Years after he revolutionized the comic book movie with his groundbreaking trilogy of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which promises to be the MCU’s first straight horror film. Raimi has plenty of experience to draw on in that department, from The Evil Dead to Drag Me to Hell, but the most obvious comparison here is Raimi’s previous Marvel superhero movies.
Peter Parker and Stephen Strange are two completely different characters, but some elements of the adaptation process are transferrable. Here are 10 things Sam Raimi brought to Spider-Man that he could bring to Doctor Strange.
A Relatable Protagonist
The Peter Parker played by Tobey Maguire was every bit the awkward nerd he is in the comics. He wasn’t confident, he didn’t always know what to say, and he frequently embarrassed himself. Even when alien goo turned him into a bad boy, he was far from suave (“Now, dig on this!”). But that made him relatable.
As a second-rate Tony Stark with a medical degree spewing narcissistic one-liners, Stephen Strange is hardly a universally relatable figure. Sam Raimi might be able to bring some vulnerability and universality to Strange’s characterization.
Horror Filmmaking Techniques
Sam Raimi’s background is in horror cinema. He made his name with the indie chiller The Evil Dead and quickly established himself as one of the greatest all-time horror directors with a couple more hits.
Throughout Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy, he applied horror filmmaking techniques – like jarring Dutch angles and closeups of people screaming – to the more intense sequences like villain transformations and fight scenes. This can easily be applied to the mind-boggling world of Doctor Strange.
A Personal Link Between The Hero And Villain
In Doctor Strange, there was nothing connected Stephen Strange to Kaecilius in an emotionally engaging way. But in all of Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man movies, Spidey was personally linked to all the villains.
The Green Goblin was Peter Parker’s best friend’s dad; Doctor Octopus was his mentor; Venom was a rival photographer; and the Sandman killed Uncle Ben. In every case, it made the conflict between hero and villain more interesting.
Fun Action
Since the films of the MCU follow a pretty rigid story structure, a lot of the action set pieces can come off as dull and uninspired. The action scenes in Raimi’s Spider-Man movies always had a lot at stake, but they were also a lot of fun.
The director can inject some of that fun into the Sorcerer Supreme’s metaphysical antics in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Hilarious New Yorkers
All three of Raimi’s Spider-Man movies have a strong place in New York. It’s not just an arbitrary setting for the story. Raimi captured the essence of the city, from sweeping shots of Spider-Man swinging through the city’s sprawling metropolitan landscape to hilarious portrayals of New Yorkers observing Spidey’s antics.
Doctor Strange also operates in the Big Apple, but there wasn’t much of a New York feel in the first movie. Strange needs more of a foothold in his city than simply mentioning going to a deli for lunch.
Taking Away The Hero’s Powers As A Test
In basically son), college student, freelance photographer, pizza delivery boy, and rent-payer. When he loses his superpowers, it’s a test of whether he was really born to be a hero or his heroism was all thanks to his superhuman abilities.
The first Doctor Strange movie handled the character’s origin story in a pretty formulaic way, but taking away Stephen Strange’s magical powers in the sequel might be an interesting test to determine if he’s truly worthy of the title of “Sorcerer Supreme.”
An Interesting Love Story
Although Kirsten Dunst’s Mary Jane is pretty hated among Spider-Man fans because of how much she messed Peter around, there’s no denying that Sam Raimi made the romantic subplots in his Spider-Man movies interesting. It didn’t feel like the love story got in the way of the action; instead, it informed a lot of Spidey’s decisions.
After Doctor Strange made Christine Palmer one of the MCU’s blandest love interests (second only to Jane Foster), Raimi can give Rachel McAdams something interesting to do.
Memorable Villains
Speaking in trailer-friendly soundbites and keeping his plans vague enough to get jumbled in with the other generic MCU villains, Doctor Strange’s Kaecilius was far from a memorable villain. But Alfred Molina’s Doctor Octopus from Spider-Man 2 stands alongside Thanos and the Joker with superhero cinema’s all-time greatest villains.
And for better or worse, Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin, Thomas Haden Church’s Sandman, and Topher Grace’s Venom all made much more lasting impressions than Mads Mikkelsen’s Kaecilius. At the very least, Raimi’s Spider-Man movies could be counted on for unforgettable villains.
Human Emotions Under Effects-Driven Storytelling
One of the great things about Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man movies is that they told real human stories beneath all the effects-driven action.
The action set pieces were what sold the movies and kept them exciting, but the focus was still on Peter Parker’s emotional journey.
Making The Sequel Even Better Than The Original
Although it was elevated by mind-blowing visual effects, 2016’s Doctor Strange followed the MCU formula pretty rigidly and didn’t provide anything truly memorable. The villain was generic and the plotting was bland and the dramatic moments fell flat.
Fortunately, Sam Raimi knows how to make a kick-ass sequel. He had difficulty sticking the landing with Spider-Man 3, partly due to the studio insisting on Venom’s inclusion, but Spider-Man 2 might still be the greatest superhero movie ever made.
