With a new character launching in a major, multi-billion dollar, 8-year-old cinematic universe, any outside observer would think there’s a lot of pressure and a lot to juggle. With Doctor Strange, it seemed like Scott Derrickson, director and co-writer on the film, would have to juggle introducing magic to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in a full and proper way, introduce the new characters involved in that corner of the world, introduce the multiverse, and still make it fit into the existing MCU and help set up that world’s greater future.
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“No, it wasn’t as much as you just said, because having it function within the MCU was really not an issue,” Derrickson told Comicbook.com when asked about this juggling act. In fact, his work in making it fit in the MCU was only an issue of tone, not an issue of story or setup.
“I think the only obligatory sense that I felt going into it with respect to the MCU was tonal, in that I’ve made very dark films in the past. Some really dark. It is my creative inclination and I knew that I was going to have to have a lighter touch on this movie than I had on films in the past, but I also was really ready for that,” he said. It happened to line-up nicely with where he was at creatively. “I’m a parent of middle school boys now. I wanted to make a movie … I wanted to finally make a movie they can see!” the director said with a laugh.
With the idea of a lighter tone in mind, he was able to simply tell the story he wanted – not even any other characters were mandated, no storytelling elements of where the story had to begin or end was mandated, “there was no pressure; it’s a completely standalone movie.”
Of course, they did wind up using the Time Stone as the power behind the Eye of Agamotto and a central part of the story – but that came in later, and organically into the film. Even the final scene of the movie, where it was officially identified as an infinity stone, one of the near-mystical artifacts that will come together under Thanos’ power in Avengers: Infinity War, was added after the fact.
NEXT: Doctor Strange: Scott Derrickson Says Time Stone and Theme Was Added Organically
“The last scene with Wong was shot after principal photography,” Derrickson revealed. “We decided to put that on as kind of the final scene; it was only then that we were looking for a way to tie it into the MCU.”
Overall, with the critical and fan response, that approach seems to have paid off, and hopefully Derrickson will get to approach things similarly if he gets the opportunity to do a sequel.
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Doctor Strange will appear next in Thor: Ragnarok, and is also due to appear in Avengers: Infinity War, which began principal photography this week. Doctor Strange hits digital HD February 14, and DVD/Blu-ray on February 28.
