Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness writer Michael Waldron discusses the reasons for a certain scene in the Marvel film being so violent.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness writer Michael Waldron gave a reason as to why Scarlet Witch killing the Illuminati in the Master of the Mystic Arts’ latest cinematic outing had to be so brutal.
Waldron explained while speaking to Vanity Fair what he was aiming for with eradicating the Illuminati. “When they show up in the movie, bad stuff has been happening for a while. Wanda’s been on a bit of a rampage,” he said. “These characters finally show up and you feel safe for a moment. You feel like, okay, there are some adults in the room; they know what’s going on, they’re going to keep us safe. They’re a little bit like the space marines in Aliens. Then they get annihilated. The audience’s safety net drops out from under their feet. Suddenly they’re absolutely terrified. And the Scarlet Witch has never been scarier. That’s a great place to have the audience heading into the third act.”
Prior to this, Waldron recently stood by Multiverse of Madness‘ PG-13 rating, which has caused some controversy due to the movie’s more horror-centric elements, remarking, “Yeah. I mean, people’s heads are melting and exploding. [laughs] You know, I think the movies that were the most impactful for me were the movies that felt a little bit dangerous to watch as a kid, so it’s kind of fun to feel like we made one of those.”
Waldron also touched upon the negative reception some WandaVision fans gave the film due to Scarlet Witch being the villain, commenting that he “[gets] it.” As for the choice to make Scarlet Witch Multiverse of Madness‘ villain, Waldron stated that the idea was formed early on, as he and director Sam Raimi were given the chance to rework the movie thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic pushing the start date for it back and decide what Multiverse of Madness‘ story should be.
However, while Scarlet Witch was quite murderous in the film, her actor Elizabeth Olsen revealed that the character was supposed to have an even higher body count, though Olsen had a problem with this. “I was like, these are human beings and Wanda is OK with ending their lives?” she recalled. “But I just had to buckle down and think all these people are in her way and she’s warned Doctor Strange not to get in her way. And he did. He didn’t listen. And so I just had to go from that point of view.”
Directed by Sam Raimi, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is now in theaters.
Source: Vanity Fair
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