Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: doctor strange in the multiverse of madness

  • ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ Pulls in an Impressive $27.2M in First Day Internationally

    ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ Pulls in an Impressive $27.2M in First Day Internationally

    Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is already making quite an impressive footprint in the industry, as its first day in international markets has pulled in $27.2M. As such, the film is currently trailing behind Spider-Man: No Way Home but only by 4%. That is an impressive number considering just how large that film was without a release in key markets and the fact that Multiverse of Madness isn’t releasing in a few countries due to controversies of their LGBTQ references. The film is currently 153% ahead of the original 2016 film and 210% of The Batman on a like-to-like basis.

    The Benedict Cumberbatch-led film managed to keep the top spot in the Asia Pacific, as well as European markets such as France, Italy, and Germany. It has also pulled in $3.5M in Mexico and $2.7M in Brazil, which puts it at $10.3M in all Latin American markets. It has already topped those territories while still being in its previews. Even Korea, which has been pulling back due to concerns with the pandemic, has managed to return to cinemas. It may have made an additional $14.7M which isn’t included in the $27.2M.

    We’ll see more releases in other international markets, and it looks like the film is going to be quite the crowd-pleaser. The rumors may give it some additional legs and while it probably won’t come near to what No Way Home managed, it seems like it’ll definitely be carrying the next month as more films start to release. It also is a good sign that Marvel Studios’ expansion into Disney+ may have not scared off people to still come in and see their latest entry. Word-of-mouth and its horror elements may be a key factor moving forward, especially as it may not quite pull in the usual four-quadrant market due to these elements.

    Source: Deadline

  • Xochitl Gomez and Victoria Alonso On the Importance of LGBTQ+ Visibility in ‘Multiverse of Madness’

    Xochitl Gomez and Victoria Alonso On the Importance of LGBTQ+ Visibility in ‘Multiverse of Madness’

    Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is set to add quite a bit to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and perhaps its most important addition will be Xochitl Gomez‘s new young hero, America Chavez. The character, who can punch open portals to other universes, will undoubtedly be an integral part of Marvel’s superhero repertoire going forward, but it won’t be her abilities that mean the most to some viewers. Chavez is a Latina member of the LGBTQ+ community, raised by two loving mothers in her own timeline. Marvel Studios Executive Producer Victoria Alonso, herself raising a daughter with her wife, commented on what it would have meant to her had America been on the big screen in her youth:

    What it would’ve meant is to have had a tad more understanding of the person that I was and that I was growing into being was not invisible. I think visibility at any age is incredibly important whether you’re 10, 20, 30 or 80. To have your people and to have someone who says, ‘I am, and it’s OK. I am, and I am powerful. I am, and I belong.’ I think any young adult could have that today, [specifically] the 42 percent of LGBTQIA adults that consider suicide or those that do it, would probably think twice that maybe they’re OK [as they are]. My hope today is that—as a small gift from a bunch of filmmakers that want to tell great stories—if there are any kids out there thinking even minimally that their lives are not worth it, I can honestly tell you their lives are worth it and we will celebrate it with them.

    Victoria Alonso

    Alonso also commented on the film’s recent ban in Saudi Arabia:

    I understand that certain lands have certain rules and I live in a land where our rules are that of inclusion. And we will continue to fight for inclusion in every place, city, and state so that every kid that doesn’t see themselves can at least see a tiny little bit of who they can become.

    Victoria Alonso

    Gomez chimed in on the conversation as well, revealing her excitement to be part of what she considers to be something very important:

    It’s huge that I get to represent these communities that maybe haven’t felt seen before. And you really do see her—I mean, how do you miss her? She’s on the poster! How crazy is that?

    Xochitl Gomez

    Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness hits theaters on May 6th.

    Source: Deadline

  • Rachel McAdams Explains How Christine Palmer Has Changed Since ‘Doctor Strange’

    Rachel McAdams Explains How Christine Palmer Has Changed Since ‘Doctor Strange’

    Despite taking place across infinite universes, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will see the return of quite a few familiar faces. Among them is Rachel McAdams‘ Dr. Christine Palmer, who has not been seen on the big screen since 2016’s original Doctor Strange movie. The last time Dr. Palmer made an appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Sacred Timeline, she had discovered her on-and-off lover, Benedict Cumberbatch‘s Dr. Stephen Strange, had gained magical abilities and was now saving the world from supernatural threats. In a recent interview with Fandom, McAdams was asked how the character has adjusted her life since learning about the existence of magic. According to the actress, Palmer will be in a pretty good place when audiences find her in the sequel:

    I think she’s just gone fully into it. She’s hooked on multiversal travel and she’s become a bit of an expert on it, I feel like. It’s very much something that she’s comfortable in now. So quite different from the Christine of the previous film, [where] this was all just happening for the first time.

    Rachel McAdams

    Palmer’s last MCU appearance was technically in last year’s animated What If…?. A variant of the character from a universe where she perishes in Stephen’s fateful car accident played a pivotal role in one of the show’s best episodes. McAdams returned as the voice of Palmer, but Multiverse of Madness will be the first time audiences learn what happened to her in the main timeline after Strange took up residence in the Sanctum Sanctorum.

    Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness hits theaters this Friday.

    Source: Fandom

  • Elizabeth Olsen on WandaVision Fan Theories: “We Should Have Done That!”

    Elizabeth Olsen on WandaVision Fan Theories: “We Should Have Done That!”

    When WandaVision first debuted, fans were unsure of what to expect. Not only was it a unique series that would take Wanda across various decades, but it was the first series produced by Marvel Studios, leaving fans to theorize with each new episode. The common theory, of course, was that Mephisto would appear. However, there was one other theory that fans speculated over for weeks – whether or not Evan Peters’ Quicksilver was from the multiverse.

    While we were the first to break the news that Peters would appear in the series, even we were unsure how Peters’ Quicksilver would debut within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Would he be the new Pietro going forward? Or was his role merely a cameo? Unfortunately, though, in the end, Peters’ Quicksilver was essentially a throwaway as the actor was later revealed to be playing the role of Ralph Bohner who was under the influence of Agatha Harkness. For fans, it was a frustrating reveal. As it turns out, though, Scarlet Witch actress Elizabeth Olsen wishes they’d gone that route with the character.

    In a recent interview with The Independent, Olsen noted that she found many of the fan theories surrounding WandaVision to be clever. “I love fan theories ‘cause I always think they’re very clever. There are usually ones where I’m like, ‘S***, we should have done that!”

    She specifically noted the theories surrounding Peters’ Pietro. “There was one where they thought we were bringing in the Multiverse with the Pietro character, with Evan [Peters.],” she explained. “The sad thing is, when we were doing WandaVisionbefore Covid, that was not part of the docket yet, and then itkind of overlapped when we finished the show. So we could have actually gone back and fixed or adjusted that. I thought that could have been cool to make Pietro a part of the Multiverse.”

    While certain fan theories regarding WandaVision didn’t come to fruition, the expansion upon the multiverse in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is sure to open plenty of doors going forward.

    Source: The Independent.

  • Sam Raimi Describes Changing ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ Based On Other MCU Projects

    Sam Raimi Describes Changing ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ Based On Other MCU Projects

    Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness may be the first Marvel Cinematic Universe project with “multiverse” in the title, but it’s certainly not the first to tackle the topic. The movie is set to continue some of the plotlines established in both Wandavision and Spider-Man: No Way Home, and will utilize several elements first introduced in Loki. Keeping this in mind made things a little more complicated for director Sam Raimi, who had to juggle more than just his own project when developing plotlines. Luckily, the filmmaker is pretty sure everything turned out for the best, and even had some help from writer Michael Waldron along the way:

    It was a fun challenge, and a little scary. Most of the work was done by [screenwriter] Michael Waldron, who is a really big fan of the Marvel Comics and has friends on the WandaVision writing staff, so we would communicate with each other, the WandaVision team and ours and the Spider Man: No Way Home team, and we would keep abreast of their changes. And even while we were shooting, they were shooting, and we’d be making changes based on changes that they made, because we really wanted this to be the next installment. We really wanted it to be a really good — not sequel, but a very logical next step for the fans.

    Sam Raimi

    This could partially explain why Multiverse of Madness underwent so many reshoots during production. The MCU seems to be an ever-changing beast, like any good comic book universe, and the next solo Doctor Strange adventure still has to fit somewhere between the lines. It also likely didn’t help that Multiverse of Madness was originally scheduled to premiere before No Way Home, which meant the way both films referenced each other would have had to be changed to accommodate the new timeline. Thankfully, it seems like this level of studio adjustment worked out better for Raimi than it did when he was making Spider-Man 3 in 2007.

    Check out Multiverse of Madness when it hits theaters on May 6.

    Source: Fandom

  • Sam Raimi Reveals First Cut of ‘Multiverse of Madness’ Was Much Longer

    Sam Raimi Reveals First Cut of ‘Multiverse of Madness’ Was Much Longer

    As Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness prepares to blow fans’ minds, more information is coming to light about what it was like behind the scenes. Audiences are eager to witness director Sam Raimi’s return to the Marvel movie scene and what his signature flair will add to the horror-inspired film.

    One aspect of the unreleased film that has caught people’s attention is the official run time. Conversations about run times seem to have increased dramatically in the past few years, and many have questioned whether the Multiverse of Madness’s two-hour and five-minute run time is appropriate for the perceived scope of the film.

    Raimi recently told Collider that the first cut of the film was indeed significantly longer than the final cut. Apparently, the final film was cut down from a two-hour and forty-minute run time. At that length, the Doctor Strange sequel would have been one of the MCU’s longest films to date. The final cut is actually right about the average length for an MCU film.

    In explaining that there are a few deleted scenes he expects to make the eventual Blu-ray, Raimi commented on the film’s runtime:

    Well, the first cut…I actually don’t remember the length of it…it was probably about two hours and forty minutes and it slowly came down even though we did the reshoots. We took out material even though the reshoots went in.

    Sam Raimi

    While the runtime is controversial despite the fact that general audiences have yet to see Multiverse of Madness, fans should trust that the filmmakers left out material for the good of the film. You can read our review as to why no one should worry about how long the sequel is.

    Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness releases in theaters on May 6, 2022.

    Source: Collider

  • ‘Doctor Strange’ Writer Regrets Some Multiverse Rules He Introduced in ‘Loki’

    ‘Doctor Strange’ Writer Regrets Some Multiverse Rules He Introduced in ‘Loki’

    Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is almost upon us. You can read our spoiler-free review here. The 28th Marvel Studios feature film will be the latest—and likely biggest—leap into the multiversal lore of Phase Four. The movie promises to be a bold and wild Sam Raimi-directed adventure that sees our titular character, with company from major characters like the Scarlet Witch and America Chavez, travel through the multiverse to prevent a great evil that threatens it.

    The Marvel Cinematic Universe’s multiverse was, in fact, broken open during the events of the season finale of the Loki Disney+ series that debuted in 2021. With the new multiverse in full focus going into the Doctor Strange sequel, the film had quite the helping hand in its writer Michael Waldron, who also penned Loki. Previously, producer Richie Palmer has praised Waldron’s involvement with respect to how the Disney+ series already set the groundwork for some of the rules of the multiverse.

    Interestingly, Waldron recently told Digital Spy that he has some regrets about how rigidly he defined some of the “rules” of the multiverse in Loki due to its potential effects on future multiverse projects:

    We worked pretty hard on Loki to make it as airtight as possible. But there were times when I was like, ‘Oh, shit, I wish I hadn’t have defined that so clearly. I don’t know why I had to be so specific in my time-travel television show about the rules of the multiverse.

    Michael Waldron

    Even though there may be some challenges in keeping multiversal mechanics consistent in the MCU as a whole going forward, Waldron still believes that his work on Loki greatly benefitted the writing process of Multiverse of Madness. He stated:

    But, I was glad that I came in with institutional knowledge of the multiverse and was able to get the creative team of Doctor Strange on the same page as me on everything. Because like with Loki, that’s the most important thing when you’re dealing with this…You have to all have a shared language of all this stuff, otherwise it can get pretty confusing.

    Michael Waldron

    If Loki limited some of the creative direction of Multiverse of Madness with respect to the physics and understandings of the multiverse, it seems as though it still ultimately enabled the sequel to have a coherent and consistent tone with the MCU. A “shared language” about the multiverse will undoubtedly come in handy to both filmmakers and audiences going forward.

    Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness releases in theaters on May 6, 2022.

    Source: Digital Spy

  • Sam Raimi Finally Explains Dancing Tobey in ‘Spider-Man 3’

    Sam Raimi Finally Explains Dancing Tobey in ‘Spider-Man 3’

    It’s been fifteen years since the critically panned release of Spider-Man 3, but that doesn’t mean director Sam Raimi is done answering for it. One of the film’s most iconic moments comes when Tobey Maguire‘s Peter Parker finally succumbs to the dark desires of the Venom symbiote, but finds himself hilariously dancing down the street instead of performing any of the irredeemable actions one might have expected. The sequence has since become an internet phenomenon, with fans using gifs, videos, and images of Maguire‘s terrible dance moves for use in making memes and ultimately making fun of the film itself. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse even recreated the routine as a comedic reference to the character’s onscreen history.

    In a recent interview with Fandom, Raimi was asked outright his thoughts on “Dancing Tobey” becoming so popular in the years since he directed the scene. His response was expectedly lighthearted and upbeat:

    Well, we meant it to be funny, actually. It was Peter Parker’s version — this lame kid — of what it must be like to be his evil self. But he’s so whipped. He’s so out of it that that’s his take on it. And that didn’t go over well with the audience. But that’s what we were trying to do. So I’m not surprised that people… I’m glad people find it funny! We wanted it to be fun.

    Sam Raimi

    Raimi is known for using over-the-top, often somewhat cheesy, techniques in his films. So, it lines up that he would have used such a goofy performance to convey Peter’s emotions in Spider-Man 3. It’s also nice that he isn’t hurt by the initial outcry against the dancing, and instead embraces the fun of laughing with his audience.

    Raimi‘s next superhero project, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, releases on May 6th.

    Source: Fandom

  • Sam Raimi Thinks Scarlet Witch is More Powerful Than Doctor Strange

    Sam Raimi Thinks Scarlet Witch is More Powerful Than Doctor Strange

    One eternal debate among Marvel fans is about just how powerful Wanda Maximoff really is. The Scarlet Witch has always been a dominant force in the comics, and the events of WandaVision have finally helped bring the character up to speed in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. After fully embracing her abilities, Elizabeth Olsen‘s Avenger was able to best a wildly capable witch and take down the centuries-old Agatha Harkness. However, the character has never faced the MCU’s headlining magic-user, Benedict Cumberbatch‘s Dr. Stephen Strange, and it’s still up in the air whether or not that fight is one she could win.

    Luckily, Wanda’s next big screen appearance will be in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, so it’s possible events play out in such a way that fans will finally get an answer to that question. A recent poll conducted by Fandom revealed that 62% of voters thought Scarlet Witch would wipe the floor with the Master of the Mystic Arts, and an ensuing interview with director Sam Raimi let slip the filmmaker was inclined to agree. Citing her use of Chaos Magic as the tipping point, Raimi explained:

    Just from my reading of the Marvel comic books, knowing what happened to her, she seems like she just was born with it. That chaos magic is really a bad, bad mother. You don’t want to mess with it. So I bet that she, when push came to shove in a fair fight, could probably handle Doctor Strange.

    Sam Raimi

    Other members of the Multiverse of Madness cast also chimed in, and every single one of them put their vote towards Wanda. Benedict Wong called the decision a “tough” one, but eventually gave the nod to Maximoff, remarking, “It’s the chaos magic, isn’t it?”. Rachel McAdams explained her stance was due solely to WandaVision:

    I loved WandaVision so much. Not that I haven’t loved Benedict [Cumberbatch] in everything he’s ever done, but I did love what Lizzie did with that character. She was just such a force!

    Rachel McAdams

    Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness hits theaters on May 6, 2022.

    Source: Fandom

  • Kevin Feige Agress There Were Too Many Spoilers in the ‘Doctor Strange 2’ Trailers

    Kevin Feige Agress There Were Too Many Spoilers in the ‘Doctor Strange 2’ Trailers

    Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is a film that was always going to have a rough time promoting. Most of the film is seemingly building up Strange’s adventure through the multiverse and even a meeting with the Illuminati. While the initial tease of Patrick Stewart in the trailer was something that got many people’s attention, later promos included quite a bit more than what people were bargaining for. One even included some massive reveals that probably weren’t meant to make their way online before the release.

    It seems that Kevin Feige, the president of Marvel Studios, also agrees with that sentiment. As when he was asked during the premiere, he stated without hesitation that “there’s been too much in the trailers“. Something many would agree with, especially with those trailers that were made publicly available this short ahead of the film’s release.

    There’s been too much in the trailers, I don’t want to talk about anything else. But I will say, Sam has made this movie to be experienced on as big a screen as possible, and it’s even the first one in a long time that 3D was really taken into account too, because the first Doctor Strange film I think was out best film ever in 3D, and this one now will be right alongside that.

    Kevin Feige

    It’s unclear how much influence Marvel Studios has over its marketing, as the trailers may have been coordinated directly via Disney. Though, one would assume they would require a sign-off from the company and producers, as there were hints directors also actively work with the marketing teams. It does seem safe to say that Feige might take this feedback internally and ensure that it doesn’t repeat again.

    You can watch the red carpet event here:

    Source: YouTube via The Direct