When it was first announced, the upcoming sequel “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” was said to be Marvel Studios’ first horror feature.
That was fitting considering then director Scott Derrickson had shot several films in the genre before like “Sinister” and “Deliver Us From Evil”. Upon Derrickson’s exiting the project, he was replaced by Sam Raimi who is even more fitting thanks to his work both in superhero films (“Spider-Man”) and horror (“Evil Dead”).
But with Raimi boarding, it wasn’t clear how much of a horror tone the film would retain. Recently writer Michael Waldron compared the new film as similar to “Indiana Jones,” but actress Elizabeth Olsen disagrees with that assessment.
Speaking with Vanity Fair she says the film is decidedly darker than not just the previous MCU films but also Indy’s adventures:
“I think it’s scarier than Indiana Jones. I think it definitely feels more Sam Raimi than that. So maybe that was the goal, but it definitely became something darker… The horror genre feeling of constant fear and thrill and misleads and playing with camera, playing with how the perspective of the depth of field in order to make the audience feel more anxious. I think it’s more than like a glossy Indiana Jones movie, which I love Indiana Jones, but I feel like it has a darker thing going on.”
Olsen reprises her role of Wanda Maximoff/ Scarlett Witch, continuing her story from the events in “Wandavision”. She’ll join Benedict Cumberbatch who reprises his role as Dr. Stephen Strange along with Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong, and Rachel McAdams who are returning Karl Mordo, Wong, and Dr. Christine Palmer respectively.
“Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” is currently slated to open on March 25th 2022.
