‘Doctor Strange 2’ Loses Director, Replacement to Be Announced Soon With No Planned Delay

Doctor Strange
Scott Derrickson introduced audiences to the Doctor Strange IP on film, but he will not be returning for the sequel as a director. Nonetheless, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is set for its current release date, and we’ll know who is taking over soon.

 

Variety has reported that Derrickson and Marvel Studios have reached unspecified “creative differences” over Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Derrickson will remain aboard only as an executive producer. A search for a new director is underway, and Marvel Studios are committed to keeping the film’s current release date and production schedule (filming allegedly starts on May 4, 2020). The script, written by C. Robert Cargill and Jade Bartlett, will still be used, and the casting process continues even though the project does not currently have a director.

 

A little less than a month ago, Derrickson left a tweet suggesting dissatisfaction over the production timetable on the film, suggesting that creative conflict has been going on for at least the past few weeks:

 

 

Though five years will pass between Doctor Strange and the release of the sequel, Derrickson’s departure appears to be due to a disagreement about the overall tone of the film, which is said to be scary, but closer in tone to a family-friendly horror-comedy like Gremlins rather than a full-blown horror movie (which is what he may have signed on for). For Marvel Studios, this predicament is not new. The studio quickly found a replacement (Alan Taylor) for Patty Jenkins when she dropped out of Thor: The Dark World, Peyton Reed took over Ant-Man from Edgar Wright, and Ryan Coogler on to do Black Panther after Ava DuVernay ultimately turned the movie down.

 

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will be released on May 7, 2021. Confirmed to appear are stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Rachel McAdams, Benedict Wong, and Chiwetel Ejiofor.