LOKI Head Writer Teases SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME And DOCTOR STRANGE Sequel's Impact On The MCU

Loki Head Writer Michael Waldron shared an interesting response when asked if the movies mentioned above have a "dramatic impact on the MCU," while also teasing the fallout from this Disney+ series...

By JoshWilding - Jun 13, 2021 03:06 AM EST

Filed Under: Loki

We don't know whether Marvel Studios plans to explore the concept of a Multiverse on a long-term basis or if it's simply a fun diversion in Phase 4 as the fallout from Avengers: Endgame plays out. Either way, big things are clearly on the horizon in Loki, Spider-Man: No Way Home, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

Loki Head Writer Michael Waldron actually penned the screenplay for the Doctor Strange sequel and was recently asked by Collider whether fans can expect these upcoming movies to have a "dramatic impact" on the MCU as we know it.

"Oh boy," he responded. "You're right. I think that you don't bring Sam Raimi on to make a movie unless it's going to be a big movie."

That's quite a tease, though Waldron would go on to hint at the ramifications Loki will have on future movies, particularly that Doctor Strange follow-up. "I think one of the joys of being a writer in the Marvel world is getting to make terrible messes and leave them for your predecessors. Although, occasionally, you find yourself being your own predecessor," he explained.

"For instance, you write the Loki show and then you end up writing Doctor Strange 2, having to clean up your own mess and that can be a lot of fun."

We've all been speculating that it'll be the Scarlet Witch who causes the "madness" in the Multiverse, but what if it's the God of Mischief instead? That would make sense on a number of levels, especially if the Time Variance Authority is destroyed or revealed to be a little more sinister than it first appears.

Click on the "Next" button below to check out some of the
biggest Multiverse questions we have after the Loki premiere!

5. Did The Marvel Television Shows Take Place In A Branched Reality?

Well, this would certainly be one way to explain their place in the MCU.

Like it or not, we've really not seen anything to suggest that the likes of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Daredevil are considered canon by Kevin Feige and Marvel Studios. In fact, if you look at the Darkhold, for example, the opposite is the case. Even in Loki, there was no mention of Agent Coulson's resurrection (which would have been a great way for Mobius to taunt the God of Mischief).

Using a throwaway Easter Egg to explain that those shows took place in branching timelines or even another part of the Multiverse would mean they did happen - which keeps fans happy - but not in a way that stops Feige from doing what he wants with the likes of Luke Cage, Ghost Rider, and the Inhumans.

So, Daredevil may have battled Wilson Fisk in one reset timeline, but in the actual MCU...he'll be Peter Parker's lawyer in Spider-Man: No Way Home.

4. What Really Happened During The "Multiversal War"?

Miss Minutes explains that there was once a Multiversal War that saw different timelines clash in an effort to become the dominant one. Had they not been controlled, the entire Multiverse would have been destroyed, and that was where the Time-Keepers came in.

As Loki points out, are we really meant to believe that these reptilian aliens somehow had the power to step in and create a "Sacred Timeline" they now dictate after dreaming up the Time Variance Authority? It feels like there's something we're not being told here, and it's likely the TVA are the unwilling puppets of a far more powerful force.

It's possible, for example, that Kang the Conqueror could be calling the shots, while we wouldn't put it past another Loki (Richard E. Grant's perhaps?) to be posing as the Time-Keepers, creating some sort of loop that ensures he lives forever.

Either way, this "Multiversal War" needs to be addressed, especially after that blatant Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness tease!

3. Is There Really Only One Timeline?

So, if the TVA is to be believed, there's one sacred timeline, and as soon as someone steps off their path, it creates a new one that they need to then step in and prune. If they don't, a new timeline will be created, and that runs the risks of there being another Multiversal War.

If they're telling the truth, though, does that mean there are no alternate realities with different versions of familiar faces? If that's the case, something is clearly going to happen in Loki that lays the groundwork for What If?, Spider-Man: No Way Home, and the upcoming Doctor Strange sequel.

It's possible that while there is one sacred timeline that has to be kept on a set path, others do exist; they just exist completely separately and won't interfere with what's happening in the "main" one.

Different timelines may only pose a problem when they branch off the one the Time-Keepers control, but this is getting confusing, so here's hoping Marvel Studios has an explanation.

2. Why Was It Okay For The Avengers To Use Time-Travel?

Judge Renslayer makes it clear that The Avengers haven't been brought in front of the TVA because what they did by travelling back in time was actually supposed to happen.

That explains a lot, and the TVA stepping in to prune the timeline Loki escaped in means that the God of Mischief never escaped, Captain America didn't learn Bucky was still alive too soon, and so on and so forth. Taking that into account, it makes sense why it was okay for Steve Rogers to get his happy ending with Peggy Carter.

If Sam Wilson was always destined to become Captain America, then Steve needed to travel back in time, return to the present day as an old man, and then...well, we still don't know what happened to him even after The Falcon and The Winter Soldier.

Is it possible he was also brought up in front of the TVA? If so, that group could have de-aged him and tasked Steve with being an agent for them. That would be one way to bring Chris Evans back, anyway!

1. How Does All This Tie Into The Doctor Strange Sequel?

As we mentioned, there's a tease in the Loki premiere about "madness" ensuing if different timelines in the Multiverse were to erupt into war, and we can't help but think that this was meant to tease this sequel.

If the Scarlet Witch decides to tear through the Multiverse in a bid to find Tommy and Billy, she could create a myriad of alternate realities that not even the TVA can control (especially if they've been destroyed by the God of Mischief).

That could leave Strange caught in the midst of a war he needs to stop, something we're guessing Wanda Maximoff won't be too bothered by if she just wants her twins back. If Shuma-Gorath is indeed the lead villain, then his presence will likely complicate things, and this is a hard one to predict right now.

However, if the idea of multiple realities is cemented in Loki, it would certainly help better explain what we know about this movie and Spider-Man: No Way Home.

SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME Concept Art Reveals A Surprising New Design For A Junkyard Vulture

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52 Comments

1 2

RageDriver2401 - 6/13/2021, 3:41 AM

"You're right. I think that you don't bring Sam Raimi on to make a movie unless it's going to be a big movie."

Yea everybody knows who's DA MAN.

inkniron - 6/13/2021, 3:44 AM

How does one leave a mess for their predecessor unless your predecessor is also your successor?

Se4M4NSt4ine - 6/13/2021, 6:51 AM

@inkniron - man’s been spending that much time locked away trying to understand quantum mechanics and time travel, that he doesn’t know if he lives in the past or the future anymore…

KingLeonidas - 6/13/2021, 3:45 AM

He means successor and not predecessor right? Otherwise his statement does not make sense.

UniqNo - 6/13/2021, 3:53 AM

I like the idea of the Loki show or its premise being the reason for the other Netflix and other shows taking place in a branch reality.

kind of giving them a soft reboot if they do enter the main timeline. I'd love to have the same actors back in. Not too bothered about Iron Fist, but he wasn't terrible either.

Evansly - 6/13/2021, 6:30 AM

@Jaykay21 - Iron Fist needs someone who actually cares about the story and the MCU will give him that. The actor isn't terrible but was given hardly anything to work with which was clear when he was seen in Luke Cage. He will need significant training and get to the gym but he could definitely do well in the role. And if he doesn't there are solutions to that

bkmeijer2 - 6/13/2021, 3:58 AM

So is he saying Loki impact Multiverse of Madness? It was already expected, but this just pretty much confirms it.

Repian - 6/13/2021, 4:30 AM

The return of Doc Ock could be connected to the Loki Show. Perhaps at the time of Doc's death, someone intervenes and saves his life. That should not happen and that creates a ramification in time and in the Multiverse.

Spike101 - 6/13/2021, 6:12 AM

@Repian - a lot of know it all’s would disagree with you however I see it as completely plausible. Once they start messing with time and the multiverse anything is possible no matter how unlikely it might seem.

NathanielX - 6/13/2021, 7:54 AM

@Repian - To be fair his machine and the Avengers time machine looked quite similar-

GirshwinDavies - 6/13/2021, 4:40 PM

@Repian - A Raimification**

Ojeet78 - 6/13/2021, 5:31 AM

So i watched the first episode of Loki, and one of the timekeepers looks a lot like Jonathan Majors , the guy they cast as Kang the Conqueror. Is there a possibility we'd see him here before Ant-Man or even namedropped.
Wasnt a big fan of the episode but Im heavily invested in the ramifications and think that subsequent episodes will ramp up the crazy.

inkniron - 6/13/2021, 8:11 AM

@Ojeet78 - They did and it might be but it's probably just Ast.

UniqNo - 6/13/2021, 5:52 AM

I think I'm going to save myself all the theorising and guessing on how this show connects to everything else. The whole WandaVision Bohner reveal still stings.

such wasted potential.

1 2

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LOKI Head Writer Teases SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME And DOCTOR STRANGE Sequel's Impact On The MCU

Loki Head Writer Michael Waldron shared an interesting response when asked if the movies mentioned above have a "dramatic impact on the MCU," while also teasing the fallout from this Disney+ series...

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