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Having seen ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,’ I can say bringing Sam Raimi into the MCU fold was an excellent choice, especially given the source material. Fourteen years in, the MCU and larger superhero genre have begun to feel stale. So bringing in a director who can offer an auteur approach to one of the franchise’s films is a fresh change of stylistic pace. ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ kept me on the edge of my seat and with a pit in my stomach far more than the average Marvel flick. But this is not the first time Raimi has worked with Marvel, nor helmed a wildly successful superhero film. Many MCU fans my age likely started their journey into Marvel movies with 2002’s ‘Spider-Man,’ also directed by the filmmaker, and now all MCU fans have been loosely associated with the picture, as that film’s Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) and Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe) were multi-versally introduced in 2021’s ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home.’ However, Sam Raimi’s impressive career extends far beyond Marvel Comics and superheroes, yet surprisingly still consistently involves one Bruce Campbell.
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A Series of Shorts
Sam Raimi’s story is that of the classic master director, beginning as a scrappy indie filmmaker. Early on, with his group of friends, Raimi produced several short independent films, typically of the horror genre. From 1972 to 1979, these include ‘Out West,’ a western comedy, ‘The Great Bogus Monkey Pignuts Swindle,’ ‘Uncivil War Birds,’ ‘The James R. Hoffa Story, Part II,’ ‘Mystery No Mystery,’ ‘Attack of the Pillsbury Doughboy,’ ‘The Happy Valley Kid,’ ‘Six Months to Live,’ ‘Picnic,’ ‘It’s Murder!,’ ‘Civil War Part II,’ ‘Within the Woods,’ ‘Clockwork,’ and ‘William Shakespeare: The Movie.’ Of these fourteen indie shorts, actor Bruce Campbell stars in ten. The two have been longtime friends since 1975. Raimi has traced his fascination with filmmaking back to when his father brought a Super 8 film camera home. Shortly after, he began his journey as a director, eventually making his feature-length film directorial debut in 1981.
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The ‘80s & ‘90s
As mentioned, Raimi’s first feature film was ‘The Evil Dead,’ a horror movie about a group of friends who go to a cabin where they encounter otherworldly demons who inhabit and reanimate corpses. This also happened to be Bruce Campbell’s acting debut for a feature, having formed an impressive career of ranging shorts. ‘The Evil Dead’ went on to give way to four more films and a television series, ‘Evil Dead II’ in 1987, ‘Army of Darkness’ in 1992, ‘Evil Dead’ in 2013, ‘Evil Dead Rise’ in 2023, and ‘Ash vs Evil Dead’ which ran from 2015 to 2018 – as well as a musical. 1985 was a busy year for Raimi, as his second feature film, ‘Crimewave’ premiered, as well as his short, ‘The Sappy Sap,’ which was also part of a re-release of his short films as a packaged series. In 1988, Raimi got the chance to work with the Godfather of Punk himself, Iggy Pop, as the two united to produce a music video for Iggy’s Grammy-winning song, ‘Cold Metal.’ Soon after, in 1989, he also helmed the video for the Royal Court of China’s ‘Half the Truth’ song.
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In 1990, Raimi broke in the decade with ‘Darkman,’ a vengeance flick where a burned and bandaged scientist wreaks havoc on those who’ve wronged him. Raimi’s next western came in the form of ‘The Quick and the Dead’ (1995), which starred Leonardo DiCaprio. Then in 1998, Raimi directed the critically acclaimed ‘A Simple Plan,’ which starred Bill Paxton, Billy Bob Thornton, Bridget Fonda, and Gary Cole. The film was adapted from the novel of the same title, which tells the tale of characters coming across a large sum of cash, leading them into chaos and turmoil, written by Scott B. Smith. The next adaptation under Raimi’s command was ‘For the Love of the Game,’ based on the novel again of the same title, written by Michael Shaara, and starred Kevin Costner, John C. Reilly, and Kelly Preston, as well as J.K. Simmons, who would go on to play J.Jonah Jameson in Raimi’s Spider-Man films.
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2000’s onward
In the Year of the Dragon, ‘The Gift’ came out, which followed a fortune teller (Cate Blanchett) working to unravel a mysterious disappearance. Keanu Reeves also makes an appearance in this film, for all of you Reeves fanatics, as well as J.K. Simmons, Gary Cole, and Hilary Swank.
Then, two years later, the world was arguably forever changed. Yes, ‘Iron Man’ can be responsible for the beginning of the MCU as we know it, but the superhero genre (and therefore modern cinema, like it or not) would not be as we know it without Sam Raimi’s ‘Spider-Man.’ This Marvel movie truly paved the way for the blockbusters we all watch shatter box office records year after year, as it was the first major motion picture success for the comic book company and its properties, going on to spawn two sequel films with ‘Spider-Man 2’ and ‘Spider-Man 3.’ And, with these movies and their storylines now officially being made canon with the greater Marvel Cinematic Universe, the case for them to be counted as the dawn of the superhero genre is only stronger. Raimi then returned to his horror roots with 2009’s ‘Drag Me to Hell,’ which starred Alison Lohman, who played Christine Brown, the victim of a supernatural curse. Following this, he re-entered the blockbuster sphere, taking on the ‘The Wizard of Oz’ prequel, ‘Oz the Great and Powerful.’ This fantasy film set in the world of the lion, the Tin Man, and the Scarecrow shows us how a circus magician made his way to the Land of Oz and stars James Franco and Mila Kunis. The now-seasoned filmmaker stepped into the world of television in 2014, directing two episodes of the American comedy-drama, ‘Rake,’ which served as an adaptation of the Australian series, ‘Rake,’ which starred Richard Roxburgh.
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Fast forward past the ‘Evil Dead’ TV series and another short titled, ‘The Black Ghiandola,’ Raimi directed three episodes of the ‘50 States of Fright,’ series, for which he also serves as executive producer. The horror anthology series has showcased stars such as Travis Fimmel from ‘Vikings’, Rachel Brosnahan from ‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,’ and Asa Butterfield from ‘Sex Education.’ ‘50 States of Fright’ was residing on the now-defunct Quibi platform, but a third season is said to be in the works over at Roku. Most recently, Raimi directed the smash-hit, ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.’ The ‘Doctor Strange’ sequel came six years after the original, which for a fan like me was long awaited. Sure, we have seen Benedict Cumberbatch’s Sorcerer Supreme in several other MCU outings, such as ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ and ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home,’ but I’m specifically a Doctor Strange fan, a fan of the character. I’m a fan of the creepy, the macabre, the chilling, the horrifying. Bela Lugosi’s Dracula practically raised me.
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The comic book character of Doctor Strange is also based on another horror icon, though an actor. Vincent Price, star of 1959’s ‘House on Haunted Hill’ and 1953’s ‘House of Wax’ (as well as the man behind the monologue in Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller.’), served as the muse for the illustrated sorcerer created by legends Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. So, choosing a master of terror and dread like Raimi to craft the next Doctor Strange film seemed like not only a safe bet but a sure and smart one. And it paid off. ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ has made almost six hundred million dollars globally, and is proving to be another smashing success for Marvel and Sam Raimi. Raimi’s next film is said to be ‘The Kingkiller Chronicle,’ which is currently in pre-production.
Click here to read The Hollywood Insider’s CEO Pritan Ambroase’s love letter to Cinema, TV and Media. An excerpt from the love letter: The Hollywood Insider’s CEO/editor-in-chief Pritan Ambroase affirms, “We have the space and time for all your stories, no matter who/what/where you are. Media/Cinema/TV have a responsibility to better the world and The Hollywood Insider will continue to do so. Talent, diversity and authenticity matter in Cinema/TV, media and storytelling. In fact, I reckon that we should announce “talent-diversity-authenticity-storytelling-Cinema-Oscars-Academy-Awards” as synonyms of each other. We show respect to talent and stories regardless of their skin color, race, gender, sexuality, religion, nationality, etc., thus allowing authenticity into this system just by something as simple as accepting and showing respect to the human species’ factual diversity. We become greater just by respecting and appreciating talent in all its shapes, sizes, and forms. Award winners, which includes nominees, must be chosen on the greatness of their talent ALONE.
I am sure I am speaking for a multitude of Cinema lovers all over the world when I speak of the following sentiments that this medium of art has blessed me with. Cinema taught me about our world, at times in English and at times through the beautiful one-inch bar of subtitles. I learned from the stories in the global movies that we are all alike across all borders. Remember that one of the best symbols of many great civilizations and their prosperity has been the art they have left behind. This art can be in the form of paintings, sculptures, architecture, writings, inventions, etc. For our modern society, Cinema happens to be one of them. Cinema is more than just a form of entertainment, it is an integral part of society. I love the world uniting, be it for Cinema, TV, media, art, fashion, sport, etc. Please keep this going full speed.”
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Connor Garvin has been a writer for as long as he can remember. Writing has enabled him to distill the thoughts within his own head, as well as allowed him to have those same thoughts heard. Connor is a screenwriter, and filmmaker more generally, with a focus on television. He also believes that real change only occurs if everyone is heard, and is therefore a proud champion of the arts, and a kindred spirit to The Hollywood Insider and its values.
Connor Garvin has been a writer for as long as he can remember. Writing has enabled him to distill the thoughts within his own head, as well as allowed him to have those same thoughts heard. Connor is a screenwriter, and filmmaker more generally, with a focus on television. He also believes that real change only occurs if everyone is heard, and is therefore a proud champion of the arts, and a kindred spirit to The Hollywood Insider and its values.
