know, the actors are very creative and they’re opinionated. They know their characters better than anybody. So, they’ll recognise in the playing of the scene if something is untrue; this feels like a manipulation or could it be more real. And we’d make changes in the moment trying to riff on a very good idea. And when you’ve got great team members, as a director you really wanna pull the best of their ideas together and make something better than you could’ve made on your own. And that’s exactly what working on this movie was like for me. Great actors, great ideas, and a script that was constantly changing. It was a very lively process. Not only that, but with the other movies that we have storylines from, some were being made concurrently or had just finished. WandaVision had just finished and Spider-Man: No Way Home was still shooting. And our movie referenced those films. We had to have meetings with the director asking what does Doctor Strange know by the end of No Way Home? Does he even remember the Multiverse? We had to take their changes and those changes rippled through our movie.”
And Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda/Scarlet Witch goes through some interesting changes in this new film?
“Yes, she’s the classic character that loved not too wisely, but too well. And that’s a source of many of her aspirations in the film, and it sometimes leads to less happy moments for her. But I don’t want to spoil anything.”
What keeps MCU fans coming back for more?
“Marvel fans are interested in the characters. Who are they? What could they have become? Did they make the right choices? Even in Avengers: Endgame, choices were made that some of the characters in our movie regret. They see the repercussions of that in this film, which is really interesting. The continuance of Marvel stories can be so rich, and we’re able to explore it in this new film.”
Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness is released in cinemas on May 5. Click here for our review.
