Leading into Phase 4, fans knew that the first adventure was going to start a wide sweeping Multiverse journey. Starting with WandaVision , then with Spider-Man: No Way Home , and finishing (maybe) with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
There were a lot of fan theories being thrown around during WandaVision's run.By the time the final credits rolled, some fans felt disappointment settle in. Many of their theories had ended up being a bust, including that of a certain sorcerer appearing.
In fact, at the end of the day, there wasn't really any direct connection to Doctor Strange at all. Sure, Wanda's place as a character was set up, and she was given a quest to discover her place in the magical world. However, the question remained: how did this directly tie into the upcoming Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness ?
Well, thanks to Reddit, fans are at least given an answer in regard to Raimi's involvement with WandaVision .
DID RAIMI VISIT WESTVIEW?
In an AMA today on the subreddit r/movies , Sam Raimi was on hand to answer questions from fans while promoting his upcoming film The Unholy .
Within it, Reddit user u/RespectThyHypnotoad asked the famous horror director about his experience with WandaVision.
I love your work. Spider-Man films, Drag Me To Hell, The Quick and the Dead...
I along with many are excited to see Dr. Strange 2, I'm wondering if you watched or had any input with WandaVision. Elizabeth Olsen was phenomenal in it and I'm excited to see more of her under your direction.
Raimi's response was a simple one, confirming that the WandaVision creative team did help him "once or twice" for his Doctor Strange In the Multiverse of Madness development, though he did not provide input to them on their DIsney+ series:
"Thanks for the compliments. I didn't have any input into WandaVision but their team helped me out once or twice on Doctor Strange 2. Yes, Elizabeth's is awesome in it."
RAIMI'S ONE-WAY INVOLVEMENT
It's not all too surprising to hear that Sam Raimi had no hand to play in how WandaVision, though it's certainly at least notable. Given Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness takes place after the Westview incident, Wanda's solo outing would have been mapped out already.
If anything, the events of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness would have been influenced by WandaVision. This fits with the fact that Raimi did in fact work with the team over there in figuring out his multiverse extravaganza.
Creatives of different Marvel projects communicating with each other is nothing new. In fact, it wouldn't be surprising if there had been consultation between people on projects that we would have never guessed.
It's great to have confirmation that Raimi has in fact watched the show instead of relying on a cliff-notes version given to him by the folks at Marvel. It's not something you can necessarily blame him for. Given how busy he must be to have been signed onto a movie as big as Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness so late in the game.
