Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

[GeneChing]

I'll split this into an indie thread later.

DECEMBER 11, 2018 2:20pm PT by Borys Kit
Scott Derrickson Returning to Direct 'Doctor Strange' Sequel (Exclusive)


Jay Maidment/Marvel
Benedict Cumberbatch (left) and Scott Derrickson on the set of 2016's 'Doctor Strange'

When it comes to negotiations, they're in the endgame now.

Marvel is finally ready to conjure up a sequel to Doctor Strange.

Scott Derrickson, who directed and co-wrote the mystical Marvel hero's initial 2016 outing, has quietly finalized a deal to helm the new installment.

A search for a writer to pen the script is about to get underway.

Benedict Cumberbatch will return as Stephen Strange, the good doctor turned master of the mystic arts, as will Benedict Wong, who played his right-hand man, Wong. Rachel McAdams, who played Stephen Strange’s love interest, is likely to return as well.

Strange was last seen de-materializing in the $2 billion-grossing Avenger: Infinity War, where one of his lines of dialogue served as the inspiration for the title of the fourth Avengers movie, Avengers: Endgame.

Marvel has been tight-lipped about its plans for life after Endgame, which it is calling Phase Four. After all, how much can there be when half your heroes are supposed to be dead?

In any case, sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that the plan is for the script to be hashed out in 2019 with an eye toward a spring 2020 production start. If all goes well, the movie would be casting its spell on audiences in May 2021.

Marvel had no comment.

Derrickson carved out a résumé of horror movies such as 2005's The Exorcism of Emily Rose and 2012's Sinister before making 2016’s Doctor Strange, which grossed $677.7 million worldwide. Earlier this year, he directed the pilot for TNT’s adaptation of Snowpiercer, but parted ways with the production after the showrunner was replaced.

Derrickson is repped by WME, Brillstein Entertainment Partners and Ziffren Brittenham.

I suppose this is a spoiler for Avengers 4.

[GeneChing]

Splitting this into an indie thread - Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness - from the original Doctor Strange thread now.

NEWSFEBRUARY 5, 2020 4:07PM PT
Sam Raimi in Talks to Direct ‘Doctor Strange 2’ (EXCLUSIVE)
By ADAM B. VARY and JUSTIN KROLL


CREDIT: SHUTTERSTOCK/MARVEL

Sam Raimi, who helped launch the modern superhero movie with 2002’s “Spider-Man,” is in talks to direct “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” for Marvel Studios, Variety has learned.

Raimi replaces original director Scott Derrickson, who Variety reported on Jan. 9 had officially departed the project due to creative differences. Derrickson will remain as an executive producer. Raimi, meanwhile, will need to get up to speed before the film’s scheduled production start date in May.

Marvel had no comment.

After finishing his “Spider-Man” trilogy for Sony Pictures with 2007’s “Spider-Man 3,” Raimi’s output as a director slowed considerably, with just the horror pic “Drag Me to Hell” in 2009 and Disney’s “The Wizard of Oz” prequel “Oz the Great and Powerful” in 2013. Instead, he’s been busy as a producer, helping relaunch various horror franchises like “Poltergeist” and his own classic, “Evil Dead.”

This is something of a coup for both Raimi and Marvel, given Raimi’s reputation with comic book fans — 2004’s “Spider-Man 2” is still widely regarded as one of the best superhero movies ever made. And with 15 features to his name as a director — including the beloved horror trilogy “The Evil Dead,” “Evil Dead II,” and “Army of Darkness” — Raimi is also the most established filmmaker to join the Marvel Studios fold since the earliest days of the studio, when Kenneth Branagh and Joe Johnston respectively directed the first “Thor” and “Captain America” movies in 2011.

Since then, Marvel’s m.o. has been to hire talented filmmakers who’ve made just a few (or zero) features before, and nothing at a blockbuster scale, like Joss Whedon, Anthony and Joe Russo, James Gunn, Ryan Coogler, and Taika Waititi. Raimi, by contrast, comes to “Doctor Strange 2” with his own distinctive visual style and decades of experience with making tentpole movies, especially featuring Marvel superheroes.

Benedict Cumberbatch is returning as the Sorcerer Supreme after his 2016 debut, and subsequent appearances in “Thor: Ragnarok,” “Avengers: Infinity War,” and “Avengers: Endgame.” Benedict Wong and Chiwetel Ejiofor are also expected to reprise their roles from the original film as, respectively, fellow sorcerer Wong and Strange’s compatriot-turned-nemesis Karl Mordo. And Elizabeth Olsen has been tapped to reprise her role as Scarlet Witch, aka Wanda Maximoff, for a storyline that Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige has said will link up with her Disney Plus series “WandaVision,” which will debut in December.

Rachel McAdams, however, will not reprise her role as Strange’s colleague Christine Palmer.

“Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” is scheduled to open on May 7, 2021.

Marvel Studios’ next theatrical project, “Black Widow,” will open on May 1, followed by “Eternals” on Nov. 6, and “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” on Feb. 12, 2021.

Raimi is repped by CAA.

[GeneChing]

'Doctor Strange 2' Lands New Writer in 'Loki' Show Creator (Exclusive)
FEBRUARY 07, 2020 1:06PM by Borys Kit


'Doctor Strange;' Inset: Michael Waldron | Photofest; Inset: Getty Images

Sam Raimi is in talks to direct the Marvel movie project.

Just as the sequel to Marvel Studios’ Doctor Strange gets a new director, the project is also getting a new writer.

Michael Waldron, the head writer of Marvel’s upcoming Disney+ series Loki, has been tapped to work on Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

Sam Raimi is in negotiations to make his Marvel movie return to take over helming duties on the project after Scott Derrickson, who directed the initial 2016 installment, exited over creative differences.

Jade Bartlett was the previous writer on Multiverse of Madness and the project was being billed by Marvel as its first scary movie. How scary may have been one of the creative friction points — Marvel had no comment on Derrickson’s departure and has no comment on Waldron’s hiring. Bringing in both a new director and a new writer could point to a broader reworking of the project than previously thought.

Waldron’s Loki is one of the three Marvel series that make up the first wave of the company’s shows that will air on Disney’s fast-growing streaming service (The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and WandaVision are the other two). His moving to another Marvel project shows the company is liking what it’s seeing so far and wants to keep him under its umbrella.

Waldron began his screenwriting career under Dan Harmon and Dino Stamatopoulos at Starburns Industries and last year was writing and producing on Cartoon Network’s acclaimed hit Rick and Morty.

He is in the enviable position of having three shows go into production this year. On top of Loki, which begins shooting this month, there is Heels, a family drama for Starz with Paramount Television and Lionsgate that has a series order and for which he served as creator and writer as well as ran the writers room. Thirdly, there’s Florida Man, which has a pilot order from USA and Steven Soderbergh as one of the producers. Waldron is acting as creator for the crime drama that adapts the book Making Jack Falcone.

Waldron is repped by LBI Entertainment and attorney Michael Schenkman.


The Hollywood Reporter
BORYS KIT
@borys_kit

From Rick and Morty. Interesting...

[GeneChing]

You know it's gonna get stranger. READ DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS: Alternative Medicine for the Tortured Soul by Patrick Lugo