Sam Raimi Describes the "Corny" DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS Scene Kevin Feige Wanted to Cut

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was a dark and exciting chapter in the Marvel universe. It told a weird and wild story with director Sam Raimi’s fingerprints all over it. Anyone who is a fan of Raimi’s past work, namely his cult classics, The Evil Dead and Army of Darkness, could feel the connection to Multiverse of Madness, even without the Bruce Campbell cameo.

One scene in particular that felt very Raimi, reminiscent of the director’s film The Quick and the Dead, was one between Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange and Chiwetel Ejiofor’s Baron Mordo. The two engage in a stare down, with close-ups of their eyes. While it was a scene that Raimi felt strongly about, it almost didn’t make it into the movie. MCU head Kevin Feige felt it may have crossed into the “too cheesy” category.

Raimi talked about the scene on the Doctor Strange director’s commentary (via ComicBook.com), saying:

"I think Kevin thought maybe it was a little corny, and he wanted to cut it out. But I said, 'Please, Kevin, let me have that.' He went, 'Okay, fine. Have your corny stuff.' It was very, very kind of him."

Not everything was saved from the cutting room floor by Kevin Feige, however. Writer Michael Waldron also revealed in the audio commentary that Multiverse of Madness was originally set to have a much darker ending.

Waldron explained:

"Strange gets trapped in that [incursion] universe. And then [Sinister Strange] turns around, and the third eye opens."

I’m glad the movie turned out the way it did. It was a ton of fun, and you can give it another watch now on Disney+.