Doctor Strange director Scott Derrickson recently addressed a new list that ranked the MCU's movies from worst to best.
Derrickson's work on Doctor Strange, which was only the MCU's 14th movie in 2016, opened the door to wild new supernatural storylines while introducing true magic to the franchise for the first time.
The solo movie became an important stepping stone for one of the MCU's most important characters of both the Infinity Saga and the Multiverse Saga, although the entry sometimes gets lost in the fray when ranking the best of the best in the franchise.
Doctor Strange Director Challenges MCU Ranking
After The Wrap published a ranking of the MCU movies by quality, Doctor Strange director Scott Derrickson re-shared it on Twitter before sharing his thoughts about certain movies' positions on the list.
The Wrap's full rankings, from best to worst, are as follows:
- The Avengers
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier
- Guardians of the Galaxy
- Doctor Strange
- Spider-Man: Homecoming
- Black Panther
- Iron Man
- Captain America: Civil War
- Thor: Ragnarok
- Spider-Man: No Way Home
- Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
- Spider-Man: Far From Home
- Avengers: Infinity War
- Avengers: Endgame
- Black Widow
- Captain Marvel
- Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
- Ant-Man and the Wasp
- Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
- Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
- Eternals
- Avengers: Age of Ultron
- Thor: Love and Thunder
- Iron Man 3
- Thor: The Dark World
- Captain America: The First Avenger
- Iron Man 2
- Thor
- Ant-Man
- The Incredible Hulk
Derrickson explained that he "strongly disagreed" with a few of the rankings, specifically noting that Black Panther (#6) and Captain America: The First Avenger (#27) were ranked too low:
"Obviously I posted this because it places 'Doctor Strange' at #4. Otherwise, there are placements on the list I pretty much agree with and others that I strongly don’t. Most notably, I think 'Black Panther' and 'Captain America: First Avenger' are both way too low."
Derrickson also proclaimed the first Captain America movie from 2011 to be the one he considers the most underrated in MCU history:
"If there is a single MCU movie that I consider 'underrated' it’s First Avenger. It has one of the richest origin stories and is one of the most beautifully shot films in the entire Marvel cannon."
He also agreed with a fan complaining about 2015's Ant-Man being ranked dead last, correcting them that it was actually placed second-last and noting that he really enjoyed the movie:
"Second to last but yeah that’s too low - I really like Ant-Man"
Derrickson Praises Underrated MCU Movies
While this particular list certainly faired well for Scott Derrickson since his own MCU movie ranked so high, he gives a unique perspective on the MCU's history.
Even though Black Panther is ranked at #6 on this list, it's been in the argument for many fans as the best and/or most important movie the MCU has ever had. It also stands as the MCU's first Oscar-winning movie, and it still has an impact on the comic book movie landscape five years after its release.
Ant-Man and Captain America: The First Avenger also get the spotlight thanks to Derrickson's post, both of which are arguably two of the more underrated solo origin stories for a couple of the MCU's biggest characters. While they may not have the same stakes as bigger movies, even compared to later entries in their own trilogies, fans have gravitated toward both of them over the years as the MCU expands to bigger plotlines.
It's clear that Derrickson has stayed up to date with everything that's happened within the MCU since his departure from Doctor Strange 2, showing that he's a fan of this franchise just like so many viewers worldwide. Fans are also waiting to see if he has one more round of storytelling left in him for Doctor Strange 3, although he'll be an important part of the commentary on the MCU as a whole moving forward either way.
Doctor Strange and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness are both available to stream on Disney+.
