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 29th 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, and Chiwetel Ejiofor. In the film, Strange unleashes an unspeakable evil.

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 and Wong were 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, while Raimi was set to replace Derrickson as director, which he confirmed in April 2020. Filming began in November 2020 near London.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is scheduled to be released in the United States on March 25, 2022, as the last film in Phase Four of the MCU.

Premise
After the events of Avengers: Endgame (2019), Dr. Stephen Strange's continuing research on the Time Stone is hindered by a new enemy, resulting in unspeakable evils being unleashed.

Cast

 * Benedict Cumberbatch as Dr. Stephen Strange: A neurosurgeon who became a Master of the Mystic Arts following a career-ending car accident.
 * Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch: An Avenger who can harness magic, engage in hypnosis and telekinesis, and alter reality.
 * Benedict Wong as Wong: A Master of the Mystic Arts, tasked with protecting Kamar-Taj's most valuable relics and books.
 * Chiwetel Ejiofor as Karl Mordo: A former Master of the Mystic Arts and mentor turned enemy of Strange who hunts other sorcerers.

Additionally, Xochitl Gomez has been cast in an undisclosed role.

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 character 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 noted how 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 "bring in a villain where you really got 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. For the sequel, 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 Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige and Joe Russo, co-director of Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019), he was "kept in the loop" on how the Avengers films used Dr. Stephen Strange. Doctor Strange co-writer Jon Spaihts also expressed interest in seeing the character Clea appear in the film.

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 to direct the sequel, with Cumberbatch reprising his role as Strange. Marvel was to begin searching for a writer for the film. Benedict Wong and Rachel McAdams were also expected to reprise their respective roles of Wong and Christine Palmer. The Hollywood Reporter stated that the script would be written throughout 2019 for a planned filming start in early 2020, adding 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 May 7, 2021 release date. Derrickson said that rather than just another sequel, he wanted to make "the first scary" film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and explore more gothic and horror elements from the comic books than the first installment did. Feige also revealed that Elizabeth Olsen would co-star in the film as her MCU character Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch, and that several MCU television series on Disney+ would tie into it, such as WandaVision (2021), which directly sets up the film and also stars Olsen, and Loki (2021).

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's Phase Four. 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 had been looking for a way to use in an MCU film for some time. In January 2020, Marvel 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, saying whatever version of the film Marvel chose to move forward with would not be "derivative of our 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 set to appear. Loki head writer Michael Waldron was hired to rewrite the film's script. 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 the untitled Spider-Man: Far From Home sequel to the November 2021 date. Raimi confirmed in late April that he would direct the film. By the end of June, production on the film was delayed due to the pandemic. Ejiofor confirmed his involvement then and said filming would begin as soon as possible. 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 due to increased COVID-19 cases, film shoots were not expected to be impacted.

Filming
Principal photography began by late November 2020 near London, under the working title Stellar Vortex. Olsen began filming her scenes shortly after, shooting back-to-back with WandaVision, which completed filming earlier that month. It was delayed from an initial May 2020 start date due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Cumberbatch will begin filming his scenes after completing his work on the Spider-Man: Far From Home sequel, which he began in Atlanta in November 2020.

Music
Michael Giacchino was set to return as composer for the sequel by October 2019, after also providing the score for Doctor Strange.

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 the Spider-Man: Far From Home sequel to the November 2021 date. It will be the last film released in Phase Four of the MCU.