Doctor Strange Director Reveals Original Portals Concept

Scott Derrickson reveals how the portals in Doctor Strange first came to be. As the release of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness nears, there’s growing interest in Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and his arc thus far in the MCU. As the helmer of the character’s origin movie, Derrickson is also looking back at his contribution to the hero’s journey, including how he initially envisioned the sorcerer’s signature portals.

Derrickson was actually supposed to return to direct Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. He was officially on board when the project was announced during San Diego Comic-Con 2019. However, he reportedly had creative differences with Marvel Studios over how to move forward with the sequel and he ultimately dropped out. Sam Raimi was then brought in to replace him. Despite all this, Derrickson has been nothing but supportive of the upcoming project, even recently giving glowing reviews for Multiverse of Madness’ first trailer. Now, he looks back on his offering to Strange’s canon and reveals a fun tidbit regarding how he conceived of the idea and look for the film’s portals.

Taking it to his official Twitter account, Derrickson shared a picture of the napkin where he first sketched his idea for what the portals would look like in Doctor Strange. The image is fairly straightforward with additional notes on the sides. The portals have been used multiple times now in the MCU, and it’s interesting that the filmmaker’s original idea for them has pretty much remained unchanged throughout the franchise. Check out the photo below:

Click Here To See The Original Post.

Since debuting in the original Doctor Strange film, the portals have appeared in several other MCU entries. In fact, the magic passageways have been featured more times than the sorcerer himself since Wong (Benedict Wong) also used the trick a few times in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Beyond instant transportation, Marvel Studios has also found ways to creatively utilize this unique superpower, taking fight scenes to an entirely new level, as seen when Doctor Strange briefly faced off with Peter Parker (Tom Holland) in Spider-Man: No Way Home. It’s also how the same film recruited Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield into the MCU. Arguably the portals’ most memorable appearance, however, was in Avengers: Endgame when almost every MCU hero came to help Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), and Thor (Chris Hemsworth) defeat Thanos (Josh Brolin) and his minions.

As Doctor Strange continues his personal narrative in the MCU through Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, it will be interesting to see how Raimi will utilize the portals in his own way. Since they can transport anyone anywhere, the portals would certainly help the sorcerer in navigating multiple realities. In any case, considering how Derrickson has been supportive of the Doctor Strange franchise, chances are that he, too, is excited to see what his successor does with them.

Source: Scott Derrickson/Twitter

About The Author