The selection of Scott Derrickson to helm Marvel's long-discussed Doctor Strange may have caught some by surprise, but the director of Sinister and Deliver Us From Evil says he "genuinely felt like I was the right guy to do it."

"I think when you consider the work that I've done it makes sense that he'd be my favorite comic book character, at least in the Marvel Universe," he tells JoBlo. "Probably the only comic character in that mainstream world that I'm suited to. I feel such an affinity for the character and the story and the ambition of those comics, especially the original Stan Lee and Steve Ditko Strange Tales -- I think those are my favorite of all of them. The entire history of the comics is extraordinary."

Derrickson says he's bee pleasantly surprised by the response to his selection. "I guess I expected the detractors, and they just haven't been there," he tells the website. "It's all been quite positive. More than that, it's just the general enthusiasm for Doctor Strange. I think people who know the comic world and the Marvel Universe, they all feel the same way I do, which is, 'This is the Marvel movie we're all ready to see now.'"

Scott Derrickson Puts Characters First in "Deliver Us From Evil"

Of course, some fans of Marvel's Sorcerer Supreme have been ready for that feature film since at least the mid-1980s, when Back to the Future co-writer Bob Gale penned an adaptation that never made it into production. Wes Craven, David S. Goyer and Guillermo del Toro, among other writers and directors, were all attached to the project at one time or another.

After Marvel reclaiming the film rights, Conan screenwriters Thomas Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer were hired in 2010 to tackle the Doctor Strange script, kicking off four years of casting rumors and relentless questions posed to studio President Kevin Feige (who last year confirmed the movie is part of Marvel's Phase Three plans).

It was reported on Wednesday that original Prometheus writer John Spaihts is in negotiations to pen Doctor Strange. Tom Hardy, Jared Leto and Benedict Cumberbatch are said to be among the frontrunners for the title role.