Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness: 2022 Hollywood Superhero Film

Movie Name: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Directed by: Sam Raimi
Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Benedict Wong, Rachel McAdams, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Elizabeth Olsen, Xochitl Gomez
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Release Date: 06 May, 2022
Running Time: 126 Minutes
Rating:

Dr. Stephen Strange casts a forbidden spell that opens the door to the multiverse, including an alternate version of himself, whose threat to humanity is too great for the combined forces of Strange, Wong, and Wanda Maximoff.

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 Halley Bartlett and Michael Waldron, and stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Stephen Strange, alongside Benedict Wong, Rachel McAdams, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Elizabeth Olsen, and Xochitl Gomez. In the film, Strange casts a spell that opens the door to the multiverse, including an alternate version of Strange.

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. 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 and Los Angeles.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is scheduled to be released in the United States on May 6, 2022, as part of Phase Four of the MCU.

Following the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) and the first season of Loki (2021), Dr. Stephen Strange casts a forbidden spell that opens the door to the multiverse, including an alternate version of Strange, whose threat to humanity is too great for the combined forces of Strange, Wong, and Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch.

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 Avengers: Age of Ultron (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 May 6, 2022. It was originally 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 March 25, 2022 after Sony rescheduled Spider-Man: No Way Home to November 2021. In October 2021, it was shifted once more to its current May 2022 date. The film will be part of Phase Four of the MCU.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness: Movie Trailer

Trailer #2

Movie Review:

You opened a doorway between universes, and we don’t know who or what will walk through it.” Says Wong to Dr Stephen Strange.

Just to jog you down the memory lane, Doctor Stephen Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is a sequel to 2016 film Doctor Strange, which was an enjoyable blend of magic and mysticism. Like the prequel, this one is a curious journey; magical, mystical, only a whole lot madder, alternating between not just many realities of time, but also worlds. Dr Stephen Strange aka Sorcerer Supreme, earth’s foremost protector against magical and mystical threats, inhabits a world where science and spirituality coexist. A leading neurosurgeon and a superhero, he too does what superheroes do best; save the world.

What makes the mission of Dr Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), whom we have seen in many a Marvel film including the latest Spider-Man: No Way Home, different this time around is that the girl he must save has come from another universe. As America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez has the right blend of earnestness and piquancy the part demands), is being hunted down, predictably he too will traverse many universes. She, by the way is blessed, with the singular ability to flit from one to another and has moved through 72! In the worlds they will travel, Dr Strange will meet his own selves apart from other characters from his world, including his ex Dr Christine Palmer (lovely Rachel McAdams) whose wedding he is seen attending in the opening sequence.

As the mission starts, there is sterling action; CGI spectacle, stunning cinematography, some effective dialogues laced with humour and, of course, a consistent cross-referencing of the MCU reality. Other characters from MCU appear not exactly in cheer-worthy moments but to keep you clued in to the exciting world that MCU has offered us so far (this is the 28th outing). Wanda Maximoff, of course, is as central a character as Dr Strange. Pining for her children, she is ready to break rules and tells Dr Strange, ‘When you break rules you are a hero but when I do I am the enemy, it’s not fair.’ Why she a doting mother in alternate worlds is not the hero world must hail, we soon learn with her devious Scarlet witch avatar. If she has her way, soon she will enslave the multiverses in entirety. Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda Maximoff impresses in varying shades of her character, from emotional to witchy. Out maneuvering her bête noire in her bid to get to her prey, her arch enemy of course is Dr Strange, who outbids her evil designs every step of the way.

Oscar-nominated actor Benedict Cumberbatch shows remarkable felicity and we meet several Dr Stranges, including a zombie, and then there is a three-eyed avatar too. Indian viewers can perhaps sense some oriental inspiration here and also be reminded how in the prequel Dr Strange’s eastern tilt was exemplified to the hilt. Here we learn more about black holes and how an incursion (boundaries between two universes diffuse) can lead to collision of two worlds. Besides, issues at hand like mental health and obsessive fixation, there is a fleeting LGBTQ reference too.

Dream walking from one reality to another, this world of multiplicity is not a dream run. Being tipped as a horror film, it’s not quite horrific either. As it throws around questions like, ‘are you happy’, it tries to strike a philosophical note and as with all questions of philosophical dilemmas there are no answers really. But the answer to whether you should or not watch the film is crystal clear. Go for it. Being tipped as ‘the scariest Marvel movie’ it may not spook you out. However, that doesn’t stop it from being two hours of spooky fun.