Doctor Strange 2 Star Is Shocked He Made It Into The Movie
Thank the Vishanti he did!
As diehard Bruce Campbell and/or Sam Raimi fans know, the two are good friends. Campbell almost always enjoys at least a cameo in any film Raimi directs, including in all three of his Spider-Man movies. Once Raimi was attached to direct Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the question of whether or not Campbell would appear came up almost immediately, with some even theorizing he would play a multiversal variant of the eponymous hero. As you know if you’ve seen the film, not only did the cult-favorite actor get his cameo in Doctor Strange 2, but he got the post-credits scene as well. But apparently no one was more surprised that Bruce Campbell was in Doctor Strange 2 than Bruce Campbell.
In a recent discussion with The Hollywood Reporter, one of the actor’s first comments was about his surprise. “I can’t believe I made it into the movie!” Bruce Cambell told THR. “I used to joke that Benedict Cumberbatch wasn’t sure he was going to be in the movie because they were constantly reworking the storyline and Sam had to shoot additional stuff that wasn’t in the original script, so it’s a shell game.”
In Doctor Strange 2 Bruce Campbell plays the street vendor Pizza Poppa in the 838 universe. Pizza Poppa harasses America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez) after serving her pizza balls, which she wrongly assumes are free. He likewise trashes Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) for his get-up, accusing him of stealing it. The confrontation ends with Strange casting a spell that causes the vendor’s own hand to attack him — a not even remotely subtle nod to 1987’s Evil Dead II in which Campbell’s Ash has an epic showdown with his own demon-possessed hand.
Since the cameo, Bruce Campbell fans have worked overtime spreading their love for Pizza Poppa online. Searching for “Pizza Poppa” on Twitter will give you a whole spectrum of fan-love. There are those begging for a return, some theorizing Pizza Poppa was the most powerful character in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and others simply deeming him the best part of the movie. And let’s not forget some of the culinary wizards hoping to recreate his pizza balls! You can see some wonderful examples of these below.
During the promotional lead up the film, Bruce Campbell made a number of statements all but confirming he had worked on Doctor Strange 2, while at the same time warning fans that there was a decent chance his part had fallen victim to the heavily reported extensive reshoots. Thankfully, for everyone, The Pizza Poppa was not denied.
Along with seeing Bruce Campbell in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, you can also play one of the characters he voices in Evil Dead: The Game — the 4v1 survival game that released last week for PlayStation and Xbox consoles. Asked by THR which characters fans should play, Bruce Campbell recommended Evil Ash and “old Ash” from Ash vs. Evil Dead. “Young Ash is good because he can keep getting back up — but play the old guy sometimes too.”
