When Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness ended with Charlize Theron's Clea arriving in its mid-credits scene, the foundations for an MCU Secret Wars event were laid in place. Now, after a thrilling weekend at San Diego Comic-Con 2022 for Marvel Studios, that event was made official with the MCU's Phase 6 set to bring Avengers: Secret Wars as its final movie.
Following Comic-Con, news went public that Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings director Destin Daniel Cretton was set to move into the director's chair for Secret Wars' predecessor, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. But for now, that position for Secret Wars still remains open as Marvel searches for the right person to lead arguably the biggest movie in franchise history.
Marvel Studios head honcho Kevin Feige revealed that Joe and Anthony Russo aren't currently attached to the project, and WandaVision's Julian Hilliard threw Black Panther director Ryan Coolger's name in for consideration as well. Now, the question moves to another former MCU director from Phase 3, who shared his own thoughts about possibly taking on this massive responsibility.
Doctor Strange Director Talks Secret Wars
Doctor Strange director Scott Derrickson took to Twitter to bluntly address the idea of him taking the duty of directing Marvel Studios' Avengers: Secret Wars, which arrives in theaters on November 7, 2025.
When asked by a fan if there was a possibility of him taking the job, Derrickson responded with a GIF of Rorshach from 2009's Watchmen, who only says "No" after the camera zooms in:
https://t.co/8f2wyPmRFb pic.twitter.com/Z9EOFmOyDe
— N O S ⋊ Ɔ I ᴚ ᴚ Ǝ ᗡ ⊥ ⊥ O Ɔ S (@scottderrickson) July 28, 2022
Scott Derrickson Denies Avengers: Secret Wars Request
Scott Derrickson brought his own movie-making magic to the MCU by directing Phase 3's second movie, Doctor Strange, bringing the titular neurosurgeon-turned-magician to the big screen for the first time. He also served as an executive producer on Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, having dropped out of the director's chair before Spider-Man's Sam Raimi took the position.
With Derrickson's response to the question on Twitter coming literally one minute after it was asked, he appears quite sure of his decision to leave the sixth Avengers movie in somebody else's hands. It's unclear how involved the Doctor Strange director will be with the MCU going forward, although so far, it's just been with both of Benedict Cumberbatch's solo movies.
Now, with more than a dozen projects still left to release before Secret Wars, Marvel Studios continues searching for the person or duo that will add this massive story to their resume.
Avengers: Secret Wars is set to close the MCU's Phase 6, coming to theaters on November 7, 2025.
