Sam Raimi says he almost turned down 'Doctor Strange 2' because of 'Spider-Man 3'

Marvel is gearing up for the back-to-back release up to 2023, under its Phase four. One of the most anticipated movies of MCU other than Spider-Man: No Way Home is Doctor Strange 2 or Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Sam Raimi is all set to helm the upcoming Marvel flick, although he was quite reluctant to take up the project initially. Raimi, who also directed Tobey Maguire starrrer Spider-Man 3 in 2007 said that the negative reviews of the movie made him reluctant to make any other superhero movie.

Although Spider-Man 3 received mixed reviews from critics, it was the highest-grossing Spider-Man film until it was surpassed by Spider-Man: Far From Home in 2019. In a recent interview with Collider, Sam Raimi who brought the Spider-Man franchise to the big screen in 2002 said that he was not going to make a superhero movie after the negative reviews the 2007 movie received. He said, "I didn’t know that I could face it again because it was so awful, having been the director of Spider-Man 3."

Raimi added that it wasn't until Doctor Strange 2 that he thought about getting back into the superhero genre. He said, "The internet was getting revved up and people disliked that movie and they sure let me know about it. So, it was difficult to take back on. But then, I found out that there was an opening on Doctor Strange 2. My agent called me and said, ‘They’re looking for a director at Marvel for this movie and your name came up. Would you be interested?’ And I thought, ‘I wonder if I could still do it.'" 

Praising the direction of his predecessor, Raimi said that Scott Derrickson did a wonderful job with the first Doctor Strange movie. He said, "And I felt, ‘Well, that’s reason enough.’ I’ve always really liked the character of Doctor Strange. He was not my favourite, but he was right up there with the favourites. I loved the first movie, I thought [director] Scott Derrickson did a wonderful job, an incredible job. So, I said, ‘Yeah.’ They left the character in a great place. I didn’t think I would be doing another superhero movie. It just happened." Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is slated to release in theatres on March 25, 2022.

Image: Instagram/@doctor.stephen_strange/@comicbooknate87/AP