Doctor Strange co-writer C. Robert Cargill has expanded on why director Scott Derrickson left Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Cargill spoke to Cinema Blend about his book Day Zero, which led to him addressing what happened with the Doctor Strange sequel. Fresh off their collaboration on the first movie, Cargill and Derrickson were lined up to return for Multiverse of Madness. Then, in January 2020, Derrickson stepped down as director, citing creative differences with Marvel Studios. According to Cargill, Derrickson's decision was partly motivated by his desire to direct The Black Phone, an adaptation of Joe Hill's 2004 short horror story that he and Cargill wrote together.
"It was creative differences. [Scott Derrickson] wanted to do one movie, and Marvel wanted to do another movie," Cargill explained. "So he sat there and said, ‘Well shit, I’ve got this great script that I wrote with Cargill, and I’m really proud of.’ We were actually going to go out to other directors for The Black Phone, and Scott was like, he called me up and said, ‘Dude, I have to make this movie. It’s gotta be my movie, I have to do this.'"
While Cargill was willing to wait until Derrickson was available to make The Black Phone, the latter ultimately decided to step away from the Doctor Strange sequel, rather than compromise his vision. "It was, as he said publically, it was a hard choice to leave Strange behind; but it made it easier that he had a movie that he was looking forward to," Cargill added. "And then the experience was just so great that we’re just are so proud and happy with what we made."
Sam Raimi has since replaced Derrickson as director on Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, drawing from a script by Jade Halley Bartlett and Loki head writer Michal Waldron. Responding to the news of Raimi's hiring in Feb. 2020, Derrickson praised the Evil Dead and Spider-Man filmmaker, calling him "one of the nicest people I’ve known in the film business, and as a director, a true living legend."
Directed by Sam Raimi, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange, Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch, Benedict Wong as Wong, Rachel McAdams as Christine Palmer, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Mordo and Xochitl Gomez as America Chavez. The film arrives in theaters March 25, 2022.
Source: Cinema Blend