The True Story Behind Wes Craven's Failed Doctor Strange Movie

5. Savoy Uses Superheroes To Take On Disney

Wes Craven
Fox

The early-to-mid '90s saw the rapid rise (and equally rapid fall) of Savoy Pictures, which was founded in 1992 by former Columbia and TriStar exec Victor Kaufman.

With all that studio experience under his belt, Kaufman set an ambitious roadmap for Savoy, aiming for his company's name to be mentioned in the same breath as Paramount, Warner Bros., and even Disney. And how would this be achieved? Simple: by splashing the cash on some A-list talent, and making a bunch of great movies.

Of course, that's easier said than done, but Savoy did get off to a good start by lining up Anthony Hopkins, Robert de Niro, and Cuba Gooding Jr to star in its projects. The studio also had Doctor Strange in its back pocket and soon hired Wes Craven to both write and direct, aiming to go before cameras in 1993 or early 1994.

Craven was known for bloody horror movies like The Last House on the Left, The Hills Have Eyes, and A Nightmare on Elm Street, so it's safe to assume that his take on Strange wouldn't have been breezy, comic-book schlock.

Freddy Krueger Nightmare On Elm Street
New Line Cinema

He doesn't seem like the most natural fit to direct Doctor Strange, but considering that Tim Burton's 1989 Batman movie had just demonstrated that darker superhero flicks can work, it's understandable why Savoy would want to give him a shot.

It's unclear what exactly caused Craven's movie to fall apart, but the fact that Savoy released a string of box-office bombs - like the 1994 double-whammy Serial Mom and No Escape - surely didn't help Strange's movie prospects.

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Danny has been with WhatCulture for over ten years, and is currently Doctor Who Editor and WhoCulture Channel Manager, overseeing all of WhatCulture's Whoniverse coverage. In 2022, he took charge of WhoCulture and has grown it into the biggest Doctor Who channel on YouTube, and one of the biggest Doctor Who communities on the web full-stop. He has been writing and video editing since his early teens, and first got a taste for content creation after making his own Doctor Who trailers, off the back of a burning obsession with the Matt Smith era of the show. Like many his age, he first got into Doctor Who with the 2005 revival, but has since gone back and fallen in love with the classic years too. If you need someone to recite every Doctor Who episode in order, or to give you a random factoid about the making of Gridlock, Danny is the person to ask!