Scott Derrickson has hinted he stepped down from the 'Doctor Strange' sequel as he didn't want to make "somebody else's movie".

The 54-year-old filmmaker had been due to helm 'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness' but dropped out of the Marvel Cinematic Universe project earlier this year due to "creative differences" with the studio and he has now suggested that he didn't want to make a movie driven by someone else, recalling his experience on the 2008 flick 'The Day the Earth Stood Still'.

Scott wrote on Twitter: "I've made some hard creative choices this year. But I swore after making 'The Day the Earth Stood Still' (2008) that I would never again find myself at the end of somebody else's movie, and I'm sticking to that."

Derrickson had directed the original 'Doctor Strange' film - which starred Benedict Cumberbatch - in the titular role but saw his role behind the camera taken by Sam Raimi after his "amicable split" with Marvel.

The studio said in a statement: "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."

Sam, whose previous credits included the 'Spider-Man' trilogy, revealed that he was delighted to take on a story involving one of his favourite superheroes.

The 61-year-old filmmaker said: "I loved 'Doctor Strange' as a kid. He was always after Spider-Man and Batman for me.

"He was probably number five for me for great comic book characters. He was so original."

'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness' is slated for release in March 2022.