Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2 featured a very small reference to Doctor Strange that could become quite important in the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
In the 2002 film, which was released 16 years ago this week, the character of Ted Hoffman – played by the director’s brother, Ted Raimi – can be seen discussing possible monikers to give to Otto Octavius with Daily Bugle editor J Jonah Jameson (JK Simmons).
Before settling on Dr Octopus, Jameson discards “Doctor Strange” as a choice considering it’s already been taken.
The brief moment takes on a bizarre light considering Raimi recently stepped in to oversee the MCU’s forthcoming Doctor Strange sequel after Scott Derrickson stepped down.
In addition to this, the fact that Simmons recently reprised the role of Jameson in MCU film Spider-Man: Far From Homeprovides this line with fresh importance – it’s no stretch to imagine Benedict Cumberbatch’s version of Doctor Strange existing in Spider-Man 2, especially considering the character’s new film will see him experience the Marvel multiverse.
Could fans see Cumberbatch’s character travel to an alternate timeline featuring Tobey Maguire as the web-slinger? It’s not outside the realms of possibility.
Regardless, the unlikely turn of events is not lost on Raimi, who recently told Coming Soon: “When we had that moment in Spider-Man 2, I had no idea that we would ever be making a Doctor Strange movie, so it was really funny to me that coincidentally that line was in the movie.”
He added: “I gotta say I wish we had the foresight to know that I was going to be involved in the project.”
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was originally set to be released in May 2021, but will now be released in November 2021 due to coronavirus delays.
