Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is a 2022 American superhero film based on Marvel Comics featuring the character Doctor Strange. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is the sequel to Doctor Strange (2016) and the 28th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film was directed by Sam Raimi, written by Michael Waldron, and stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Stephen Strange, alongside Elizabeth Olsen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong, Xochitl Gomez, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Rachel McAdams. In the film, Strange protects America Chavez (Gomez), a teenager capable of traveling the multiverse, from Wanda Maximoff (Olsen). Doctor Strange director and co-writer Scott Derrickson had plans for a sequel by October 2016. He signed to return as director in December 2018, when Cumberbatch was confirmed to return. The film's title was announced in July 2019 along with Olsen's involvement, while Jade Halley Bartlett was hired to write the film that October. Derrickson stepped down as director in January 2020, citing creative differences. Waldron and Raimi joined the following month and started over, adding elements of the horror genre that Raimi had worked with previously and making Wanda the villain of the film, continuing her story from the Disney+ miniseries WandaVision (2021). Filming began in November 2020 in London but was put on hold in January 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Production resumed by March 2021 and concluded in mid-April in Somerset. Shooting also occurred in Surrey and Los Angeles. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness premiered at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, on May 2, 2022, and was released in the United States on May 6, as part of Phase Four of the MCU. The film received positive reviews, with praise for Raimi's direction, the visuals, dark tone, musical score, and the performances of Cumberbatch and Olsen, with some criticism for the writing. The film grossed $955.8 million worldwide, making it the fourth-highest-grossing film of 2022. Plot America Chavez and a version of Stephen Strange are chased by a demon in the space between universes while searching for the Book of Vishanti. Strange is killed and Chavez accidentally creates a portal that transports herself and Strange's corpse to Earth-616, where that universe's version of Stephen Strange rescues Chavez from another demon with help from Wong, the Sorcerer Supreme.