Writer/producer Michael Waldron might be the most envied writer of the genre geek world. After working on “Rick and Morty” and being part of the Dan Harmon animated universe, his career accelerated fast. First, he scored the head writing job on “Loki,” then was quickly tapped by Marvel’s Kevin Feige to rewrite “Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness,” and an untitled “Star Wars” movie the Marvel boss has dreamt up. Oh, he’s also writing “Loki” season two. Talk about a dream job.
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But the story of Waldron getting the ‘Doctor Strange 2’ gig is super interesting and was just told on Vanity Fair‘s Still Watching podcast, which you can listen to below in full.
For one, Waldron came on board ‘Multiverse of Madness’ with just four months to spare (even less when you consider the script had to be locked sooner for all the departments to prepare, “how do we make a movie in two months?” he asked, remembering his initial thoughts and worries). Second, Waldron was getting ready to go to Atlanta to shoot the first season of “Loki,” which he was the head writer on, but then suddenly got a call from Kevin Feige that basically said, we’re “going in another direction with Doctor Strange,” and they needed to bring him on to rewrite it. This was circa February 2020.
It needed to be rewritten quite substantially, and it was about to shoot in May 2020. Fortunately for him, director Sam Raimi, and probably the fans, COVID-19 delayed things, and they had less of a rush. In fact, Waldron said he spent his pandemic 2020 with Sam Raimi on zoom calls, rethought and reconceived the entire movie, and had ample time to do so because the film didn’t start shooting until November of that year.
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COVID hit and then, “The one thing that it afforded,” he explained, “Was the opportunity to start from scratch on Doctor Strange [2] and Sam, and I were able to dig in and start over on something that we were both really excited about and make it our own.
“The work that Scott [Derrickson] had done, establishing that world is certainly all over the place and already there,” he said, “But Sam and I had time. So it was like, ‘We’re not shooting now until November; what do we want this movie to be?”
Waldron said he became good friends with “WandaVision” head writer Jac Schaefer while writing “Loki” at Marvel and then checked in with her when he was tapped to take Wanda into the ‘Multiverse Of Madness’ because he felt a responsibility to his friend. “When I got brought on to Doctor Strange, I really just wanted to make sure I wasn’t going to let my friend down and.. yeah, I can’t shit the bed, she did such a great job, I can’t come in and blow this thing, so we had a lot of conversations.”
Waldron described the “Doctor Strange” sequel as a “thrilling ride, that’s very Sam Raimi,” and “incredibly visually thrilling.” The “look of it is going to be unlike anything you’ve seen in the MCU before,” he added. “It’s scary; it’s fun, it’s thrilling.”
“He’s Indiana Jones to me, in a cloak,” Waldron said when explaining who he thinks the Doctor Strange character is to him. “What I love about Doctor Strange is that he’s a hero who can take a punch. The writer went on to say one of the things he admired about the first film is how Strange repeatedly got his ass kicked, but was capable, resourceful, and always managed to get back up, something he saw as a corollary with Indiana Jones (incidentally, Waldron confirmed he is writing a “Star Wars” movie for Kevin Feige, but shared no details other than “it’s a thing” he’s excited for).
Waldron said he also wrote with touchstones in mind and one of his for Doctor Strange was the late chef, writer, and travel renaissance man, Anthony Bourdain. “The thing about Anthony Bourdain was, he’s very educated, very sophisticated, in the way Stephen is,” he explained. “Tony Stark was very man of the people, but Strange is an elitist, as a neurosurgeon and even as a sorcerer. And Bourdain is a man of the people, too, but there’s that intense intellect, and you always feel like he could eviscerate anyone with his words.”
“He’s [also] an adventurer,” Waldron continued, “And maybe that’s where the Indiana Jones stuff comes from , it’s why do you have to be the best surgeon? Why do you have to be the best sorcerer? Why do you have to go around the world chasing ghosts?”
Keep in mind Waldron says this stuff is all part of the “stew” that makes Doctor Strange for him, coupled with what the other films already gave to him, but it’s certainly intersting to hear. “Doctor Strange And The Multiverse of Madness” opens in theaters on March 25, 2022. Listen to the full podcast below.