Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Marvel TV

  • Series Creators Explain Why They Took ‘What If…?’ to 1602

    Series Creators Explain Why They Took ‘What If…?’ to 1602

    The penultimate episode of Marvel Studios animated streaming series What If…? saw Peggy Carter transported to 1602 where she joined a small collection of familiar faces in solving the mystery behind an Incursion that threatened their universe. Inspired by Neil Gaiman’s 2003 limited series, the episode had its fair share of cool moments that didn’t quite coalesce into the banger it could have been. Still, “What If…The Avengers Assembled in 1602” is a fun episode that pays homage to one of Marvel Comics’ more entertaining alternate universes and one of fiction’s most imaginative authors. And according to the creators of the series, finding a way to work Gaiman’s 1602 into the series has been a priority for some time.

    Director and Executive Producer Bryan Andrews revealed that the episode is one that had been in development for quite some time though the team wasn’t quite sure where it would fit. “[We] needed to find the right time to do it,” said Andrews. “It’s so fun to see such different versions of these characters—Loki and Happy are true highlights in this episode.” It turns out that one of the reasons Loki was such a highlight is that writer AC Bradley had her own agenda for star Tom Hiddleston, who voiced the character in the episode. “Ha! Honestly, this whole thing was just my sneaky ploy to see Tom Hiddleston do Hamlet,” said Bradley. “He’s one of the best Shakespearean actors alive, and it was so cool to see him perform Hamlet’s most famous soliloquy off-book.” All jokes aside, Bradley explained that the episode truly came together because of one simple truth: there was a good story to tell.

    All storytelling, from the first cave drawings to the modern cinematic universes, is about connection, asking your audience: ‘Is this your story, too?’ The same holds true when adapting beloved storylines and IP. I first seek out the human story—the heart. The world of 1602 is one of chaos and confusion with our MCU heroes trapped in an alternate history. The burning questions are: How did they end up here? How can they restore their world?

    AC Bradley

    Outside of being full of the potential Bradley described, writer Ryan Little also pointed out that there was another factor involved in choosing to adapt Gaiman’s comic: it was just plain fun. “I’ll always remember the first time I read Neil Gaiman’s original 1602 [Marvel comics] series in high school,” said Little. “We filled this episode with 1602 iterations of characters from across the MCU to share with everyone that same fun Neil created when first exploring Elizabethan Marvel in his original run.” And if nothing else, the creators found the fun in 1602.

    All episodes of What If…? are now streaming on Disney Plus.

  • Marvel Studios Falls Short of Neil Gaiman’s Magic in ‘What If…?’ Episode 8

    Marvel Studios Falls Short of Neil Gaiman’s Magic in ‘What If…?’ Episode 8

    In 2003, author Neil Gaiman’s eight-issue limited series, 1602, reimagined the existence of a couple dozen Marvel Comics heroes and villains in Elizabethan England. Make no mistake, while it was fun and won an award or two, the series was no critical darling. While it hit the mark with readers and ultimately spawned three sequels, critics were split on Gaiman’s first work for Marvel since he wrote Marvelman in the early 1990s. In fact, Comics Bulletin’s Cody Dolan described the series as a “glorified What If…? series” that was neither “revolutionary” nor “groundbreaking.” Unfortunately for Marvel Studios, their attempt to adapt that very same series into their own animated What If…? series is even less revolutionary.

    This is certainly not to say that there’s no fun to be had in Episode 8, “What If…The Avengers Assembled in 1602?”; in fact, it’s rather loaded with solid performances, fun one-liners and even the return of The Freak. However, despite all the magic at the disposal of Wanda Merlin, who is revealed to be responsible for bringing Haley Atwell’s Captain Carter to the 1602 universe, the episode fails to capture even the limited magic of Gaiman’s original and oft-derided series.

    1602 Wanda Merlin in Marvel Studios’ WHAT IF…?, Season 2 exclusively on Disney+. © 2023 MARVEL.

    Unfortunately, a collection of moments does not a good episode make. And so not Jon Favreau’s Sir Harold “The Happy” Hogan, nor Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang, nor even Tom Hiddelston’s Loki doing Hamlet can find the right additive recipe to make the episode nearly as engaging as Gaiman’s comics. In the end, it feels as though the 1602 episode was one that the creators of What If…? were determined to shoehorn into the series from its inception.

    Despite the lack of creative chutzpah apparent in it (to be fair, it’s likely that many of the characters that made the comic book series so entertaining were not available to the creators), the episode does come tantalizingly close to entangling the animated series in the larger ongoing issues that predominate the Multiverse Saga. Though it’s not explicitly stated, the presence of Steve Rogers “Hood”–once again the Man Out of Time–in 1602 is causing an Incursion. And, of course, there’s the much more axiomatic premise that no matter where or when these stories take place, Marvel’s core heroes remain Marvel’s core heroes. And as the Multiverse Saga approaches its swan song, “What If…The Avengers Assembled in 1602?” reminds us that Earth’s Mightiest Heroes can assemble anywhere and anywhen.

  • ‘What If…?’ Creators on Cate Blanchett’s Return, Hela’s Arc in Episode 7

    ‘What If…?’ Creators on Cate Blanchett’s Return, Hela’s Arc in Episode 7

    In the most intriguing episode of What If…? Season 2 to date, Episode 7, “What If…Hela Found the Ten Rings?” explores an alternate path for the Goddess of Death. Rather than imprisoning his daughter in Hel, Odin banishes here to Earth where she meets Xu Wenwu, discovers who she truly is and becomes a champion of peace and freedom across the galaxy. It’s a wonderful episode that fully embraces the true nature of What If…? and as the cherry on top, it’s elevated by Cate Blanchett’s return to the role.

    Blanchett drew wide-ranging praise for slaying the role of the deranged and bloodthirsty firstborn of Odin in Thor: Ragnarok and does nothing here other than add to an already great character. As you might imagine, in an animated series where the stars who brought characters such as Captain America, Iron Man and Black Widow to life aren’t part of the voice cast, the creators of What If…? were thrilled to have an actress of Blanchett’s caliber on board. “I mean, we got Cate Blanchett! And she’s amazing.” exclaimed director and executive producer Bryan Andrews when sharing his excitement for the episode.

    Andrews’ excitement was shared by Matthew Chauncey, who took over writing duties for the episode. “We’re all such huge fans of her work, obviously, who isn’t?“, asked Chauncey. Chauncey went on to explain that the genesis of the episode came not only from loving what Blanchett’s Hela accomplished in 2017’s Thor: Ragnarok but also from wondering why Odin treated his daughter so much more harshly than his sons.

    AC Bradley and I both love Ragnarok and Hela specifically, but something that always
    struck us was how her dad did her kind of dirty in that movie compared to how he treated his sons. Think about it: When Thor starts acting a fool in his first movie, Odin sends him on a sort of cosmic time-out to Earth. But his daughter? Nope, he just locks her in Hel for all
    eternity and throws away the key. It got us thinking: How much of Hela’s villainy is a product
    of her own nature and how much of it was created by the way her father treated her? What
    would happen if instead of locking her in Hel, he banished her to Earth to teach her a
    lesson?

    Matthew Chanuncy

    The result is an episode that creates one arguably the most interesting alternate universes introduced in the animated streaming series. By setting the divergence point one thousand years before Thor’s Sacred Timeline banishment, the episode’s butterfly effect becomes nearly as exciting to ponder as the Asgardian-Ten Rings alliance formed during it.

    The first 8 episodes of Season 2 of What If…? are now streaming on Disney Plus with the season finale set to debut at 12 AM PST/3 AM EST.

  • ‘What If…?’ Season 2 Find Success Through Alchemy in Episode 7

    ‘What If…?’ Season 2 Find Success Through Alchemy in Episode 7

    Derivation is the fundamental underlying concept of What If…?. In both the comic book series and the streaming series it inspired, stories are spawned by imagining an alternate history of a familiar character whose path diverged at some point. That point of divergence–or Nexus Point–begets an entirely new universe on an entirely new timeline. And it also begets an entirely new set of consequences. To that end, Season 2 of What If…? may not have a more intriguing installment than Episode 7, “What If…Hela Found the Ten Rings?”.

    Set within the once-hidden history of Asgard that was revealed in Thor: Ragnarok, “What If…Hela Found the Ten Rings?” creates a new scenario in which rather than banishing his sanguinary daughter to Hel, Odin casts her out down to Midgard. The scene unfolds parallel to the more familiar banishment of Thor (as seen in director Kenneth Branagh’s 2011 film) right down to the spell the Allfather places on Hela’s signature helm. Make no mistake, this decision sets the episode on the precipice of becoming a boringly derivative adventure where Hela simply follows in the footsteps of the Sacred Timeline’s Thor (watch Episode 5, “What If…Captain Carter Fought the Hydra Stomper?” if that’s your thing); however, writer Matt Chauncey‘s creative choices allow for a wonderfully bold new adventure to unfold on Earth…and beyond.

    By setting the episode roughly one thousand years before the events of Thor, Chauncey opened the door for Hela, one of Marvel’s most audacious villains, to cross paths with someone nearly as ruthless as her: Xu Wenwu. Awestruck by the now powerless Asgardian’s will, Wenwu proposes an alliance that would see Hela join him in protecting the people of Earth. Clearly uncomfortable with the idea, Hela flees Wenwu’s compound and-with the help of the dijiang Morris–finds her way to Ta Lo where one of its Protectors, Jiayi, helps her break free from Odin’s conditioning and break free to walk her own path and regain her crown. Once reunited with Wenwu the result is hardly what one would expect of the two characters from the Sacred Timeline. Rather than amplify each other’s destructive qualities, Hela and Wenwu choose to become champions of peace and, after defeating Odin, join with Asgard to help rid the universe of callous warlords and conquerors.

    What’s put forth on-screen during the episode is worthy enough; however, what’s possible within this new alternate universe created by the divergence is equally fascinating. As the original change to the familiar story ripples throughout time, a fascinating cascade of changes emerges. With Odin storming across the galaxy liberating those who are held down, is Thor ever born? And if he is, it’s highly unlikely his journey would have much in common with his Sacred Timeline counterpart. Given that the Asgardian-Ten Rings alliance is seen charging at Thanos and a young Gamora, it would seem unlikely that the Mad Titan’s quest for the Infinity Stones would ever happen. And since in the Sacred Timeline Gamora and Shang-Chi are the same age and given Wenwu’s partnership with Hela and his lack of interest in seizing the power of Ta Lo for himself, there’s probably no Shang-Chi waiting for his own adventure. Much as the episode allowed Hela to explore her true nature, it also fully embraces the true nature of the premise of What If…?. One change leads to a new one and each new action leads to another until familiar characters exist in an entirely unfamiliar universe. And now, as happened on occasion in the comics, the streaming series has created an alternate universe worthy of further exploration.

    What If….? Season 2 will stream new episodes daily through December 30th.

  • ‘What If…?’ Creatives Go Behind the Scenes on Episode 6

    ‘What If…?’ Creatives Go Behind the Scenes on Episode 6

    In what was inarguably their most innovative and inspired creative choice, the team behind What If…? produced an entire episode set in Kanien’kehá:ka and featuring members of the Mohawk Wolf Clan including the MCU’s first original hero, Kahhori. An episode that features the kind of unbridled creativity that helped make Marvel’s publishing house known as the House of Ideas, “What If…Kahhori Reshaped the World?” was an achievement four years in the making that required a vast collaborative effort. The end result is an episode with not only original characters but also an original, in-universe mythology rooted in the culture of the First Nations’ people. In an official production brief, executive producer and episode director Bryan Andrews and writer Ryan Little provided some insight into the creation “What If…Kahhori Reshaped the World?”.

    The episode imagines a universe in which the Tesseract fell to Earth from Asgard and shattered upon impact allowing the Space Stone inside to imbue a lake in New York in North America’s Haudenosaunee Confederacy with its powers. That Forbidden Lake became a portal to another dimension known as the Skyworld where members of the Mohawk nation existed utopically away from the growing dangers of European colonization. According to Andrews, though the episode didn’t appear until the second season of What If…?, the episode was devised when he first boarded the project.

    The Kahhori Skyworld episode is a special one. One of my first ideas when I came on to What If…? was doing a First Nations episode—what if colonization failed because there were super beings already there? It finally came to life in season two and Ryan Little did an amazing job on it and working with our Mohawk consultants.

    Bryan Andrews

    Writer Ryan Little backed Andrews‘ claim and gave some insight into the work that went into putting the episode together over the last four years. “We spent four years working with historical and language experts from Kanien’kehá:ka, the Mohawk Nation, to craft this episode.” In the episode, members of the Mohawk Nation speak to one another only in Kanien’kéha, their native language, allowing for a much more authentic representation of the people and their culture. It didn’t end with language, however, as the studio’s collaboration with historian Doug George and Mohawk language expert Cecelia King factored into every creative decision in the episode according to Little. “They collaborated with us on every layer of the story from the characters’ names, personalities and costumes to the look of the civilization and the surrounding wilderness to make every facet of this episode the most accurate depiction possible.”

    The end result was a strikingly beautiful episode that has been well-received by the Mohawk community according to Jeremy White, who voiced another one of the episode’s original heroes, Atahraks.

    The first seven episodes of Season 2 of What If…? are now streaming on Disney Plus and a new episode will be released every day through December 30th.

  • ‘What If…?’ Unleashes Its Full Potential in Episode 6

    ‘What If…?’ Unleashes Its Full Potential in Episode 6

    The House of Ideas. That moniker has been with Marvel Comics for much of its nearly 85 years in the publishing business. Beginning with Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, The House of Ideas created a multiverse full of some of the most beloved fictional characters in the industry. For 15 years now, those characters have been at the center of pop culture as the narrative of the Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to unfold across screens big and small. However, in that time, for all the liberties Marvel Studios took with characters and stories from the pages of Marvel Comics, they had never created an original superhero…until now.

    On display in Episode 6 of the second season of What If…?, “What If…Kahhori Reshaped the World?” was, for the first time, the type of unbridled creativity that gave Marvel Comics the House of Ideas nickname in the first place. Set in North America’s Haudenosaunee Confederacy at an undefined time in pre-colonial America, the episode introduced the MCU’s first original superhero, a Mohawk Wolf Clan woman named Kahhori, and then quickly followed that up by introducing a dozen or so more powered-up Kanien:ke people. Throughout the episode, the Mohawk people–whose way of life is being threatened by Spanish conquistadors–speak authentically in their native Kanien’kéha thanks to the studio’s collaboration with historian Doug George and Mohawk language expert Cecelia King. Never in the history of comic book projects has a Native American people been treated so reverently. But the creativity hardly stops with a wonderful new hero and some closed captions.

    From start to finish (well, almost–they did drop dickhead Strange in there), the episode blazes its own trail. Beginning with Surtur’s successful Ragnarok set at some undisclosed point in time before Odin placed the Tesseract in the care of the people of Tønsberg, “What If…Kahhori Reshaped the World?” features nary a single familiar beat from the MCU. Beginning with the fate of the Tesseract, creators Bryan Andrews and Ryan Little played very liberally with the premise of What If…? in this episode and the payoff was monumental. With the butterfly effect in full effect, the creatives were able to get schwifty with the possibilities of the Space Stone and its spacetime powers. The inventiveness led not only to a beautiful, new in-universe mythology that introduced the Mohawk Skyworld but also a wonderful powerset resulting from exposure to the Tesseract-powered waters of the Forbidden Lake.

    As teased in the closing moments of the episode, Kahhori’s story hasn’t come to a close. While she has a larger role to play in Season 2 of What If…?, it would feel like a missed opportunity if the studio didn’t include the character in one or both parts of the two-part finale to the Multiverse Saga. With some interpretation of one or another of Marvel Comics’ Battleworld stories sure to take place, the inclusion of Kahhori–now one of the most powerful heroes in the Multiverse–doesn’t seem like a bridge too far. Though she was voiced by Devery Jacobs in What If…?, Jacobs is already holding down a live-action role in the MCU. That opens the door for Amber Midthunder, who in 2022 made it clear she was ready to join the MCU and told us her hopes to continue to push for indigenous representation in Hollywood blockbusters, to possibly fill the role.

    While the MCU cannot and certainly should not look to create brand new heroes, mythologies and universes in every project, “What If…Kahhori Reshaped the World?” serves as a wonderful reminder of what creators can do when they find true inspiration. Here they have delivered undoubtedly the best episode of What If…? and opened the door for a fascinating new hero to join the best of the rest in the Multiverse should those calling the shots have the courage.

  • ‘What If…?’ Episode 5 Treads Too Closely to Familiar Ground

    ‘What If…?’ Episode 5 Treads Too Closely to Familiar Ground

    In an infinite multiverse, an infinite number of stories exist including those that might be incredibly similar to others…but that doesn’t mean they need to be told. Episode 5 of the second season of What If…? is, unfortunately, such a story. The episode, “What If…Captain Carter Fought the Hydra Stomper?”–much like its predecessor, “What If…Captain Carter Were the First Avenger?”–treads far too closely to the familiar ground of the Captain America franchise rather than allowing the character the opportunity to blaze her own trail.

    While it’s logical that early parts of Peggy Carter’s story might mirror that of Steve Rogers in Captain America: The First Avenger, in the vastness of the Multiverse it would seem that another Variant of Captain Carter would have gotten up to something more interesting than another 70 years of adventures that end up with her simply continuing to step into the footprints first put down by Rogers on the Sacred Timeline. After founding the Avengers and taking down Loki, Carter’s next chapter as seen in Episode 5 paralleled Rogers’ so closely that the working title for it was “The Winter Widow”, as revealed by writer A.C. Bradley.

    https://twitter.com/TheAshBradley/status/1739758400328868005?s=20

    Peggy ends up on the other end of the car joke from the Winter Solider, finds herself aboard a ship at sea and even ends up sharing a scene with Brock Rumlow. A brainwashed Steve takes the place of a brainwashed Bucky and the Red Room and Melina Vostokoff take the place of Hydra but right down to pairing her up with Nat, the episode just keeps giving Peggy things to do that Steve has already done. Carter is the lead of the series and this particular Variant seems destined to make a live-action appearance down the road (one Variant made a brief appearance in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness). The character deserves her own story.

    Fortunately, the creative team remedies the situation and sets the character on what’s hopefully a singular path by plucking Captain Carter out of her modern-day setting and dropping her in 1602 where she’ll have a major role in the two-part season finale. With a new head writer set to take over for Season 3, here’s to hoping they find something more original and exciting for Peggy to do than to star in the slightly altered Reader’s Digest version of Captain Carter: Civil War.

  • Writing ‘What If…?’ Episode 4 Was a Dream Come True for AC Bradley

    Writing ‘What If…?’ Episode 4 Was a Dream Come True for AC Bradley

    After the first season of What If…? streamed in 2021, one episode that didn’t stream got nearly as much press as the ones that did. That episode, which became known as The Lost Gamora Episode, featured Tony Stark ending up on Sakaar. Even though it spawned a Lego set, the episode–written by AC Bradley–ended up being destined for Season 2 of the animated adventure. Now that it’s finally streamed, Bradley has opened up a bit about it.

    It turns out that while Bradley wrote the episode in 2019, it had been gestating for far longer. “Seeing Iron Man in 2008 was a game-changer for me,” she said. “I’d just graduated from USC Film School, was working as an assistant at a management company, writing every morning but still trying to find my voice. What did I want to write? What did I even have to say? Then one Saturday, a friend texted me—we ended up catching Iron Man at the Arclight.“

    That fateful showing, it turns out, set Bradley on the path to being a major part of the creative team of What If…? as it opened her eyes to what a comic book movie could be. “I remember walking out of the theater and telling her that this is it—I want to write Iron Man—or rather, stories like that: action-adventure, but with heart and humor. Telling a very human, personal story, but wrapping it in superheroics and, of course, killer explosions.”

    https://twitter.com/TheAshBradley/status/1550593591763877889?s=20

    After serving as the head writer for the first two seasons of What If…?, Bradley announced that the second season would be her last project with Marvel Studios. With another season of the Multiversal series confirmed, it will be someone else’s turn to turn their dreams of working on comic book projects into a reality.

  • ‘What If…?” Episode 4 Finally Reveals the Origins of the Alt Universe Gamora

    ‘What If…?” Episode 4 Finally Reveals the Origins of the Alt Universe Gamora

    Season 1 of What If…? introduced a Variant of Gamora who served among other heroes as one of Uatu’s Guardians of the Multiverse. Debuting in the Season 1 finale, “What If…The Watcher Broke His Oath.”, this Gamora seemed to have quite an interesting backstory as its revealed that she killed Thanos; however, that was about the only information revealed about the character before she went about the business of defeating Infinity Ultron. Unlike the other heroes, there was no Season 1 episode dedicated to Gamora’s story but that’s not because one didn’t exist in some form.

    An episode about the hero which became known as the “Lost Gamora Episode” was written and was originally said to be included in Season 1. Writer AC Bradley confirmed the existence of the episode– which at some point must have been in the Season 1 lineup because a Lego set was created for it–and indicated that it would finally be released in Season 2…and now it has been. Episode 4, “What If…Iron Man Crashed into The Grandmaster?”, finally gives Gamora a proper introduction while following Tony Stark on an interesting adventure.

    Set in the semi-immediate aftermath of The Battle of New York (time works real different on Sakaar), the events of theepisode veer from the Sacred Timeline when the Armored Avenger’s mad dash with the nuke as seen in The Avengers ends with him not making it back through the portal. Stark finds himself on Sakaar, face-to-face with The Grandmaster and ,as you might expect, things get weird. Riffing on scenes from both Iron Man and Thor: Ragnarok, the episode puts Stark in real jeopardy when Gamora, still the daughter and Hand of Thanos, comes for revenge on the man who foiled the Mad Titan’s plan.

    Delayed in killing Stark by one of the Grandmaster’s obedience disks, Gamora ultimately sees the good in the hero and finds her way to redemption by helping him overthrow the wily Elder of the Universe. As the episode ends, Tony is seen helping Gamora put an end to Thanos using Topaz’s Melt Stick. Unfortunately, even with the full scope of Gamora’s heroic journey now having been laid bare, no further chapter in her story is told over the rest of Season 2. That definitely makes the decision to pull the episode from Season 1 a little stranger but the episode is fun enough on its own, especially with the wonderfully eccentric Jeff Goldblum back as the voice of The Grandmaster.

    The first four episodes of What If…? Season 2 are now streaming on Disney Plus. A new episode will debut each day through December 30th.

  • ‘What If…?’ Writers Speak Out on Happy Hogan’s Big Night

    ‘What If…?’ Writers Speak Out on Happy Hogan’s Big Night

    Episode 3 of the second season of What If…? was quite the Christmas Eve gift. “What If…Happy Hogan Saved Christmas?” proved to be one of the funniest episodes of the series to date, allowing Jon Favreau‘s sidekick the opportunity to step into the spotlight and Freak out. With an infinite number of potential stories to tell, having Hogan defend Avengers Tower against Justin Hammer probably wasn’t on many peoples’ wish lists; however, it proved to be a worthy inclusion in the anthology. According to series writers Matt Chauncey and AC Bradley, the unlikely story–and its unlikely hero–came out of a desire to put together a holiday special and a request by Favreau.

    “AC and I grew up loving all those holiday specials and Christmas episodes that come back on year after year, and I think selfishly, we really just wanted a chance to write one of our own,” said Chauncey. “Something that might have a shot at becoming an annual tradition that gets revisited every holiday season. The challenge and the fun became figuring out who would be the least likely team of would-be heroes to rise up to save the day when the real Avengers are off doing other things,” he added.

    “[We’re] creating this sweet, meta-narrative where these characters who usually play the sidekick role in the movies finally get to step into the limelight and be the heroes of the story,” Chauncey continued. “It’s about flipping the script and giving these fan-favorite characters their moment to shine, which also felt like a fitting theme straight out of one of those classic holiday specials we wanted to emulate.”

    So how did they land on Happy Hogan? In a serendipitous turn, Favreau had been hoping to have Hogan take center stage in an episode and that gave the writers exactly what they were looking for. “First, let’s all agree that Jon Favreau is just an incredible talent and person. He was awesome when he came in to record for season one,” said Bradley. “Then for season two, he had one request—he wanted to headline own episode! Knowing that Happy Hogan was going to lead the charge on this one, Matt and I had a blast adding in all these Favreau touches.”

    Favreau clearly had a blast doing the voice work for Hogan and his alter-ego, the Freak. And as great as he was, the return of Sam Rockwell as Justin Hammer, who served as the Hans Gruber to Favreau’s John McClane in the Die Hard riff, put the bow on the wonderful animated gift. New episodes of What If…? will continue to debut daily through December 30th.