Kevin Feige has revealed that a "rules of the multiverse" meeting took place in Marvel Studios.
"The multiverse is coming up in a big way," the Marvel boss told the D23 Inside Disney podcast. "There's interconnectivity there that people have already started to see and suss out, and I had a meeting this morning with the whole broad Marvel Studios team going through the multiverse and the rules of the multiverse and exactly how to really deliver on the excitement surrounding the multiverse."
Feige then compared the introduction of the multiverse to how the significance of Samuel L. Jackson's cameo as Nick Fury at the end of Iron Man was immediately understood. "In the same way, the multiverse is something that we geek out about and we really love all the storytelling potential it brings, but thought we really had to slowly dole out what it was and introducing the conceit even briefly in Doctor Strange and then as a fake out in Spider-Man: Far From Home.
"But I will tell you something, it is more than just fans that are following along with the multiverse storyline," he continued. "It's really quite exciting even to see it midway through the Loki series now, as people respond to the possibilities."
The Loki finale finally introduced multiple universes to the MCU, with He Who Remains' death splintering the Sacred Timeline. Though Jonathan Majors is playing Kang the Conqueror in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, the version of the character seen in the last Loki episode is most likely the more benign Immortus. The last moments of Loki, however, reveal that in an alternate timeline Kang is in control of the TVA.
Confirmation that the multiverse is about to have a huge impact on the MCU makes the rumors that Spider-Man 3 (AKA Spider-Man: No Way Home) will feature different universes colliding seem more likely. We also know that Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, as the title suggests, is set to delve into alternate realities. It's set to feature Scarlet Witch and her reality-bending powers, which will surely come into play – and Loki is reportedly making his next MCU appearance in the sequel, too.
The next Marvel project to hit our screens will be What If…?, an animated series that will explore different takes on familiar stories in the MCU. The first episode will premiere on Disney Plus this August 11. Until then, check out how to watch Marvel movies in order to get up to speed on the films so far.
