Scott Derrickson was originally set to return to direct Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness following his well-received work on the first film. However, he exited the project months before the planned start date of its production.
Back when his departure was reported, "creative differences" were cited as the reason why he left the project which led some fans to wonder what was actually happening behind the scenes that led to the situation.
Sam Raimi was eventually tapped to replace Derrickson and directed the film until the finish line which led to becoming a huge success at the box office as it grossed almost a billion dollars.
Now, years after his exit, Derrickson has finally addressed what actually happened behind his departure from the MCU project.
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Scott Derrickson Addresses His Doctor Strange Sequel Exit
In an interview with The Playlist, Derrickson opened up about his exit from Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and set the record straight regarding why he decided to depart from the sequel.
He iterated that his exit was indeed due to creative differences as he was clashing with Marvel Studios on the direction that they wanted for the film.
"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," the director said.
"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."
Derrickson added that his idea for the sequel was an "extreme departure from the first film" and "a genuine horror film of sorts."
However, despite their clashes back when he was involved in the project, he clarified that he is still friends with Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige and he was even invited to the premiere event of the sequel.
"Yeah, 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." Derrickson said.
It sounded like the reports surrounding his exit back then were true after all and Derrickson didn't want to continue working on the project if his ideas with the studio kept on clashing and didn't want to affect the film's quality if he stayed.
It is also great to hear that he is still friendly with the folks at Marvel Studios despite what happened and he was also supportive of Raimi's takeover of the project. It is interesting to see if Derrickson is willing to work with the studio again in the future if a new opportunity comes.
Doctor Strange and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness are available to stream on Disney+.
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