Kevin Feige Hints At The Multiverse's Importance In MCU Movies Post-Doctor Strange 2
Avengers: Endgame was the cinematic event of a lifetime. It gave us a fascinating time-traveling plot — allowing us to re-visit several integral moments in the Marvel Cinematic Universe — and culminated in a climactic battle in which almost all of the Avengers from the previous movies finally meet in one location to take on Thanos and his army once and for all. Heroes sacrificed their lives, new alliances were forged, and audience members around the world asked themselves: "Where does Marvel go from here?"
Endgame absolutely lived up to its name by signaling the end of an era for the MCU. Naturally, Disney isn't going to just stop making these films, and we already know about plenty of movies and a host of Disney+ original series that are in the works. Undoubtedly, all these projects are going to lead to another Endgame-style point of convergence, likely at the end of Phase 6. It could very well prove to be even bigger than the last Avengers movie, and some subtle hints from Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige give a hint at the direction this shared universe will take going forward.
If the kind of projects we know about so far are any indication, then expect the multiverse to come up frequently.
Kevin Feige hints at 'connections before and after' Doctor Strange 2 opens up the multiverse properly
In an interview with Rotten Tomatoes, Feige spoke about setting up the multiverse and the role it will play in future films. Naturally, he kept any specific details close to his chest, but he did offer this tidbit: "There are, as we always like to do, connections before and after that which will remain to be seen and discovered, but it seemed appropriate that it would be Doctor Strange that takes that on in the most direct way."
It's not much, but it does sound as though we shouldn't expect any major steps into the multiverse until the next Doctor Strange movie comes out. It's intriguing, however, that Feige talks about the idea applying to both "before and after" the sequel's release. Much like Thanos was repeatedly teased before making his arrival as the villain in Avengers: Infinity War, the multiverse will be foreshadowed as well. In fact, we've seen glimpses and teases of it already.
The multiverse has already been foreshadowed in Spider-Man: Far From Home
Spider-Man: Far From Home touched on the idea of the multiverse — even if Mysterio himself wasn't actually from another reality. There are even some credible theories that WandaVision takes place throughout the multiverse, as the leads jump from one sitcom time period to the next. These connections are only going to grow clearer when Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness — which also features Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) from WandaVision — is released. We have some good indicators that the MCU's third Spider-Man movie will explore the multiverse as well, with characters from previous Spider-Man films outside the MCU coming into the mix.
Don't expect the multiverse to just be a gimmick for a couple of films either. It's totally possible that the multiverse will factor into the plots for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and the forthcoming Fantastic Four flick. Things can get interesting quickly when audiences are able to see alternate versions of their favorite characters, which could explain those rumors of Chris Evans returning as Captain America in the MCU.