A single mad multiverse may not have been enough for Raimi, and rumors suggest he’s ready for another Stephen Strange adventure.
Sam Raimi made his comeback to the superhero genre in 2022 with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, following his direction of the Spider-Man trilogy in the 2000s. Despite the potential for division, the film was a financial success and raised questions about whether the director will return to Marvel for another film, possibly a fourth Spider-Man or an Avengers film. Though neither of those have materialised as of yet, it appears that he may be making a comeback to hang out with Stephen Strange.
Raimi is “definitely” coming back to helm the now-simplified Doctor Strange 3, according to Jeff Sneider. You wouldn’t be incorrect to assume that Marvel would put Strange on hold for a another six years given all that is going on. If this is accurate, however, it seems that Raimi is fully committed to Marvel Studios; according to Sneider, the filmmaker enjoyed working on Multiverse, and a deal is currently “all but closed” to bring him back. How this will fit into his schedule is unknown. In July, Raimi committed to helming and producing the isolated island suspense film Send Help for 20th Century Studios. However, as of the writing of this, that was the only solid news on the film, so he could possibly prioritize and focus on Strange, or knock out Send Help before diving back into the Marvel pool.
In any case, Multiverse of Madness left off with a fantastic set-up for a potential threequel. Strange enjoyed a leisurely stroll across New York following Wanda’s self-sacrifice. However, he slumped in the middle of the street and let out a scream as a third eye appeared in the centre of his forehead. (Aw.) He is unexpectedly contacted in the mid-credits sequence by Clea (Charlize Theron), the niece of Dormammu and potential love interest, asking him to assist in repairing the multiversal incursion he unintentionally caused earlier in the movie.
Should Raimi return, this would carry on the tradition of almost every MCU franchise having at least one returning director throughout their runs. Hopefully, Marvel will soon disclose other details regarding Doctor Strange 3, including its official title and the returning cast members from the first film.
