The concept of the Multiverse, although introduced pretty early on in Phase 5 of the MCU, was properly and extensively explored in the 2022 MCU film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, where alternate realities and other dimensions were elaborated in details.
But with new avenues also came new problems in terms of tackling them, and screenwriter Michael Waldron caught a case of writer’s block when he had to kill Blackbolt in the film.
But thankfully, filmmaker Sam Raimi was there to aid him with his quick and somewhat genius idea. When Waldron posed this problem to the director, he simply suggested he let Wanda take away his mouth since Blackbolt’s superpower was his voice. While it was pretty simple, it also took away from any major confrontation, which made it somewhat counterproductive for the fans to enjoy.
Sam Raimi Had A Simple Yet Genius Idea To Kill Blackbolt In Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness
Known for some amazing films in his career, most notably for his original Spider-Man Trilogy for Sony, filmmaker Sam Raimi was brought on by Marvel Studios to recreate the magic of his superhero films in 2022’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Along with making the film a smashing success at the box office, he was also able to provide a major plot device to screenwriter, Michael Waldron, to tackle the death of Blackbolt at the hands of Wanda Maximoff.
In a past interview with Empire Magazine (via CBR), Waldron talked about working with the Evil Dead director as well as Benedict Cumberbatch, where he also revealed that he faced writer’s block while brainstorming ideas to kill Blackbolt in the film. He said when he took this problem up with Raimi, he simply advised him to take Blackbolt’s mouth away, which is the source of his power. He said:
“I was at a point in the script where I was like, ‘Sh*t, I don’t know what to do,’ We wanted the first death to feel really horrific: ‘Listen, don’t f*ck with Wanda.’ We were sitting on Zoom discussing how we kill Black Bolt, and somebody said his power is shooting ultra-powerful energy from his mouth. And I swear to God, without missing a beat, Sam goes, ‘What mouth?’ And Sam just painted the scene for us, ‘… and then you just cut to him, Wanda’s just ripped his mouth closed, and he screams, and his head explodes.’ That’s master of horror Sam Raimi for you.”
Just like that, the director was able to easily handle this problem, which in the long run proved to be quite controversial since this made the character’s death way too easy for the public.
What’s Next For Sam Raimi?
Even when Raimi had plans to continue the original Spider-Man series beyond the third film, the unfortunate cancelation of the franchise ultimately never made that vision come to life.
But now, multiple rumors and speculations have come forward, which claim Sony has brought back Raimi to the drawing board as he prepares to start directing Spider-Man 4 after the success of 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home. Therefore, many have also speculated that since Tom Holland and Andrew Garfield are now canon to the SpiderVerse, they might be seen in the rumored film in the future.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, streaming on Disney+.
