Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) dresses up as a type of visual incarnation of emo and jazz-struts down the sidewalk in 2007’s Spider-Man 3, the conclusion to Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy. In some respects, Raimi’s decision was unsurprising; since his Evil Dead trilogy, the rabble-rousing filmmaker has been engaged in fusing unpredictable hilarity with the more somber genres in which his pictures were set. However, this decision, along with the film’s rushed Venom introduction (among many other studio-exacerbated faults), drew widespread criticism from fans. People don’t remember Spider-Man 3 fondly, which is a shame given how well-received and impactful Raimi’s previous two films were.
But why would Raimi want to return to the realm of Marvel superhero films after all of this pessimism? Since Raimi made those films, a lot has changed, along with the creation of an entire freaking Cinematic Universe. Even yet, as Raimi and director David Yarovesky told us in an interview for Night books, Spider-Man 3’s sting still stings. But that’s not all; he’s also the filmmaker of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and he explained why he accepted the position.
Raimi opened up on the mental hurdles he experienced while considering a return to Marvel filmmaking, and how those hurdles eventually pushed him:
“I didn’t know that I could face it again because it was so awful, having been the director of Spider-Man 3. The Internet was getting revved up and people disliked that movie and they sure let me know about it. So, it was difficult to take back. But then, I found out that there was an opening on Doctor Strange 2. My agent called me and said, ‘They’re looking for a director at Marvel for this movie and your name came up. Would you be interested?’ And I thought, ‘I wonder if I could still do it.’ They’re really demanding, those types of pictures. And I felt, ‘Well, that’s reason enough.’ I’ve always really liked the character of Doctor Strange. He was not my favorite, but he was right up there with the favorites. I loved the first movie, I thought [director] Scott Derrickson did a wonderful job, an incredible job. So, I said, ‘Yeah.’ They left the character in a great place. I didn’t think I would be doing another superhero movie. it just happened.”