There are three inescapable certainties in life. Death, taxes and Disney parting with directors over “creative differences.” Scott Derrickson’s departure from Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has seen him join the increasingly long line of artists to have fallen by the wayside, a line including Edgar Wright (Ant-Man), Patty Jenkins (Thor: The Dark World), Colin Trevorrow (The Rise of Skywalker), and so on and so forth.
It’s provoked some mixed responses from fans, to say the least. Moving quickly to defuse some of the tension though, Derrickson’s long-time writing partner C. Robert Cargill took to Twitter to offer a novel explanation for the director’s Strange exit, saying:
So I guess it's safe to announce that @scottderrickson and my next film CATS 2: THE FURRENING is being moved up and should be shooting soon.
— C. Robert Cargill (@Massawyrm) January 10, 2020
There you have it. No wonder Disney wouldn’t divulge a more specific reason for the parting, as all parties involved were too embarrassed to talk. Who knows, maybe Cargill is being dead serious and we’ll soon be seeing Scott Derrickson the auteur stunning audiences across the globe with his Meowsterpiece? That gag didn’t really work, did it? I saw better in the tweet’s replies. If you have your own purrfect puns, feel free to leave them in the comments. I’m spent.
For more gossip about just why Derrickson has left the project, I’ll point you in the direction of this article. The director has also made his own statement, offering a cordial, if rather perfunctory address, informing us he’ll remain attached as an Executive Producer. As for fans, those gagging for the sequel’s release will be relieved its date hasn’t been delayed in light of the news (though whether that hinders the finished product remains to be seen).
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is still down to makes its debut on May 7th 2021. Business as usual, then.