Doctor Strange 2 star says he’s “very excited” to work with “seminal” Sam Raimi
Chiwetel Ejiofor is a key figure in Netflix comic book adaptation The Old Guard – but after that, he’ll be rejoining a very different sort of superhero franchise with a new director.
While original Doctor Strange director Scott Derrickson might have departed the sequel, iconic superhero storyteller Sam Raimi has been rumoured to be taking over – and now one of the film’s stars appears to have further confirmed Raimi’s involvement, while also discussing his excitement at working with the veteran director.
"I love Sam Raimi, so I'm very excited that he's making the film, the second Doctor Strange," Chiwetel Ejiofor, who plays ally-turned villain Mordo in the Marvel films, told RadioTimes.com and other press.
"To anything that he does, he just brings a wealth of imagination and passion."
Starring Benedict Cumberbatch alongside Ejiofor, Benedict Wong and Elizabeth Olsen among others, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness looks set to be one of Marvel’s oddest adventures yet, originally billed as something of a horror film by Derrickson while also taking in a story with parallel universes that could establish alternate versions of our favourite characters.
Now, with Raimi involved the film also has some superhero movie royalty behind the camera, with Ejiofor pointing out that the director's influence on the genre goes back even further than his beloved noughties Spider-Man duology (and the third one).
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"In this genre, he's one of the seminal figures," Ejiofor said. "I remember seeing Darkman when I was a kid, and just being like 'This is beyond! It's just so amazing.'
"I think he has an incredible mind, and I think that he really is able to bring that mind into his storytelling in a really unique way. And it's very very suited to the world that has been created in Doctor Strange.
"I'm excited to see what he does with that world, and where he takes it," Ejiofor concluded.
Before all that, though, Ejiofor has his hands full with a very different sort of comic book movie – Netflix’s The Old Guard, which stars Charlize Theron, Kiki Lane, Matthias Schoenaerts and others as a team of immortal mercenaries who’ve lived for centuries trying to fight the good fight.
"I really think that the characters and the way that the action is approached really make it stand out," Ejiofor said.
"The Old Guard doesn't really stop and have an action sequence. The action sequence is carried through the narrative, and carried through the development of the character. And I think that's something Charlize has done for so many films, and I think something that Kiki has also carried into this movie.
"They have their immortality but wear it in a heavy way," he continued. "They don't celebrate their skills in a way that maybe some other action heroes would celebrate their immortality, or whatever their special skillset is. And that opens up all of these really interesting questions."
And who knows? If The Old Guard goes down well, Doctor Strange 2 might not be the only comic-book sequel we’ll see Ejiofor appearing in…
"I definitely think there's potential for that [an Old Guard sequel], because the central characters and central idea are so fascinating, and can occupy all sorts of different times and periods and ideas," Ejiofor told RadioTimes.com.
"So I think it lends itself to that in that way, and I think that these characters are really interesting. And I think that there's more story to tell in terms of their narrative. There's a lot more to explore."
The Old Guard streams on Netflix from Friday 10th July – check out our lists of the best TV shows on Netflix and the best movies on Netflix, or see what else is on with our TV Guide
