With Doctor Strange director Scott Derrickson out for the sequel, we throw out our suggestions for who should replace him
Doctor Strange was one of the most visually stunning episodes in the decade-long run of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It’s also one of its most inessential. There’s nothing you learn about the titular character in his solo introduction to the series that can’t be learned in the character’s cameo in Thor: Ragnarok or the first fifteen minutes of Avengers: Infinity War, and unless you’re dying to see Chiwetel Ejiofor’s inevitable ally-turned-nemesis Baron Mordo, there’s not much to take away from the 2015 film aside from the aforementioned visuals.
It was director Scott Derrickson who was able to take those visuals from concept to screen, and many had shown excitement about the director’s return for the sequel, which was announced at Kevin Feige’s mic-drop moment at 2019’s San Diego Comic-Con. Feige outlined the next 4-5 years of films and shows on Disney+, and the newly-minted Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was one of the most-discussed announcements in the recap videos released throughout the YouTube community in the following days.
With the multiverse teased — and eventually revealed as a red herring — in Spider-Man: Far From Home, fans had already begun their rampant theorizing about what effects a multiverse could have on the MCU. Dr. Strange seemed to be the perfect bridge between the two, and with the announcement that Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch (okay, fine, Wanda Maximoff) will be appearing alongside Benedict Cumberbatch’s protagonist, it was clear that Marvel is pushing its chips to the center of the table, hoping Multiverse of Madness will do for Dr. Strange what The Winter Soldier and Ragnarok did for Captain America and Thor, respectively.
Derrickson joined Feige, Olsen, and Cumberbatch on stage in San Diego last summer, where the creators and actors showed their shared enthusiasm for what was dubbed the “first horror film” in the MCU’s history. Given the director’s pedigree and experience in the genre, it seemed like this was going to be another slam-dunk entry in the MCU, with the promise of the multiverse providing limitless potential for where the film could go.
Well, it seems like a few limits have been reached, or at least set forth by the powers that be within Marvel, as Derrickson took to Twitter this past week to announce he’d no longer be directing the film, slated for release in 2021. Citing creative differences, Derrickson will still be involved as an executive producer, though the extent of his influence will remain to be seen. With so much invested in the film, both in star power and in potential, the obvious question needs to be asked: what now? Below, you’ll find a few suggestions for directors who may be able to take this setback as an opportunity to advance the MCU in a new, exciting direction.
Ari Aster
If there’s anyone who’s more interesting in horror right now than Ari Aster, I’d love to see how their last two films match up to Aster’s debut couplet of Hereditary and Midsommar. Aster has been able to create real terror in both films, the kind that will benefit a skilled acting group like the one Multiverse has assembled.
Aster has also directed Toni Colette and Florence Pugh to Oscar nomination-worthy portrayals of the lead actress in crisis, which would greatly benefit Olsen. Olsen will have completed her character’s Disney+ show WandaVision, which has been heavily implied to lead directly into the second installment of the Dr. Strange series, so if that show ends with something happening to Vision (again), Aster would have a lot of trauma to sort through with Wanda, setting Olsen up for a potential behemoth of a performance.
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Robert Eggers
Perhaps just a step below Aster in terms of buzz right now, Robert Eggers has established himself as another creative force in horror, thanks to the spectacularly eerie The Witch and absolutely bonkers The Lighthouse. Eggers’s flair for the supernatural would make him an asset for Marvel in Multiverse, and he’s proven that he can take several creative risks in his storytelling and still pull great performances out of his actors in the process. Seeing Chiwetel Ejiofor reprise his role as Mordo and take on the full-blown-psycho role like Willem Dafoe did in The Lighthouse would be a jolt to the MCU, who’ve always struggled in creating interesting villains.
Jordan Peele
While Aster and Eggers are the indie darlings of horror right now, the genre is operating within Jordan Peele’s grasp. I’d give this about a 1% chance of actually happening, seeing as Peele’s passion for telling stories in his way will likely veer from Marvel’s path too much, but Peele’s involvement with CBS All Access’s The Twilight Zone could provide a spark of hope to get him involved in this big-budget playground. If Marvel lets Jordan Peele’s imagination run wild a little, he could tread a new path for the entire franshise moving forward.
Ava DuVernay
There are concerns with bringing in DuVernay on this film, sure, but she’s absolutely worth considering. Yes, A Wrinkle in Time underwhelmed, but the visuals were never the issue, and with Derrickson exiting, it would do Marvel some good to bring in a director who has shown their own talent for creating visually stunning effects. DuVernay is currently tapped to direct New Gods for the DC Universe, but given the lack of knowledge and even deeper lack of interest for the project, I’d expect getting out of that deal wouldn’t be that difficult at this point.
Melina Mantzoukas
You know what’s really scary? Actual stakes of life and death. The argument can be made that no director handled that better than Mantzoukas did in Queen and Slim last year, as she followed two outlaws trying to outrun their own building legend. From the time we start our journey on the run with the couple until the film’s tension-filled ending, Mantzoukas builds the stakes wonderfully, and keeps the focus on the individuals at the film’s center. With so many different visual possibilities likely to be present in Multiverse, adding Mantzoukas to keep the focus on Stephen Strange and Wanda Maximoff will help the film keep some semblance of reality in the madness.
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Donald Wagenblast has seen every film in the MCU more times than necessary. He is looking forward to Marvel ignoring these suggestiions, playing it safe, hiring someone who will just do whatever Kevin Feige says, and laughing on their way to the bank as Multiverse of Madness makes over a billion dollars at the box office. Donald can be found on Twitter (@whysoserious).