Original DOCTOR STRANGE Writer and Director Never Even Got to Write a Script for the Sequel

While we wait to see if director Sam Raimi and Marvel Studios team up on Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, an interesting new tidbit of news has surfaced.

According to original Doctor Strange screenwriter C. Robert Cargill, he and director Scott Derrickson were never even given the chance to write a script for the sequel! I’m actually pretty surprised by this news because you’d think that Marvel would at least let them take a crack at the script before deciding they didn’t want to use it. But I guess they just couldn’t get past the story planning phase. Here’s what Cargill shared on Twitter:

Since it keeps coming up in news stories, it's worth noting that Scott and I never had the opportunity to write a draft of MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS, so whatever they are working with now isn't derivative of our work.

I am of course very excited to see where they take Stephen next.

— C. Robert Cargill (@Massawyrm) February 8, 2020

The initial script for the film was being worked on by Jade Bartlett (The Accountant), and it was most recently reported that Marvel’s Loki series showrunner Michael Waldron has been brought in to work on a draft.

The upcoming Doctor Strange sequel has been billed by Marvel as its first horror-centric movie. It was previously reported that Derrickson wanted to lean into the horror aspect of the story more than Marvel was comfortable with, and that is one of the main friction points between the two.

We don’t really know anything regarding the story that Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will tell, but we do know that it will tie into WandaVision and Loki and that it will crack open the MCU multiverse. I incredibly excited to see how exactly this story plays out and see all the characters who will be introduced in it. I hope that Raimi ends up being the director to take on the challenge.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is scheduled for release on May 7, 2021.