The first cut of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was much longer than the final theatrical version.

In an interview with Collider, director Sam Raimi elaborated on the intended runtime of the new Marvel Cinematic Universe blockbuster when asked if he had a longer version in his mind. "Well, the first cut was... I actually don't remember the length of it," Raimi said. "It was probably like two hours and 40 minutes, and it slowly came down even though we did the reshoots. We took out material even though the reshoots went in. So, it slowly got down to about two hours and five minutes is the total."

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Raimi's response corresponds with past rumors that Multiverse of Madness was lined up to be the longest movie in the MCU, which Marvel Studios debunked by announcing the official run time of 2 hours and 6 minutes. The director, however, did not reveal why he decided to edit down the first cut. In comparison, the final runtime of Multiverse of Madness falls in line with Raimi's previous films, which average a time of approximately 113 minutes, except Spider-Man 3 (2 hours, 19 minutes), his longest.

Speaking about what was expected from Raimi, who took over Multiverse of Madness from original Doctor Strange director Scott Derrickson, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige explained that he wanted something unique and iconic. "We want it to be a Sam Raimi movie," Feige stated. "We would give notes like, 'This action is cool - you're competing with Avengers and Spider-Man, no problem - but don't forget the Sam Raimi parts.'"

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Raimi has also addressed the filmmaking process around Multiverse of Madness, saying Marvel Studios allowed him to do what he wanted with the movie. "[...] even though I had complete freedom, the previous movies and where Marvel wants to go in the future really directed the path in an incredibly specific way," said Raimi. "Within those parameters, I have freedom, but I've got to tell the story of those characters in a way that ties in with all of the properties simultaneously," continued the director, also emphasizing Marvel's shared storytelling.

Actor Bruce Campbell, who has a cameo appearance in Multiverse of Madness, broke down the editing process at Marvel Studios, providing some possible reasons as to why Raimi had to cut down his original version. "The Marvel guys, they make eight of these movies at the same time, so they're always updating storylines," Campbell clarified. "So, my buddy Sam [Raimi] has had to add scenes that [Marvel] told him he had to shoot, and he's removed scenes that no longer apply. So until May rolls around, I don't think Benedict Cumberbatch even knows if he's in this movie or not."

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness arrives in theaters on May 6.

Source: Collider