The Grossest MCU Death Is Sam Raimi's Fault
Fans have director Sam Raimi to thank for the grossest MCU death to date. The Marvel franchise has always been relatively tame in terms of gore and mature themes. But the franchise continues to evolve, pushing the boundaries of the PG-13 rating — "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" notably featured Chris Pratt dropping the MCU's first F-bomb. The series has also been upping the ante regarding violence, and 2022's "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" is a perfect example of how far creatives have been pushing the envelope. While speaking with Empire, "Multiverse" writer Michael Waldron explained how Raimi cooked up Black Bolt's (Anson Mount) horrific death.
"We were sitting on Zoom discussing how we kill Black Bolt, and somebody said his power is shooting ultra-powerful energy from his mouth. And I swear to God, without missing a beat, Sam goes, 'What mouth?' And Sam just painted the scene for us, '... and then you just cut to him, Wanda's just ripped his mouth closed, and he screams, and his head explodes,'" Waldron explained. "That's master of horror Sam Raimi for you."
In the gross "Multiverse of Madness" scene, Black Bolt's head briefly expands before collapsing after he speaks in frustration. A small amount of blood is seen dripping from his nose as he falls to the ground, dead. The shocking moment is followed up by several members of the Illuminati being murdered by Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen), making it one of the best sequences in the MCU.
Marvel gave Sam Raimi almost full creative control
It's not surprising that Sam Raimi is the one responsible for the grossest MCU death. Before he directed the original "Spider-Man" trilogy, he was known for his trailblazing horror flicks, especially the gory "Evil Dead" franchise. Raimi previously compared "Multiverse of Madness" to "Evil Dead II," with both projects featuring tons of horrific sequences. "Multiverse of Madness" is filled with scenes that are classically Raimi, like the idea of Doctor Strange commanding a reanimated corpse of himself.
When the director first signed onto the project, replacing Scott Derrickson, many were worried that the filmmaker wouldn't be given full creative control to tell the insane stories he's known for. But seeing as he gleefully murdered Black Bolt (Mount), it seems like Marvel boss Kevin Feige let Raimi loose ... with certain restrictions. "['Multiverse of Madness'] had to follow so many things in Marvel lore, [so] even though I had complete freedom, the previous movies and where Marvel wants to go in the future really directed the path in an incredibly specific way," Raimi told Rolling Stone, explaining how he could do whatever he wanted within certain parameters.
Black Bolt's gruesome death is just one of the many highlights in "Multiverse of Madness," a film that brought Raimi back to the superhero genre. The director recently confirmed that he isn't working on "Spider-Man 4" with Tobey Maguire, which only opens up the possibility of the filmmaker telling more insane stories in the MCU.