A key Marvel Studios producer got candid about the MCU's Multiverse rules.
The concept was most recently seen in Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania by way of the Quantum Realm—a place that has previously been labeled "the basement of the Multiverse."
The concept was technically first brought up in Avengers: Endgame with its branching timelines, but it wasn't properly addressed until Tom Hiddleston's Disney+ series, Loki. The Disney+ show also introduced the man who would be the leading villain of the entire Multiverse Saga: Jonathan Majors' Kang the Conqueror.
But something like a Multiverse is pretty confusing, so how does Marvel Studios keep everything straight?
Well, as Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige previously revealed in Summer 2021, the whole Marvel team had a meeting "going through the Multiverse and [its] rules."
The Rules of the Multiverse
While speaking on the D23 Inside Disney podcast, Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania producer Stephen Broussard commented on how Marvel Studios stays on top of their Multiverse rules.
When asked about the internal Multiverse meetings, as previously mentioned by Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige, Broussard noted that those gatherings "are about trying to be logically consistent within the universe:"
“(laughs) Yeah, it’s interesting. I would say, meetings like that are about trying to be logically consistent within the universe, which I would say is separate from being scientifically consistent. I don’t think anyone should look to these films and think they’re gonna walk away with degrees in quantum physics or other scientific pursuits, but that’s okay. I would hope they would walk away with an interest in pursuing those fields and maybe studying them for real."
It's not always important if the films and shows are sticking to rules that "hold scientific water," but rather, they are staying true to their Marvel universe:
"... We kind of look to be logically consistent across the films. Like are we sticking to our own rules? Whether these rules hold scientific water or not, do they feel like they hold water for the universe at large? And the moments where we might break or kinda bend those rules, the tie always goes to: is it emotionally satisfying? I do think you could maybe pick on some of the logic here or there, no particular examples come to mind."
When it comes to making the Multiverse believable in how it's used within various projects, the producer compares their success level with that of a "magic trick:"
"But we always are emotion first and if it feels like it’s gonna resonate, if it feels like the story’s gonna connect, we know that the audience is gonna go with us. And all movies have what I call sleight of hand. They’re trying to get you to watch the magic trick, and so the job of the movie is to not pay attention to the rules, or not pay attention to how you’re getting there. And I think all movies are kinda judged as successful or not successful based on sleight of hand and how well they’ve hid the magic trick.”
Kevin Feige actually first talked about these Multiverse meetings on the same podcast back in July of 2021:
“... The multiverse is coming up in a big way. 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.”
The MCU's Ever-Growing Multiverse
The Multiverse is quite a complex concept, especially now that Marvel Studios has woven the concept of time travel into it. So it wouldn't be too surprising if the company had weekly meetings about the concept—especially given both Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars are in the writing stages.
With Quantumania now out of the way, when's the next time fans will be getting a Multiversal adventure?
Well, there's Loki's Season 2, which currently has a release window of this Summer. The next film that seems like it will for sure touch upon the subject is Deadpool 3.
Whispers seem to indicate that the first R-Rated MCU movie will heavily involve the Multiverse, including Loki's TVA and Owen Wilson's Mobius.
As for the rest of 2023, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which arrives on May 5, looks like it will be dealing with its own problems.
The Marvels' involvement with the Multiverse is unknown—though Kamala Khan's bangle is rumored to be a key part of these next few phases.
Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania is now playing in theaters worldwide.
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