So, Scott Derrickson has left Doctor Strange 2 (also known as Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness), and I’m really saddened about him leaving.
I’m not upset because I thought that Derrickson was one of the most interesting or best directors working in Hollywood today.
I actually think he’s a pretty average director who was given a very good opportunity in directing and writing the first Doctor Strange movie.
I don’t hate that movie as much as others do. I actually think it’s good fun, but I was really excited to see what Derrickson could do with the upcoming sequel because it sounded genuinely different from what we’ve seen so far in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
Marvel and I have mutually agreed to part ways on Doctor Strange: In the Multiverse of Madness due to creative differences. I am thankful for our collaboration and will remain on as EP.
— N O S ⋊ Ɔ I ᴚ ᴚ Ǝ ᗡ ⊥ ⊥ O Ɔ S (@scottderrickson) January 10, 2020
Derrickson kept on saying how his movie was going to be a horror film, and I think it’s about time Marvel really started making braver movies, however, it looks like they’re not ready for that yet.
When Marvel Studios’ President, Kevin Feige, was asked how much of a horror movie Doctor Strange 2 was really going to be, his answer was very telling.
He was talking about the film was the New York Film Academy, and Feige was quit to explain that Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness wasn’t a straight ‘horror movie’, but had “scary sequences”, which sounds like a complete cop-out to me.
Should we be worried about the future of the MCU after what happened with Doctor Strange 2?
Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange – Credit: Marvel Studios
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Here’s what he had to say about Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness’ scary scenes in full:
Multiverse of Madness is the greatest title we’ve ever come up with, by the way. I wouldn’t necessarily say that’s a horror film, but it’ll be a big MCU film with scary sequences in it.
I mean, there are horrifying sequences in Raiders that I as a little kid would [cover my eyes] when their faces melted.
Or Temple of Doom, of course, or Gremlins, or Poltergeist. These are the movies that invented the PG-13 rating, by the way. They were PG and then they were like, ‘We need another [rating].’
But that’s fun. It’s fun to be scared in that way, and not a horrific, torturous way, but a way that is legitimately scary – because Scott Derrickson is quite good at that – but scary in the service of an exhilarating emotion.
This answer confirms everything I’ve been afraid of about the future of the MCU.
I love the MCU. I’ve loved most of the movies that have come from Marvel Studios over the past decade, barring a select few.
However, in order for this franchise to continue, they’re going to need to start thinking a bit differently, and sacking Derrickson and opting for PG-13 movies rather than pushing the boat out with these films isn’t going to help the MCU franchise to carry on for as long as we want it to.
They’ve been playing it pretty safe with their movies for quite some time now.
Does Scott Derrickson leaving Doctor Strange 2 demonstrate that Marvel’s afraid of change?
Doctor Strange/Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), Iron Man/Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), Bruce Banner/Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and Wong (Benedict Wong) in Avengers: Endgame – Credit: Marvel Studios
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Yes, we’ve seen some interesting choices in directors with the likes of Taika Waititi being brought in to director Thor: Ragnarok and he’s currently working on Thor: Love And Thunder.
I was also very pleased when Marvel Studios and Disney rehired James Gunn to make Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
However, they have a tendency of relying on young and rather inexperienced directors to make their movies, and this will be a problem, I believe, moving forward because these directors aren’t being allowed to put their own stamp on these Marvel movies.
Just look at the likes of Captain Marvel and even to a certain extent Avengers: Endgame.
Could you look at those movies and say, ‘Oh yeah, I can tell that [insert director’s name here] made this movie’.
The short answer is no, of course not, because those movies were made under the heavy supervision of Marvel Studios’ producers and most-importantly, Kevin Feige.
This is going to be a problem moving forward because it means that all Marvel movies will resemble one another and there won’t be enough diversity, especially as far as directors’ visions are concerned.
Will directors not want to work with Marvel Studios in the future?
What will happen with Doctor Strange 2? – Credit: Marvel Studios
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If Marvel keeps on trying to stifle these directors, then soon enough they’re going to find it difficult to hire filmmakers who’d want to work with them.
People in Hollywood talk to one another, and if directors and writers hear how Marvel Studios won’t allow you any creative freedom, then people aren’t going to want to work for them.
Then there’s the fact that Marvel needs to really start exploring other genres in order to make sure people will keep on coming back to watch these movies.
Do you think audiences are really going to be interested in seeing the same movie over and over again, because that’s what’s going to happen if Marvel Studios isn’t careful?
However, as I did mention above, there are some directors who’ve had very good working relationships with Marvel and have been allowed to put their mark on the MCU.
Waititi and Gunn seem to be two of them, and Ryan Coogler too with Black Panther.
They still have very interesting directors working in the MCU
What will the future of the MCU hold? Credit: Marvel Studios
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However, you then have movies such as Captain Marvel (which I did enjoy by the way), Iron Man 2, Thor 2, Avengers: Age Of Ultron, even to a certain extent the Captain America movies, which could have all been directed by the same person, and that’s because they were kind of made by committee.
The Russo brothers have done their best to put their own mark on the MCU, but I believe there are a lot of cooks in the Avengers and Captain America movies kitchen.
I might be worrying about nothing, and perhaps Derrickson’s vision for Doctor Strange 2 was rubbish, but I do really want to start seeing genuinely different, thought-provoking, bold and brave Marvel movies.
Is that such a bad thing to strive for? I don’t think so.
What do you guys think? Let us know in the comments below.
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