Sam Raimi Weighs In On Whether Wanda Or Doctor Strange Is More Powerful

Sam Raimi, director of the 2000s "Spider-Man" film trilogy starring Tobey Maguire, has taken on his first feature-film directing project in nearly a decade with the highly anticipated "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness," the sequel to 2016's "Doctor Strange." The new film, which was written by "Loki" creator Michael Waldron, picks up where 2021's "Spider-Man: No Way Home" left off: the multiverse has been opened by Dr. Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) when an attempt to help Peter Parker (Tom Holland) went horribly wrong. 

"Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" sees Dr. Strange and his allies travel into the multiverse to confront a dangerous enemy. The film also stars Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff, aka Scarlet Witch, Benedict Wong as Sorcerer Supreme Wong, Chiwetel Ejiofor as enemy-to-Strange Karl Mordo, Michael Stuhlbarg as rival surgeon Nicodemus West, Xochitl Gomez as dimension-traveling teen America Chavez, and Rachel McAdams as Strange's ex-fiancee Christine Palmer. For Marvel Cinematic Universe fans, "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" is an exciting extravaganza for many reasons, one of the biggest being that two supremely powerful MCU characters are coming together at the center of the film: Dr. Strange and Wanda. 

While Strange, a master of the mythic arts, is able to cast a myriad of spells, Wanda has the abilities of telepathy, telekinesis, and even altering reality under her belt. Many fans may debate who is more powerful between the two, and even Raimi himself has weighed in. 

During an interview with Fandango promoting "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness," director Sam Raimi revealed that while he may have only seen four other MCU films prior to directing this one, he was also a major Marvel Comics fan growing up. Thus, when interviewer Erik Davis asked Raimi to give his opinion on who he thinks is more powerful — Strange or Wanda — Raimi was excited to answer. He began by saying, "Wow. That's a question I've been asking kids on the playground since third grade. Who is stronger, this character or that character?"

Raimi continued by pointing out that Wanda is likely the most powerful character in the film in terms of abilities, but that Strange has her one-upped in terms of mystic knowledge. Settling on a complicated answer, he continued, "If you were to pit them against each other, different altered versions of themselves ... there could be a Doctor Strange out there that's more powerful than our Wanda. Or there could be a Wanda out there who is more powerful than our Wanda here. So, because of these altered versions, it's all a mixed bag of possibilities."

Fans will get to decide for themselves which character they think is more powerful when "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" premieres in theaters on May 6.