Michael Waldron has had quite the tenure at Marvel Studios. For those who don't know the name, he is the man responsible for bringing Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness to life. The storyteller was also the head writer for Loki's first season. In just his two projects alone, he has been responsible for some of the most important MCU developments since Avengers: Endgame.
His time on Loki introduced the concept of Variants and even made sure to shatter the Sacred Timeline on his way out so that alternate worlds would be possible in the first place. He also happened to introduce the first version of Jonathan Majors' Kang the Conqueror to appear on-screen, He Who Remains.
It hasn't slowed down for Waldron, seeing as he got to take control of one of the strongest beings in existence and pitted her against everyone's favorite sorcerer, played by Benedict Cumberbatch. Fans will have to make sure they go see the movie to see how that volatile situation turned out.
So, with that movie now in theaters, what's next for the writer?
Michael Waldron's Future at Marvel Studios
In an interview with The Playlist, Loki and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness writer Michael Waldron commented on what might be next for him now that those two projects are complete.
Will he be back to work for the MCU? Waldron commented that "[he] hope[s] so," and how "[he'd] love to stay in that world:"
“I hope so. I hope so. I love working over there. I learned so much from Sam about filmmaking… at some point, I’ll probably have to find something to direct myself. But I’d love to stay in that world and I love working with Kevin. It’s a lot of fun.”
The writer recalled how he initially came onto Multiverse of Madness "in February 2020 after Scott [Derrickson]... departed," after which both he and director Sam Raimi were able to "really start from scratch:"
“I came on in February 2020 after Scott [Derrickson] and the original screenwriter on the project Jade Bartlett departed and Sam Raimi joined maybe a couple days after me. And they had been working on something that was great, had a ton of excellent ideas in it. And originally we were just kind of inheriting the bones of that idea and going to try to get it ready to start shooting in a couple months, but that was, as I said, February of 2020. So then, everything shut down ’cause of COVID and that afforded Sam and I the opportunity to set all that aside and really start from scratch. So there’s not really anything that remains. I mean… the characters are in there, but one benefit of COVID was Sam and I got to make this thing our own.”
What Will Waldron's Project be Next?
One may automatically assume that Waldron's next project will clearly be Loki season 2. However, Waldron won't be holding the reins on that one—instead, it will be writer Eric Martin, who was credited with writing the fourth and sixth installments of the Disney+ series' first season.
So what could Waldron do next for Marvel Studios? Well, the easy selection would be Doctor Strange 3. Marvel Studios has clearly enjoyed working with the writer and has already entrusted him with some pretty high-profile projects. Since he now has experience working with the iconic sorcerer, continuing that path seems an obvious pick.
Another option could be working on an Illuminati project. A project about the group has been rumored before, and with their appearance in Multiverse of Madness, there is precedence for the group's existence. Could Waldron be the one to orchestrate their creation on Earth-616?
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is now playing in theaters worldwide.
