Sam Raimi’s Doctor Strange

Though Marvel’s official title is “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madnes” I prefer to call the new Dr. Strange movie “Sam Raimi’s Doctor Strange”. In this movie review, I’ll explain why. Warning: this review contains spoilers. Though if you haven’t seen the film yet, what are you waiting for?

Doctor Strange, and Ashley Williams

Sam Raimi is known in the Marvel Universe for directing the first incarnation of the Spider-man films starring Tobey Maguire. So, it’s no surprise that he was tapped to direct the new Doctor Strange movie with his previous work with Sony. However, he is also the director of a cult horror movie and television series centering on one Ashley Williams. Who? Ashley or Ash for short is the main protagonist to the Evil Dead movies, and the spin-off series that came after it. The actor who plays Ash is Bruce Campbell. If that name doesn’t ring a bell, maybe his face will. Bruce Campbell has made cameo appearances in both Spider-man, and now ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’. This is like a standard occurence for Raimi as he loves putting Bruce in minor roles on his other films. It gets better. Evil Dead, and Ashley Williams are very much referenced in this new Doctor Strange movie in more ways than just the Bruce Campbell cameo as a pizza ball salesman.

Darkhold/Necronomicon

In ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’, the evil book that causes all the trouble is called the Darkhold. In the ‘Evil Dead‘ universe, the evil book that haunts Ash’s life is called the Necronomicon. It’s curious to note that the Darkhold is the Marvel equivalent of Lovecraft’s Necronomicon. More to the point, the Necronomicon was derived from the Shiatra Book of the Damned…another name for Darkhold. I find it too much of a coincidence that these two books take prominent roles in both movie franchises. As such, I can safely postulate that ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ is ‘Evil Dead’ in super hero form. And, there’s more to prove that point.

Undead Doctor Strange

Furthermore, in ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’, Stephen finds a dead version of himself from another universe through his contact with America Chavez. In order to combat Wanda who has gone all Scarlet Witch mode, Stephen used dreamwalking with the aid of the Darkhold to possess his dead alternate universe self. So there you have an undead Dr. Strange created by the Darkhold. Now in the ‘Evil Dead’ series, particularly in ‘Army of Darkness’, Ash also encounters an evil undead version of himself created by the Necronomicon. Undead Ash meet Undead Doctor Strange.

There’s also a part in ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ where Bruce Campbell’s cameo character had his hand animated by Stephen Strange, and it started flailing at Bruce Campbell till the end credits of the movie. This same event happened to Ashley Williams in ‘Army of Darkness’ which forced Ash to cut off his hand otherwise it would have killed him. Hence you have the groovy, and iconic chainsaw hand.

Ahsley Williams from Evid Dead

I’m quite sure Sam Raimi had a laugh after reading the script for this movie. It combines his two loves: super-hero, and horror movies. And, he just had to add Bruce Campbell to the mix to really stress on the homages he was making to his ‘Evil Dead’ horror universe.

So yeah, ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ is more Sam Raimi than it lets on, but that’s fine with me. I’m just happy that Raimi got to play his horror tropes within the limits of the House of Mouse. More reason to watch Sam Raimi’s Doctor Strange while it’s still in theatres.

The Evolution of Bryce Dallas Howard in Star Wars

If you aren’t familiar yet with the work of budding director Bryce Dallas Howard in the Star Wars mythos, it’s about time that you familiarize yourself with it. Following in the footsteps of her legendary director-father Ron Howard, Bryce has added directing to her already well-known acting resume. To say that she is doing well would be a complete understatement. Let’s take a look at what she’s done so far for the Star Wars Universe.

The Mandalorian: Santuary

Her first crack at Star Wars was in Episode 4 of ‘The Mandalorian’ entitled ‘Sanctuary’. Here we see Mando (Pedro Pascal) combine forces with Cara Dune (Gina Carano) to save a small village from a group of raiders reinforced by the presence of an AT-ST (All Terrain Scout Transport). Of course, the AT-ST was modified by the raiders, but that still meant that Mando would have his hands full trying to save the village with this overpowering advantage. Here, Bryce was given the responsibility of introducing one of the best characters of the series in Cara Dune. At this point, ‘The Mandalorian’ was still growing its fandom as a space western. ‘Sanctuary’ did show Bryce Dallas Howard as more than capable of providing the background of Cara Dune, and adding to the already vast Star Wars bevy of characters.

The Mandalorian: The Heiress

With one episode under her belt, Bryce Dallas Howard proceeded with an even bigger episode in ‘The Mandalorian’. Episode 11 entitled, ‘The Heiress’ not only did she get to introduce Bo-Katan Kryze to her live action debut, bu she also gets to incorporate actress Katee Sackhoff into the Star Wars stable of actors. For those who aren’t familiar with Bo-Katan (seriously, why aren’t you?), she is the fan favorite animated characte that first appeared in ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars’. As for Katee Sackhoff, people who are fans of the rebooted sci-fi series ‘Batllestar Galactica’ in the early 2000s will recognize that name. Katee is science fiction royalty now with Bo-Katan under her belt of acting roles aside from Starbuck from ‘Battlestar Galactica’. This was one of the best episodes of season two of ‘The Mandalorian’, and she has shown that she is very much capable of grander storytelling.

The Book of Boba Fett: Return of the Mandalorian

So, when ‘The Book of Boba Fett’ was announced over a year ago with Bryce Dallas Howard being identified as one of the directors for the series, I wasn’t surprised, and was expecting great things from her. She didn’t disappoint. ‘Return of the Mandalorian’ directed by Bryce Dallas Howard is the best episode in ‘The Book of Boba Fett’ to date. She masterfully incorporates elements of previous lore with newer elements which effectively draws in more people to this already massive Star Wars fandom. She truly is following the lead of forerunners Jon Favreau, and Dave Filioni. And what is that exactly? Geeking out with past lore to creat even geekier lore to the delight of many Star Wars fans.

In her own little trilogy (see what I did there?), Bryce has shown that she understands fully what it takes to handle a Star Wars property. She didn’t have to throw away all that came before to create something new. She used the longtime lore as a foundation to build something truly great: stories that welcome fans of any generation with utmost respect of what came before.

There was a time when some creators would argue that you can’t please past and new fans of Star Wars. That it was time to move on from the old. Bryce Dallas Howard has followed in the footsteps of Favreau, and Filioni in disproving that assertion. You CAN create something new WITH the old. More power to you, Bryce. Here’s hoping you can create your own Star Wars movie or your own Star Wars series someday. This is they way.