A composer switcheroo is in store for the upcoming Doctor Strange sequel. Oscar-winning composer Michael Giacchino made his Marvel movie debut with the 2016 film Doctor Strange, after which he firmly entered the fold as the composer for Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: Far from Home, but he will not be back to score Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
The legendary Danny Elfman revealed during an interview with Inverse that he will be composing the score for Doctor Strange 2, which makes a lot of sense given that the director of the Marvel sequel is Elfman’s frequent collaborator Sam Raimi. The two first worked together on the underrated superhero film Darkman before Elfman provided the iconic score for Raimi’s Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2. A falling out led to Elfman exiting Spider-Man 3, but he returned for Raimi’s most recent feature film Oz the Great and Powerful.
And he’ll be back with Raimi as the Evil Dead filmmaker makes his Marvel Studios debut in a sequel that is said to have major ties to what’s happening on Marvel’s first Disney+ series WandaVision right now. Elizabeth Olsen has a co-starring role in Doctor Strange 2 alongside Benedict Cumberbatch and returning performers Benedict Wong, Rachel McAdams, and Chiwetel Ejiofor. The film will also feature the debut of Xochitl Gomez as comics character America Chavez.
This move makes sense, and yet Giacchino did a really wonderful job with the score for the first Doctor Strange. Marvel has struggled in the past with creating iconic, memorable themes, but Giacchino really ushered in a new era for film music for the MCU. Although he’ll do just fine – he’s set to return for the third Spider-Man movie, and he’s hard at work creating what’s sure to be another iconic score for the highly anticipated Warner Bros. DC movie The Batman.