Sam Raimi says that he feels that Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has higher expectations than his Spider-Man trilogy. Raimi famously entered the Marvel universe before the MCU was created, launching one of the most successful superhero franchises of all time before they became an industry standard. Collectively, his Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy grossed nearly $2.5 billion at the box office, a little under the amount that  Avengers: Endgame grossed in 2019.

Raimi's return to the world of Marvel is highly anticipated, to say the least. Not only will it bring back fan-favorite character Wanda Maximoff after her extremely popular run in WandaVision, but it will also serve as a culmination to what fans are unofficially dubbing the multiverse trilogy consisting of WandaVision, Spider-Man: No Way Home, and Doctor Strange: In the Multiverse of Madness. All of that is making Raimi feel the pressure.

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Raimi admitted on the Reddit account unholymovie during a promotional AMA that the expectations are higher for this film than they were for the Spider-Man trilogy. Redditor carolinagamecomics asked Raimi what the difference was in directing a Marvel film during the early aughts versus now. Raimi admits that "there were fewer expectations back then," hinting at the massive machine churning behind his new film.

Doctor Strange 2 Multiverse Of Madness Logo

It's easy to see why the expectations are higher. Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy wasn't connected to one of the most successful film franchises of all time, and the director had no obligations beyond the film in front of him. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is an entirely different story. Not only will the film connect to the larger MCU, but it's expected to finally bring forth the long-awaited multiverse and explain what that entails for the franchise. With the introduction of heroes like America Chavez and the potential appearance of Wanda's twins, Billy and Tommy, aka Wiccan and Speed, there's a lot on the table.

There's also Spider-Man: No Way Home to consider. That film is rumored to break the multiverse open in another way and bring back Raimi alum Tobey Maguire in his role as Peter Parker. What implications that could have for his film remains unclear, but with Tom Holland's Peter Parker teaming up with Doctor Strange in the film, the two may cross paths again. However Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness plays out, it's clear there are major implications for the MCU. Luckily, Raimi is more than capable of pulling it off.

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Source: unholymovie/Reddit

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