From May 4th, the doors of the multiverse are definitively open, and Doctor Strange will take us by the hand on a breathtaking journey, directed by the genius of Sam Raimi.

If there is a Marvel movie that, after Avengers: Endgame, brings with it a really cumbersome load of expectations, it is Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Because this is the first MCU film that officially tackles the multiverse, because it finally sees Benedict Cumberbatch’s beloved doctor return to center stage, because it promises so many exciting cameos and because its direction is signed by Sam Raimi, who is a superhero if he intends since it’s still his best genre film in the history of cinema (we’re talking about Spider-Man 2, of course)!

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, what happens in the film?

The events of Doctor Strange 2 take place in an unspecified future, following the events of No Way Home. Stephen wakes up from a strange nightmare, in which a man who had the same face as him died trying to save a girl with mysterious powers. 

He doesn’t pay too much attention to it, gets up, gets up, and goes to a wedding: it’s Christine’s, the woman he loves but doesn’t dare to chase, too scared by that feeling. But as at the reception he tries to apologize to the bride now out of her reach, screams and confusion from the street draw his attention to him. 

He goes into action and finds himself fighting against the sprawling Gargantos who try to capture a little girl, but not just anyone, the very one he dreamed of the previous night. Thus begins an unexpected journey for our hero who, to complete the mission to protect this mysterious girl, will ask for the help of the most powerful Avenger on Earth: Wanda Maximoff.

Looking for Sam Raimi

The excitement that preceded Doctor Strange’s arrival in the theater in the Multiverse of Madness is, as mentioned, largely linked to the presence of Sam Raimi as director. The visionary director of The House and father of the Spider-Man trilogy with Tobey Maguire returns to work after twenty years with Kevin Feige, to bring a superhero to the screen, 

but this time the stakes seem higher since we are within the MCU and the hero is not the wall climber who holds a special place in the director’s heart. However, it is a character that allows Raimi to “turn up the volume” in certain directions that he knows how to take very well, such as horror and visionary language. 

Sure, it feels like Raimi’s style has been harnessed into Kevin Feige’s tight-knit, but it’s also an understandable choice since if the MCU works so well, it’s precisely because there is only one mind-making the decisions that they matter. This did not prevent Raimi, fortunately, from scoring a couple of really brilliant and visually breathtaking sequences, first of all, a clash between Strange and a very particular opponent that will not go unnoticed.

There have also been a lot of talks, about Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, about the leaks, and the level of secrecy à la Avengers: Endgame, to put it in the words of Benedict Cumberbatch, however, we want to reassure the spectators: no spoiler can ruin the viewing the film, since it is primarily a hero’s maturation journey.

 Beyond the trappings, the more or less expected characters, the villain of this adventure, and all the obstacles that Strange will have to face, the true emotional heart of the film is Stephen’s inner journey and the acceptance of his life and his happiness. 

“You are happy?” Christine asks him, at her wedding, at the beginning of the film; and regardless of the answer that Stephen’s proud heart pushes on his lips, we know that the truth changes, between the beginning and the end of the journey in the Multiverse of Madness. On this path, he is unwittingly assisted and aided by America Chavez, an irresistible teenager who makes his debut in the MCU.

What has perhaps been lost sight of, after so many collective films and team-ups, is that Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is the second chapter of what should be a trilogy dedicated to the character, and like those reserved for Thor, Cap, and Iron Man foresees the development of the same towards a maturation that will lead him to be his best possible version of a human being and a hero.