Multiverse (Marvel Cinematic Universe)
The multiverse is a setting within the Marvel Cinematic Universe media franchise. Based on the setting of the same name from the Marvel Comics, it is a collection of infinitely many alternate realities and dimensions. First explored in the film Doctor Strange, it is revisited in the film Avengers: Endgame before playing a key role in Phases Four, Five, and Six of the MCU, which constitute "The Multiverse Saga". The MCU's multiverse centers on a universe sometimes referred to as the "Sacred Timeline", which also describes a bundle of closely aligned, infinite timelines that do not lead to the emergence of a Kang variant. Initially, branched timelines were generally "pruned" by the Time Variance Authority, until Sylvie kills TVA's leader, "He Who Remains", allowing the multiverse to be freed and new branched timelines to fully form. Following this, the TVA under new management instead nurtures and observes these new universes. Occasionally, some universes are considered separate from the "Sacred Timeline" but still monitored by the TVA, such as Earth-10005.
Many alternate versions of existing MCU characters have been introduced via the multiverse, most notably those of Loki, Kang the Conqueror, Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, Deadpool, and Wolverine. The main reality depicted in the MCU is designated Earth-616 beginning with the film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, despite its original designation as Earth-199999 by Marvel Comics and outside media. The multiverse has received a mixed response from critics, with praise for its visuals and nostalgic appeal but criticism of its excessive reliance on fan service. The incorporation of characters from non-MCU Marvel films were featured in the films Spider-Man: No Way Home and Deadpool & Wolverine which has also generated speculation and discussion among viewers and commentators.
Concept and creation
The multiverse was first introduced to the Marvel Comics during the 1960s and 1970s. In Strange Tales #103, the character Johnny Storm of the Fantastic Four is teleported to an alternate reality for the first time in Marvel history, with the character sent to the Fifth Dimension. The concept of the multiverse was then fully explored in What If...? #1 and Marvel Two-in-One #50, with the term "multiverse" first used in the What If...? series. The main reality featured in the comics, Earth-616, was first named in The Daredevils #7 by Captain Britain creator David Thorpe to differentiate the character from his alternate versions.In 2008, the film Iron Man was released, kickstarting the Marvel Cinematic Universe media franchise. The setting of the franchise was subsequently designated Earth-199999 by Marvel Comics in the hardcover version of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z, Vol. 5. The characters Loki, Gwenpool, and Doctor Strange from the comics have been shown to be aware of the MCU's existence. The multiverse is introduced to the MCU in the film Doctor Strange, with director Scott Derrickson noting that the character in the comics had previously "broke open the Marvel comic book universe into the Marvel multiverse". At the time, producer and Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige stated that there were no plans to explore parallel universes similar to the ones featured in the comics, with the film instead exploring various "alien dimensions". It is later confirmed that the infinite dimensions of the multiverse explored in Doctor Strange are all contained within individual timelines.
The MCU multiverse is revisited in the film Avengers: Endgame, in which the Avengers journey to four alternate timelines as part of a "Time Heist". The escape of an alternate version of Loki from an alternate 2012 New York sets up the first season of the Disney+ series Loki. The multiverse plays a central role in Phase Four of the MCU, most notably in the first season of Loki, the first season of the Disney+ series What If...?, the film Spider-Man: No Way Home, and the film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Phase Four, Phase Five, and Phase Six of the MCU will comprise "The Multiverse Saga".
The showrunners of Loki collaborated with the crews behind the Disney+ series WandaVision, What If...?, and the film Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, as all three projects are connected to the multiverse in some way. Together with WandaVision co-executive producer Mary Livanos and What If...? executive producer Brad Winderbaum, Loki executive producers Kevin Wright and Stephen Broussard developed a "rule book" regarding the MCU's multiverse and alternate timelines. Feige also held a meeting with Marvel Studios executives to discuss the rules of the multiverse and how they would present it to audiences.
With the release of The Marvel Cinematic Universe: An Official Timeline in October 2023, Feige wrote in its foreword that Marvel Studios only considered, at that time, projects developed by them in their first four phases as part of their "Sacred Timeline", but acknowledged the history of other Marvel films and television series that would exist in the larger multiverse given they were "canonical to Marvel". Additionally, he noted as Marvel Studios progressed in the Multiverse Saga, other outside timelines had the potential to "crash or converge" with the Sacred Timeline.
Depictions
The Infinity Saga
''Doctor Strange'' (2016)
In Doctor Strange, the term "multiverse" is used by the Masters of the Mystic Arts to describe the multitude of dimensions within the MCU. The character Ancient One brings Dr. Stephen Strange on a journey across the multiverse, passing by different universes and pocket realities, including the Quantum Realm introduced in the film Ant-Man, the Mandelibus Dimension, the Actiniaria Dimension, the Flowering Incense Dimension, and the Grass Jelly Dimension. Internally referred to as the "Magical Mystery Tour" at Marvel Studios, the scene was originally seven minutes long. In an unrealized scene in the film Avengers: Infinity War, Strange sends Thanos through a series of alternate universes, emulating the Magical Mystery Tour. The film most notably explores the Astral Dimension, the Dark Dimension, and the Mirror Dimension.Astrophysicist Adam Frank was consulted on the depiction of the multiverse in Doctor Strange, offering guidance on how to portray the dimensions in a scientific manner. Frank stated that he did not believe the multiverse exists in real life, but viewed it as a "great idea to use for fiction". He added that the film's depiction did not need to be scientifically accurate as long as it " from the way scientists think about reality and think about space and dimensions".
Co-producer Richie Palmer of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness later confirmed in the film’s artbook that the infinite realities referenced by the Ancient One exist nested within each universe and timeline.
''Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' season 5 (2017–2018)
The bulk of the fifth season of the ABC series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is set in an alternate future, around the time of Infinity War, where Earth has been destroyed. The protagonist team of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents return to the present day at the end of the season.''Avengers: Endgame'' (2019)
In Endgame, the Avengers travel through the Quantum Realm to 1970 Camp Lehigh, 2012 New York, 2013 Asgard, and 2014 Morag and Vormir, to retrieve the six Infinity Stones displaced through time. The events of The Avengers, Thor: The Dark World, and Guardians of the Galaxy are revisited in the film. The film establishes the rules of time travel in the MCU, rejecting the grandfather paradox and the butterfly effect which state that changes to the past will affect the future in the same timeline. Instead, the film stipulates that when the past or future is changed, it diverges from the main timeline into an alternate one, effectively creating a parallel universe.When Tony Stark / Iron Man and Scott Lang / Ant-Man attempt to acquire the Tesseract from 2012 New York, an alternate version of Loki escapes with the Tesseract. Alternate versions of Thanos, Gamora, and Nebula teleport from 2014 to the Avengers Compound in the present-day, leading to a battle between the Avengers and Thanos. Afterward, Steve Rogers / Captain America returns the Infinity Stones and Mjölnir to their original timelines, choosing to stay behind with an alternate version of Peggy Carter in 1949 and grow old with her. The directors and screenwriter of the film disagree on whether this was done in an alternate reality through time travel, or in the past in the main timeline.