“I had to show that I wanted it more than anyone”: Original Doctor Strange Director Gambled Everything to Impress Kevin Feige Proving MCU Needs to Get Him Back for the ‘Threequel’

Phase 3 of the MCU was a time when Marvel Studios was at its peak, releasing a slew of entertaining films with a unique, yet connected feel. While there was much oversight from the studio, directors had some very interesting visuals put on display, such as 2016’s Doctor Strange, directed by Scott Derrickson.

Derrickson’s direction with the first Doctor Strange movie came at the end of a long courtship with Disney, where the director revealed that he had to shell out a lot of his own money for a 90-minute presentation. Scott Dirrickson would, however, exit the franchise come Doctor Strange 2, with the gig going to Spider-Man alum, Sam Raimi. However, Derrickson revealed details about his presentation for the original Doctor Strange gig, it has become clear that the director is the right choice for Doctor Strange 3 after all.

Doctor Strange 3 should bring back Scott Derrickson as director

Sam Raimi did a great job with the visuals and the script of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, but the director might not have been the right choice for the sequel film, especially since he was not familiar with the context of the material that he was trying to create. Having completely ignored all the developments that happened in WandaVision, the film left a lot of fans disappointed.

Scott Derrickson, on the other hand, committed a bulk load of personal funds to his pitch, which he revealed in an interview with Be (via Yahoo! Lifestyle). The idea was that Derrickson wanted to not only have the best pitch but also show Kevin Feigi that he was fully committed to being the director. He said:

I just knew that to get the job I had to show that I wanted it more than anyone.

Derrickson put a lot of money into the project, causing Disney to buy a slew of assets that the director had developed, which allowed him to directly make back some of the money that he had spent on the pitch. Given that Derrickson clearly had more commitment for the character, even departing the franchise to avoid making a ‘bad film’, he would make the perfect choice for a third Doctor Strange film.

Scott Derrickson has no bad blood with Marvel Studios

Scott Derrickson is still on great terms with Marvel Studios and Kevin Feige, as the director revealed on the podcast The Discourse. He said:

I’m still friends with Kevin and everything with me and Marvel is really cool. They invited me to the premiere and I went. And I’m friends with Sam. I love Sam, so there’s no bad blood over that.

Bringing Derrickson back to direct Doctor Strange 3 could bring in the horror aspect of the sequel that the direction ideated on, and it would suit the film, given that it would seem that the story of the threequel will predominantly deal with the dark dimension.

This could benefit from a horror/dark fantasy vibe that Derrickson would be able to bring to the film, not that Sam Raimi is any less of a horror director. However, Derrickson has clearly shown that he is more committed and eager for the gig, and could deliver a great product like Doctor Strange, that might just restore fans’ faith in the MCU.