Warning: SPOILERS for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness!
Sam Raimi returns to the Marvel fold as the director of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and he brings a signature Easter egg with him. Doctor Strange 2 marks Sam Raimi's first Marvel movie since 2007's Spider-Man 3 and his first feature film as a director since 2013's Oz The Great and Powerful. Outside of the Spider-Man trilogy, Raimi is best known for the Evil Dead trilogy. The horror trilogy made both him and star Bruce Campbell cult icons, and Campbell continues to star in Raimi's work, either in a starring role or a cameo. True to form, Bruce Campbell makes a cameo in Doctor Strange 2.
It's one of many signature partnerships that Raimi brings to his work, including his collaboration with composer Danny Elfman, who scores Doctor Strange 2. Raimi is also known for combining brutal and bloody horror with black comedy, which he brings to Doctor Strange 2 in spades. On top of all this, there's another significant thing that Sam Raimi brings to his films, and it's nothing to do with casting or tone.
A yellow 1973 Oldsmobile Delta 88, nicknamed "The Classic" has appeared in almost every Sam Raimi movie since he was learning to make movies on Super-8, before his first feature, 1982's The Evil Dead. Like childhood friend Bruce Campbell and his brother Ted, "The Classic" is a good-luck talisman that Sam Raimi brings to his films, and is one of the numerous Easter eggs in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Raimi's beloved yellow 1973 Oldsmobile Delta 88 finally appears in Doctor Strange 2 towards the climax of the film. Stranded on a ruined Earth by Wanda Maximoff, the Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Earth-838's Doctor Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams) must seek out another Doctor Strange. They believe that this alternate Strange can help them stop Wanda from stealing the powers of America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez). It's in this apparent wasteland that the car makes an appearence.
As they wander through this unnerving and ruined world, Steven Strange and Christine Palmer observe the devastating effects of a multiverse incursion. It's such an event that the Illuminati have warned Doctor Strange about, and it's likely that further incursions will factor into future MCU storytelling. Post-incursion, Strange's New York is a topsy turvy wasteland. Skulls and bones litter the ground, and a swirling maelstrom appears in the sky. And, hovering above it all, is the yellow 1973 Oldsmobile Delta 88. It's "The Classic's" cameo, combined with Bruce Campbell as the Pizza Poppa that lifts the film beyond Doctor Strange 2's Illuminati setup for future MCU movies.
This signature Easter egg marks out Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness as not just an important MCU movie, but a proper Sam Raimi movie too. Both Campbell and the car have a long history with the director, with both turning up in some surprising places. Arguably "The Classic's" most inexplicable appearance occurred in Raimi's neo-Western The Quick and the Dead, supposedly disguised as a prop. Given that the director managed to fit the car into such an incongruous setting, it's hardly surprising that it also featured in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
