The exit of Scott Derrickson from Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness came as a pretty big surprise to the industry and fans alike. After all, the filmmaker received a lot of praise for his work on the first movie and it looked as if he was all set to replicate that success in the seemingly ambitious sequel. The old chestnut of “creative differences” was used to explain the split, with insiders revealing that while Kevin Feige was alright with including horror elements, Derrickson wanted the film to be a full-on horror movie. Feige wasn’t on board with that though and so, Derrickson walked (or was fired, depending on who you believe).
Now, however, Variety is reporting that Marvel Studios are busy searching for a replacement director for the sequel and they’ve currently got their sights set on none other than Spider-Man director Sam Raimi, who helmed the original web-slinger trilogy back in the early 2000s. Not to mention he’s also very well known for his contributions to the horror genre thanks to The Evil Dead property. In other words, he’s the perfect choice to take charge of a film like Doctor Strange 2.
Plot-wise, not much is known about Multiverse of the Madness at the moment, but it’s been confirmed that it’ll follow on directly from the events of WandaVision, while its use of multiple alternate realities might just make it the most important movie and/or TV show in the MCU’s Phase Four. And though it doesn’t sound like Raimi has signed on the dotted line just yet, we imagine Marvel will make this official sooner rather than later, as the pic is set to go into production in a few months’ time.
While Derrickson’s departure is certainly a loss, Raimi is an excellent and exciting replacement to get behind the camera on Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness and hopefully, he’ll be able to deliver a film that truly pushes the boundaries of the MCU. Watch this space for more.