Following his starring turn in the fourth episode of Marvel’s What If…? [read our review here], fans of Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange are in for a double dose of big screen Sorcerer Supreme in the coming months with appearances in both Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Having just wrapped reshoots on Multiverse of Madness, Cumberbatch has now shared some words of praise for the films’ respective directors Jon Watts and Sam Raimi, as well as the departure of original Doctor Strange director Scott Derrickson from the sequel.
“[Spider-Man: No Way Home is] It’s gonna be a great film, I think,” Cumberbatch told Variety. “I think Jon Watts is a genius, all that team was on those three films are vastly brilliant. Jon is great, he’s got such a light touch, he’s so assured though. He’s great to hang out with on set. He’s very witty, but incredibly generous and supportive. Everything you want in a director. He’s young, he’s energetic, he gets the kids – I call myself an ‘older person’ to the older people. It’s an atmosphere on that set. It’s a bonded group, they’ve done three [movies] now, beautiful work environment. I really really enjoyed being on that set, I really did.”
Meanwhile, speaking to THR, the actor also addressed Derrickson’s exit from the Doctor Strange sequel due to creative differences, stating that: “I was sad to hear about it, but that was not my decision. I completely respected the studio’s decision, and it was done very amicably. The grown-ups called and just talked me through it. And that was that.”
Following Derrickson’s departure, Marvel went down an interesting route by tapping Sam Raimi to return to the superhero movie genre for the first time since Spider-Man 3, and Cumberbatch went on to describe the fan favourite filmmaker as “an assured pair of hands, who knew that world. He’s got certain Raimi traits. The smashed-zoom close-up. The mixture of just on the level of horror and just on the level of camp. There’s fun in there, but there should be some real thrills as well.”
SEE ALSO: Elizabeth Olsen says Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is “old Sam Raimi” and “very scary”
Spider-Man: No Way Home is set for release on December 17th 2021, followed by Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness on March 25th 2022.
For the first time in the cinematic history of Spider-Man, our friendly neighborhood hero is unmasked and no longer able to separate his normal life from the high-stakes of being a Super Hero. When he asks for help from Doctor Strange the stakes become even more dangerous, forcing him to discover what it truly means to be Spider-Man.
Spider-Man: No Way Home sees Jon Watts (Spider-Man: Homecoming, Spider-Man: Far From Home) directing Tom Holland (Spider-Man), Benedict Cumberbatch (Doctor Strange), Zendaya (MJ), Marisa Tomei (Aunt May), Jacob Batalon (Ned Leeds), Tony Revolori (Flash Thompson), Jamie Foxx (Electro) and Alfred Molina (Doctor Octopus).
