Bruce Campbell says the reshoots for Sam Raimi's Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness were mandated by Marvel Studios. In less than a month, the MCU will return to the big screen with the upcoming Benedict Cumberbatch-led sequel. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will be a continuation of the sorcerer's recent arc in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Back in March of this year, it was reported that Doctor Strange 2 was still undergoing reshoots, despite its looming May release date.
Raimi isn't new to the Marvel sandbox. He helmed Sony's Spider-Man trilogy starring Tobey Maguire between 2002 and 2007. However, Multiverse of Madness marks the director's first project set in the MCU. The film also sees Raimi's feature directorial return following a nearly nine-year hiatus, as his last was 2013's Oz the Great and Powerful. That said, he wasn't the original choice for the movie, as it was initially set to be helmed by original Doctor Strange director Scott Derrickson before he exited the project. Raimi and Campbell, meanwhile, also have a long history. The actor has starred in several of Raimi's films, most notably the Evil Dead franchise. Campbell has long been rumored to have a cameo role in Doctor Strange 2, but neither the actor or Raimi have confirmed this.
Regardless of whether Campbell is involved in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness himself, in a new interview with Game Informer, Campbell weighed in on what brought on the reshoots. The actor chalked up the changes to the MCU's expansive and constantly evolving storytelling. Campbell said that Raimi was required to reshoot several new scenes due to "updat[ed] storylines," adding in additional scenes and removing unnecessary ones.
Conversely, Cumberbatch has previously explained that primary the reason behind Multiverse of Madnesss' reshoots was logistical issues. The actor cited the restrictions of filming during the COVID-19 pandemic, Marvel's Phase 4 release schedule reshuffle, and delays to filming due to his role in the Oscar-nominated The Power of the Dog as contributing to the need for reshoots. Interestingly, Cumberbatch did not mention the Doctor Strange sequel going through narrative changes. Of course, reshoots are not uncommon, particularly for big-budget films like this. Marvel Studios is known to allot time and budget for reshoots, in order to account for anything that may need to be tweaked following principal photography. -Collider
