Sam Raimi never got the chance to make up for the disappointment of Spider-Man 3 after his fourth movie fell through, but Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness offers another shot at redemption. Raimi’s Spider-Man franchise was groundbreaking in the overall development of superhero movies and his vision of the web-slinger remains immensely popular to this day, but Tobey Maguire’s Peter Parker will always be tarnished by a dicey third film. Spider-Man 3 was criticized for its depiction of Venom, a cacophony of villains and that dance scene and left a sour note on an otherwise great series.

Beloved for his work on the Evil Dead franchise, Raimi himself has expressed displeasure at how Spider-Man 3 turned out, echoing fans’ sentiments, but the director had an opportunity to put things right with Spider-Man 4. Vulture and Black Cat were mooted as potential villains and Maguire and Dunst were both on board so long as Raimi was, and the original Spider-Man movie cast had a golden chance to atone for the mistakes of the third film. With Sony pushing for an unrealistic release date, however, Raimi stepped down from the project and his cast soon followed, cutting the series off at 3 movies, and denying the director an opportunity to go out on a superhero high.

Fortunately, the mystic arts work in strange ways, and Raimi is currently lined up to replace Scott Derrickson on the MCU’s Doctor Strange 2. Marvel fans were, and still remain, bitterly disappointed that Derrickson won’t helm the Doctor Strange sequel, with the director’s visual style a key factor in the first film’s success. Nevertheless, it’s hard to argue that the prospect of Raimi directing Benedict Cumberbatch’s Stephen Strange isn’t a tantalizing one, with his contributions to both the horror and superhero genres making Raimi an ideal fit.

Aside from the potential fun Raimi could have with a character as inherently mind-bending and limitless as Doctor Strange, it’s also interesting that the MCU sequel might just offer the director the same opportunity that looked to have vanished when Spider-Man 4 ran out of webbing. Having acknowledged the failures of his third Spidey offering and then been forced out of the follow-up, Spider-Man 4 represented a chance to rekindle the magic that helped the first two movies kick-start the current domination of superheroes on the big screen. That chance was taken away, and Raimi would move onto other things, but Spider-Man 3 has remained a blot upon his filmography. If Raimi took the Doctor Strange 2 gig and made a success of the Sorcerer Supreme, putting his own unique spin on the character, naturally, this would not only help banish the lingering memories of Tobey Maguire’s dad dancing, but would also mean Spider-Man 3 was no longer Raimi’s last contribution to the world of superhero cinema, and that can only be a good thing.

Although Spider-Man 3 was widely panned, it’s generally accepted that Raimi wasn’t at fault. The director’s past body of work, especially with Spidey, proved that the threequel was merely a blip, and fans’ excited reactions to the Doctor Strange 2 news proves that remains the case in 2020. As much as Scott Derrickson’s departure might’ve provoked backlash, Raimi in the director’s chair of Doctor Strange 2 would restore a sense of goodwill towards the MCU.

More: Sam Raimi Referenced Doctor Strange In 2004’s Spider-Man 2

  • Black Widow Release Date: 2021-07-09 The Eternals Release Date: 2021-11-05 Doctor Strange In the Multiverse of Madness Release Date: 2022-05-06 Thor: Love and Thunder Release Date: 2022-07-08 Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Release Date: 2022-11-11 Shang Chi Release Date: 2021-09-03