Sam Raimi, legendary director of Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man trilogy, commented to Variety yesterday that he’s still not sure that his latest film, the MCU sequel Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, is truly done.
Set to premiere in less than six months on May 6, Raimi mentioned to Variety that the film had undergone re-shoots in November — supposedly significant ones —and that with Marvel's iron-grip control over their film, he wasn't sure that editing on the film is complete, despite an encroaching premiere date:
“I wish I knew the answer to that question. I think we’re done, but we just cut everything. We’re just starting to test the picture and we’ll find out if there’s anything that’s got to be picked up. If something’s unclear or another improvement I can make in this short amount of time left, I’ll do it. One thing I know about the Marvel team is they won’t stop. They’ll keep pushing it until it’s as close to being great as it could.”
Raimi went on to discuss his positive experience with Kevin Feige and Marvel Studios, praising Spider-Man: No Way Home and calling the team "super professional", but the comment does raise a few questions. After all, the film already underwent significant re-shoots once before, delaying the opening of the film and causing a few MCU films to be delayed alongside it. On one hand, it’s a sign that Marvel wants to make sure, as always, that the sequel is well done and gives the audience a compelling story for a popular character, but also may cause continuity issues that could frustrate longtime Marvel fans.
Either way, Raimi’s confidence in Marvel Studios is clear despite Doctor Strange's intense production process. In regards to Spider-Man: No Way Home — a film that brought back his version of Peter Parker — Raimi praised the film for taking the character of Spider-Man in a new direction:
“It was so much fun. I love ‘No Way Home’ and the audience I was with went crazy. It was delightful to watch Alfred play his role, and Willem Dafoe, just seeing these guys take it to the next level. And Tobey was awesome as always. The best word I can say is it was refreshing for me.”
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness hits theaters on May 6.