“No Bad Blood”: Original Doctor Strange 2 Director Talks Quitting Multiverse Of Madness

Scott Derrickson was originally billed to direct Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, but departed from Marvel Studios citing creative differences, allowing Sam Raimi to put his spin on the MCU Phase 4 project. Derrickson directed 2016’s Doctor Strange, which introduced Benedict Cumberbatch’s titular Master of the Mystic Arts to the MCU, and after the Phase 3 film’s positive reception, Derrickson was expected to return for the much-anticipated sequel. However, despite a great deal of development on Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness taking place, Derrickson stepped down in January 2020, replaced by Raimi, yet both Derrickson and Marvel Studios noted that they were thankful for their collaboration.

Speaking once again in an upcoming episode of The Playlist’s The Discourse Podcast, Scott Derrickson reiterated that parting ways with Marvel Studios wasn’t filled with animosity. He noted that there is “no bad blood” between him, Marvel Studios, and Sam Raimi, though mentioned that his vision for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Marvel Studios’ vision didn’t match. While Derrickson wanted the sequel to be an “extreme departure from the first film,” and “a genuine horror film of sorts,” Marvel Studios went in a more light-hearted direction, shedding more light on Elizabeth Olsen’s corrupted Scarlet Witch as the villain. Read an excerpt from Derrickson’s interview below:

All I can say is that what we said publicly is exactly the truth… We had real creative differences. You know, the movie I wanted to make and how I wanted to make it was different than–it was just increasingly obvious that we were pulling against each other. And that’s how you make a really bad movie, I think. When the producer or the studio and the filmmaker are making different movies, you end up with a monstrosity and, you know, that’s why I had to bounce… I went to the premiere. I’m still friends with Kevin [Feige] and everything with me and Marvel is really cool… They invited me to the premiere and I went. And I’m friends with Sam [Raimi]. I love Sam, so there’s no bad blood over that.

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What Scott Derrickson’s Doctor Strange 2 Would Have Been Like

Concept art from Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness revealed details about Scott Derrickson’s original plans, which would have focused on a different villain and provided more insight into Doctor Strange’s backstory in the MCU. While Elizabeth Olsen had signed on to be involved in Multiverse of Madness prior to Derrickson’s departure, the villain of the film would have been Nightmare, the ruler of Marvel Comics’ Dream Dimension. After battling Dormammu, the ruler of the Dark Dimension, in 2016’s Doctor Strange, Strange going toe-to-toe with Nightmare in the sequel would have been fantastic, though it seems Strange and the Scarlet Witch would have teamed up against the villain.

The original Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness would have also shown audiences Strange’s sister, Donna’s, tragic death in the Wendigo Forest in their childhood, which was mentioned in Raimi’s version of the film. It was also reported that the multiverse would have been explored in far more detail, with Strange traveling to numerous new realities, expanding on the dark, otherworldly multiverse that was glimpsed throughout the first film. Sam Raimi’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was met with a mixed response, but Derrickson’s gritty exploration of Strange’s persona, and the MCU’s multiverse as a whole, might have been more popular.