Scott Derrickson departs Doctor Strange sequel

Scott Derrickson has departed 'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness'.

The director helmed the first 'Doctor Strange' movie - which starred Benedict Cumberbatch in the title role - in 2016 and had been due to work on the sequel but has now parted ways with the Marvel project due to "creative differences".

The studio said in a statement to Variety: "Marvel Studios and Scott Derrickson have amicably parted ways on 'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness' due to creative differences.

"We remain grateful to Scott for his contributions to the MCU."

The studio is currently searching for a new director but Scott will remain attached to the project as executive producer.

Production is due to begin in May and the schedule is not expected to be delayed due to the shuffle.

Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige recently hinted the movie will have a number of scary scenes and praised Scott for the way he can handle such moments in movies.

He said: "I wouldn't necessarily say that's a horror film, but it is, as Scott Derrickson, our director, has pitched it, it'll be a big MCU film with scary sequences in it.

"The way, when I was a kid in the 80s, Spielberg did an amazing job. I mean, there are horrifying sequences in 'Raiders...' that I as a little kid would [covers my eyes] when their faces melted. Or 'Temple of Doom', of course, or 'Gremlins', or 'Poltergeist'. These are the movies that invented the PG-13 rating, by the way.

"It's fun to be scared in that way, and not a horrific, torturous way, but a way that is legitimately scary, because Scott Derrickson is quite good at that, but scary in the service of an exhilarating emotion."