Scott Derrickson has stepped down as director of Doctor Strange sequel

In a bit of surprising news, Scott Derrickson has announced that he's parted ways with Marvel Studios and has stepped down as the director of DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS, although he does mention that he'll remain onboard as an executive producer.

In a statement to Variety, Marvel said, "Marvel Studios and Scott Derrickson have amicably parted ways on Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness due to creative differences. We remain grateful to Scott for his contributions to the MCU." Production on the DOCTOR STRANGE sequel is expected to kick off in May and the studio doesn't foresee any delays when it comes to shooting as they're currently searching for a replacement. As a fan of what Scott Derrickson pulled off with the first film, I'm disappointed by this news as I was looking forward to seeing Derrickson's crazier vision for the sequel. Any thoughts on who should step in to replace Scott Derrickson as director? Perhaps someone with a background in horror?

Previously, Scott Derrickson had teased that DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS would be the first horror movie in the MCU. "When I came and talked to [Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige] about doing a sequel, I said, ‘I don’t want to do just another sequel. If I’m going to do it, it needs to go into the territory that drew me into the Doctor Strange comics in the first place’ – which is how they dipped into the gothic and the horror and the horrific," Derrickson said while speaking at San Diego Comic-Con last summer. "And we’re going to make the first scary MCU movie." Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige also recently teased that the sequel will feature the debut of a few Marvel characters new to the MCU.

The next Doctor Strange film, for instance, features some new MCU characters which will be making their debut in that movie. You won't expect or won't guess who it is but we found a cool way to make it work because we want to make a particular type of movie there. And there was a character who we always wanted to do something with who will fit really well there.

The DOCTOR STRANGE sequel will see the return of Benedict Cumberbatch, Rachel McAdams, and Benedict Wong, but Elizabeth Olsen is also set to star as Scarlet Witch/Wanda Maximoff as the events of the Disney+ series WandaVision are said to play into the film. DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS will hit theaters on May 1, 2021.