Here's How Sam Raimi Really Feels About Those Doctor Strange 2 Spoilers
Contains major spoilers for "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness"
Unfortunately for fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and other major movie franchises, movie spoilers have become a way of life in the age of social media and cell phone cameras. Long gone are the days when moviegoers could be reliably surprised by something they didn't see coming in a hotly anticipated blockbuster film.
The latest notable cinematic cats to be let out of bag came via the MCU's Benedict Cumberbatch and Elizabeth Olsen starring "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness," which heralded the long-awaited return of director Sam Raimi to the superhero genre. Much like "Spider-Man: No Way Home," which famously struggled to conceal the fact that the film featured returning Spider-Men and their respective villains from across the multiverse, "Multiverse of Madness" has its share of big surprises. Some were a little more obvious, including the introduction of the Illuminati, as teased in various promotional spots for the film. But others, like the identity of the members of the Illuminati themselves (and the star-studded cast who portrayed them), were genuine surprises and reveals that fans who didn't see the film on opening night had to work hard to avoid.
Here's what Raimi himself had to say about navigating the minefield of "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" spoilers.
Raimi says pre-release spoilers are now part of the Marvel experience
In a joint interview with "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" screenwriter Michael Waldron in the Los Angeles Times, Sam Raimi seemed to embrace the idea of fans dropping spoilers online, but added that sometimes those spoilers are not all that they seem.
"I think it's part of the fun, It's [a part of] the package when you take on the job, that that's part of the game," Raimi told the publication. "And I think the fans love playing that game and Marvel loves playing it back, sometimes surprising fans with details about the movie, but then other times taking some fan guesses and intentionally misleading the audience in an attempt to save the surprises for the movie. So, I thought it was a lot of fun."
Arguably one of the biggest surprises regarding the Illuminati in "Multiverse of Madness" didn't come with the reveal of their identities, but the carnage they soon faced at the hands of the vengeful Wanda Maximoff, aka Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen). True, spoilers about the violent end of the Illuminati immediately found their way online upon the film's release, but it was likely not a plot turn many fans who managed to remain unspoiled saw coming.
"You know you're signing up for that and you can probably [try to] outsmart yourself thinking too much about what the fans know and what they don't know," Waldron told the LA Times. "But in some cases, like the Illuminati, it felt like we got to play those fan expectations to our advantage and get some great surprises and reactions out of our audience."
Also starring Benedict Wong, Xochitl Gomez, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Rachel McAdams, "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" is now playing in theaters.