As Marvel mounted the heap of dollars following the box office success of Doctor Strange, the movie turned out to be a pricey gig for the director, Scott Derrickson. The acclaimed filmmaker who is known for directing horror movies like The Exorcism of Emily Rose and Sinister, apparently wanted too badly to debut in the MCU.
However, as Doctor Strange opened to favorable reviews from fans and critics in 2016, following its release in theatres, unsettling news surrounding Scott Derrickson started coming out. Apparently, Derrickson wasn’t MCU’s initial choice of director. Nonetheless, the filmmaker’s strong desire to direct superhero movies with Marvel made him take extreme steps to land the gig.
Scott Derrickson’s Obnoxious Move To Land Doctor Strange
Acclaimed filmmaker, Scott Derrickson who is known for his horror movies like Sinister, apparently had a strong desire to direct a superhero movie, in his well-built career. And, when it comes to big-budget superhero films, who can do it better than Marvel? Thus, Derrickson acquired a penchant for MCU films and wished to direct one.
Strangely, Marvel wasn’t too keen on hiring Scott Derrickson for any of their movies. Nonetheless, Derrickson had his eyes set on the opening for Doctor Strange. Thus, the director hatched a plan to convince Marvel Studios to believe that he was the right guy for the job. Believe it or not, Scott Derrickson went out of his way to land the gig.
Realizing that MCU had been eyeing Jonathan Levine and Mark Andrews to direct Doctor Strange, Scott Derrickson put bizarre efforts to woo Marvel Studios for the job. “I spent a lot more money than was reasonable to get the job.” the director shared with Collider. He further added, “I designed several set pieces… I wrote a 12-page version of that scene, and then storyboarded the whole thing, and then created what’s called an animatic which is a moving storyboard.”
MCU Eventually Replaced Scott Derrickson With Sam Raimi
Evidently, Scott Derrickson put too much effort into making sure that Marvel Studios hired him for the directorial job. Creating concept art to try and “give an example of what I wanted the visuals to be like” the director apparently spent an obnoxious amount of money on the process of landing the job in Doctor Strange.
Don’t worry, the director was later paid off every penny that he spent in convincing Marvel Studios. Derrickson later revealed via Yahoo, that his bizarre commitment turned into a lucrative move.
“The great thing is though, when I got the job, they had to buy all of it from me…they needed to own everything because a lot of it ended up being the movie we made, so I got all my money back.” the director shared.
“I was committed. I was going to outspend every competing director.”
Nonetheless, although Scott Derrickson landed the opportunity to direct Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange, and was eventually paid off; he was unfortunately kicked out of the sequel. Despite insane dedication towards the film, Derrickson didn’t get a just payback, in the long run. MCU tactically replaced the director with Sam Raimi for the highly anticipated sequel, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Watch the Doctor Strange movies on Disney+.
Read more: Doctor Strange 2 Director Sam Raimi Reportedly in Race to Head Avengers: Secret Wars
