The Marvel Cinematic Universe is obligated to deliver scale and spectacle with every film and television project that comes off the production line, even if a large number of them devolve into the same formulaic f*ckery that drowns the climactic third act action sequence in CGI at the expense of story and character.
Sam Raimi’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness looks like one of the most effects-heavy MCU entries we’ve seen, and that’s based on a couple of minutes plucked from the teaser and full-length trailer. Obviously, you can’t tell the story of what’s effectively a wizard and his crack team traveling through infinite realities without leaning hard on the computer-generated imagery, but leading man Benedict Cumberbatch refuses to let it be eye candy and nothing else.
Speaking to Vanity Fair, the actor revealed that his long-awaited second solo outing isn’t going to ladle on the CGI for the sake of it, with the creative team looking to inject the movie with some real heart and genuine stakes.
“It’s a big moment for Strange. We can bring our game to this large tentpole fare and give it an authenticity and a heartbeat and something that makes it not just effects-laden nonsense.”
The first Doctor Strange isn’t regarded as one of the franchise’s finest efforts, but based on what we’ve seen so far, Multiverse of Madness is shaping up to be an incredible time at the theater when it lands on May 6.