Doctor Strange has been pulling overtime in the MCU lately in more ways than one. Benedict Cumberbatch is set to reprise his role as the Sorcerer Supreme in both Spider-Man: No Way Home in December and his own sequel Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness in May next year.
The sequel has already overcome a number of challenges like a director swap from Scott Derrickson to Sam Raimi and faced a difficult shoot during the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK. While filming for the movie was thought to be complete there was always the potential for there to be reshoots which are fairly commonplace for Marvel movies.
Now it's become clear just how extensive the reshoots on Doctor Strange 2 will be.
Doctor Strange 2 Scheduled For Long Reshoots
The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that Marvel's Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness is set to undergo significant reshoots in the coming weeks.
The outlet reports the production will undertake a further six weeks of shooting in Los Angeles with cast and crew working six days a week. The block is intended to cover both reshoots and additional photography.
Sam Raimi remains the director on the reshoots and Michael Waldron (who also wrote Loki) will be writing the additional scenes. The crew involved in the reshoots are said to be Marvel regulars who worked on pick-ups for Spider-Man: No Way Home and Moon Knight.
Sources revealed to The Hollywood Reporter that the reasons for these long reshoots are two-fold. Apparently, two weeks of production were delayed from the initial shoot due to actor availability and will now be filmed within this block. The production is also said to be catching up from pandemic-related matters that slowed down the initial shoot.
The Multiverse of Madness Takes Time
While the intensity of these reshoots may seem alarming it's worth noting that additional shooting on Marvel films happens pretty regularly. Benedict Cumberbatch has also said in multiple interviews that reshoots were scheduled for the film and that they are "exciting".
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness already has a big job to pull off. It needs to hold up the continuity from Spider-Man: No Way Home, as well as tie in Scarlet Witch's WandaVision storyline and introduce America Chavez into the MCU. It's a lot for any Marvel film to handle, let alone Doctor Strange 2 which also had to deal with the challenges of the pandemic.
Insiders denied to The Hollywood Reporter that these reshoots would be used to retool the story. However, with Marvel announcing new films and TV shows all the time it wouldn't be surprising if some parts of Doctor Strange 2 need to be updated in order to maintain the continuity of the ever-growing MCU.
The film's release date was recently delayed by two months along with a handful of other movies on Marvel's slate. Hopefully, this extra production time and the additional reshoots will be exactly what the filmmakers need to get the vision of Doctor Strange 2 right.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will debut in theaters on May 6, 2022.
