Bruce Campbell Playing Doctor Strange In Doctor Strange 2?

Is Bruce Campbell playing a Doctor Strange variant in Sam Raimi's upcoming MCU movie? There's photo proof, but one big caveat.

By Nathan Kamal | Published

This article is more than 2 years old

Bruce Campbell

Bruce Campbell has been associated with director Sam Raimi for literally the entirety of both of their careers, so it was unsurprising to hear that the actor had filmed a cameo for the upcoming Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Although there appears to be some doubt as to whether Campbell’s appearance will make the final cut of the film (although come one, it’s got to, right?), a photo posted by the Evil Dead star on Twitter has gotten fans in even more of a kerfuffle. Specifically, Bruce Campbell seemed to be dropping an extremely broad hint that he might be playing a variant of Doctor Stephen Strange in the movie. Check it out here:

Well, that does certainly look like Bruce Campbell as Doctor Strange, down to the goatee and Paulie Walnuts hair. And based on the trailers and potentially true leaks thus far, the plot of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness deals heavily with multiple realities and versions of different characters (also, it’s pretty much in the title). So it is not out of the bounds of likelihood that Campbell would be playing a version of the once and future Sorcerer Supreme from a reality in which everyone had really great chins. It has been heavily rumored that Tom Cruise may be showing up for an appearance as an alternate version of Tony Stark/Iron Man, as well as some variant of Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel. Fans have already pieced together that there may be at least four different versions of Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange in the movie (dubbed Sinister Strange, Defender Strange, Supreme Strange, and of course, Classic flavor). So would it be really so strange for Bruce Campbell to be a Doctor Strange?

Of course, there is one very major reason to doubt that Bruce Campbell will be showing up for this specific cameo in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and that’s that little date stamp below the photo. Campbell posted this picture on April 1st, long known as the day people without a sense of humor decide they need to start making jokes, and it could be that this is all just some prank on MCU fans. If so: well done and cruel, Mr. Campbell. 


Bruce Campbell began his career working with Sam Raimi on the seminal low-budget horror film The Evil Dead, released in 1981. The two had actually gone to high school together and made on a number of short films over the years. While the intention was always for Campbell to be the star of the film as Ash Williams, he reportedly was a key collaborator behind the scenes as a producer. Since then, Campbell and Raimi made two more Evil Dead movies, and Campbell has often appeared in roles in the director’s films like Crimewave, Darkman, and all three Raimi Spider-Man features. We will have to wait for the movie’s release date of May 6 to confirm whether this was all just Bruce Campbell toying with our emotions, but we hope not.