'Doctor Strange 2' Interviews With Sam Raimi, Benedict Wong and Xochitl Gomez

Cinema Blend

The cast of “Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness,” including Director Sam Raimi, Benedict Wong (Wong) and Xochitl Gomez (America Chavez) join CinemaBlend’s Eric Eisenberg to discuss Marvel’s latest descent into the furthest reaches of the multiverse. Tune in as they discuss how Wong is preparing for Wanda’s unpredictable power, the comic origins of America Chavez, Sam Raimi’s take on the characters' multiversal selves and a few extra Easter eggs!

Transcript

00:00 (laughing)

00:01 - Well, I did get a little gift.

00:03 I got a sling ring from Van Dyke.

00:04 - That's awesome.

00:05 - It says XG and BC.

00:07 So I did get that.

00:09 And where's my gift?

00:10 Where's my sling ring?

00:11 - I got you a boom box.

00:12 - Yeah, okay.

00:13 - I gave you the power to dance.

00:16 Nice to have.

00:17 - This is going to be fun.

00:18 (upbeat music)

00:21 - You have a reputation of lovingly putting actors

00:27 through the ringer when you are on set.

00:29 Was that the case with,

00:31 is this movie part of that tradition?

00:33 - Not so much this time.

00:35 This was more about honoring the Marvel storylines

00:39 and Marvel characters and trying to figure out

00:41 where we had to bring these characters

00:43 and stories forward.

00:45 It was less about punishing the actors,

00:47 which I also enjoy.

00:48 - Sure.

00:49 (dramatic music)

00:51 - Things just got out of hand.

00:54 - First start by playing a bit of catch up with Wong.

00:57 There's a question that I've actually had

00:58 for a couple months now,

00:59 which is what is the origin of his relationship

01:02 with abomination?

01:03 - Oh yeah.

01:05 (laughing)

01:07 - Whoa.

01:08 - Straight in with the smile.

01:09 - I know.

01:10 - I don't know, we've yet to find out.

01:13 You know, Wong's quite a mysterious character.

01:16 You know, he certainly disappeared for five years,

01:18 you know, and that needs to,

01:19 that void needs to be filled with many storylines

01:22 hint, hint, Disney plus.

01:23 (laughing)

01:25 But it's been a wonderful character progression

01:28 with someone that started off no nonsense librarian

01:32 and is now the no nonsense sorcerer supreme.

01:34 - Sure.

01:35 - So we'll see.

01:36 Perhaps he was training to pick up the mantle

01:40 and you know, pick up the gauntlet.

01:42 - Yeah.

01:43 - Good training foe to go with the guy.

01:45 And to talk about America's Shoppers,

01:46 I mean, when we meet her in this movie,

01:48 we're right in it.

01:49 Like it immediately just jumps right in.

01:51 How much do you know just about the,

01:53 like her origins and her full origin story

01:55 and how much, what did you discuss with Sam Raimi?

01:58 - Well, what I really like about America in the MCU

02:02 is that she is 14,

02:04 which is younger than any of the comic books.

02:07 It was lots of like, you know,

02:09 figuring out like what part should we bring in

02:13 from the comics and that kind of stuff.

02:15 But of course, you know, keeping in mind that she is younger

02:18 so basically making the characteristics of her like,

02:21 you know, her confidence and her powers and stuff,

02:24 but making it, you know, less experienced.

02:27 And so we kind of get to create this new introduction

02:31 and I'm really excited for people to see, you know,

02:34 this new version of her.

02:36 - I am utterly fascinated

02:37 just by the concept of the multiverse.

02:39 Like whenever I watch a movie,

02:40 I feel like I'm literally looking into a window

02:42 into another alternate reality.

02:44 But one thing that's kind of complicated about it

02:47 is the concept of infinity.

02:48 And just as far as storytelling goes,

02:51 how do you wrap your mind around that concept?

02:54 - Well, I didn't have to wrap my mind

02:56 around that aspect of the multiverse.

02:58 I agree that that is one of the concepts of it.

03:01 I focused primarily on who our main characters

03:05 that we care about were going to meet

03:06 in this alternate universe.

03:08 And I think our writer, Michael Waldron,

03:10 thought that the most interesting people for them to meet

03:12 would be the alternate versions of themselves.

03:15 You know, if some aspect of their personality had changed,

03:18 what would they be like?

03:19 And so that was what interested him

03:23 and I think it was the right choice.

03:25 - Who are you in this vast multiverse?

03:29 - I'm also just curious about how, as the Sorcerer Supreme,

03:31 he feels about Scarlet Witch and the situation in Westview.

03:34 - Well, I'm not really sure if we know much about that

03:37 within the Westview, but you know,

03:40 he certainly understands who the Scarlet Witch is

03:43 and how powerful she is.

03:46 Yeah, and that's kind of, you know,

03:50 he's keeping an eye on his students, you know,

03:53 and he may have to turn his school into a fortress.

03:57 - Yeah.

03:58 - Casual.

03:59 - Yeah, just casual.

03:59 Yeah, just as you do.

04:00 I mean, getting ready.

04:01 - You break the rules and become a hero.

04:05 I do it and I become the enemy.

04:08 - And actually, I do want to ask

04:10 about two specific props in the film.

04:12 The first is the eye of Agamotto I notice he is still wearing

04:15 despite the fact he doesn't have the time stone.

04:16 Is there a reason for that specifically?

04:18 - The eye of Agamotto still has magical properties

04:21 even without the time stone,

04:22 as any fan, a true fan of Doctor Strange would know.

04:25 So it still reveals to him things that are unseen.

04:28 - Look out!

04:30 - And the other one is, and this is kind of fun,

04:34 but do you see a relationship

04:36 between the Necronomicon and the Darkhold?

04:38 - Yes, I do.

04:39 - Yeah.

04:40 - There's always those evil books in these stories

04:42 and that's just another bad one of those.

04:45 - And did either of you get to keep anything from Seth?

04:48 (upbeat music)

04:49 (laughing)

04:51 - Well, I did get a little gift.

04:53 I got a sling ring from Benedict.

04:54 - That's awesome.

04:55 - It says XG and BC.

04:57 So I did get that.

04:58 - Nice.

04:59 - And where's my gift?

05:00 Where's my sling ring?

05:01 - I thought you were boom box.

05:03 - Yeah, okay.

05:04 (laughing)

05:04 - He did get me.

05:05 - I thought he gave you the power to dance.

05:07 (laughing)

05:09 - I have it, I have it in my room.

05:10 - You got it, yes.

05:11 - I play music with that speaker every day.

05:14 - What else does he have?

05:16 Have you gotten to keep anything?

05:19 - A couple of items.

05:21 - Oh, a couple of...

05:22 - Nice kind of garment.

05:26 - Yeah?

05:27 - Yeah, quite enjoyed.

05:28 - Very cool.

05:29 - Yeah.

05:30 - You cannot control everything strange.

05:32 - You've just used so many different genres

05:34 from like thrillers to sports movies, for westerns.

05:37 Is there a genre that you haven't explored

05:39 that you'd love the opportunity to dive into?

05:42 - Oh, yes, there's many genres I haven't made

05:46 and I'd love to try my hand at other genres.

05:49 It's a great learning experience

05:51 'cause each one has its own history and rules

05:54 and expectations that you can live within or defy.

05:57 It's really interesting to work in different genres

06:01 and I've learned a lot about drama

06:04 and storytelling from doing that.

06:05 - Sure.

06:06 This is kind of out of left field,

06:07 but I also don't get the opportunity

06:08 to talk to you exactly every day,

06:10 but I am a ridiculously huge Stephen King fan

06:12 and one thing that I've--

06:13 - That's great.

06:14 - Well, one thing I've always found fascinating

06:15 about your relationship with him

06:15 is that you've been, even as an actor,

06:17 you've been in both the "Shining" miniseries

06:19 and the "Stan" miniseries,

06:20 but you've never actually made an adaptation yourself.

06:22 I'm curious, has that ever been something on your radar

06:25 and would it be something on your radar?

06:26 - Oh, absolutely.

06:27 I love the "Shining," but someone already had that.

06:31 - Sure.

06:32 - And I love "Carrie," but that had already been made

06:36 by the time I had read it.

06:37 And then his "Night Shift" collection is so brilliant.

06:41 So many of those stories would have made great movies.

06:44 Bob Reiner made a great one that I wanted to make too.

06:47 So there's been plenty of great King stories

06:49 that I wish I could get involved with.

06:51 Maybe in the future we can work together.

06:54 - The last question I'll ask is just about

06:55 working with Bruce Campbell again,

06:57 because, I mean, it's been a minute

06:58 since you've made a movie

06:59 and just the idea of you two have been together

07:01 from the start.

07:02 What was it just like being on the set of this film,

07:04 working with him again?

07:05 - I can't swear to you that Bruce is in the movie.

07:07 - Okay. (laughs)

07:08 - But we're working together on "Evil Dead Rise" right now.

07:12 We're producing this movie together

07:13 and it's the newest incarnation of the "Evil Dead" series

07:17 and it's really coming along well.

07:18 - Yeah, that's fantastic.

07:20 Well, unfortunately that is my time,

07:21 but it was really wonderful getting to talk with you.

07:23 - Thanks for a lovely afternoon.

07:24 (dramatic music)

07:27 - Strange!

07:32 (dramatic music)

07:35 (dramatic music)

07:37 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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