Avengers Writer Admits MCU Multiverse's Biggest Flaw So Far
How a multiverse of possibilities may lead to a multiverse of problems.
With the release of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, the film's writer, Jeff Loveness, addressed some of the downsides of Marvel's multiversal approach to storytelling.
With Loveness set to write the upcoming Avengers: The Kang Dynasty (2025), he has already had numerous creative discussions with director Destin Daniel Cretton and Jonathan Majors, who will portray the film's antagonist Kang, as well as an untold number of his multiverse variants.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, when asked how to handle the more complicated comic book concepts like the multiverse in a way that's still accessible to the casual moviegoer, Jeff said:
"In many ways, it's too accessible to the audience now, and the challenge is to put your own unique spin on it because of great things like Rick and Morty, Everything Everywhere All at Once and Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse. So I feel that the audience is a bit smarter than we give them credit for, and the trick is to find the humanity in the middle of it."
He then went on to say that the downside of multiverse stories is that it can make your characters seem disposable, or it can make your story seem unimportant if there's an unlimited number of these characters out there.
"So I try not to focus on the multiverse; I try to focus on what it means for the particular character who's facing it," Jeff noted.
He also praised the aforementioned Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022) for bringing such a nerdy concept of a multiverse to a broader, much more sophisticated audience that might not be into that kind of hard sci-fi in another medium.
However, after a more mixed reception for his latest entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which, along with 2021's Eternals, is currently one of two Marvel Cinematic Universe films to earn a Rotten status from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, he may find himself in a tough spot.
What was more or less forgivable for Quantumania could end up being a disaster for Kang Dynasty, which would definitely have a much larger scale due to being an Avengers movie and a huge addition to the MCU.
Fans can only hope that Jeff will learn from his recent experiences and not repeat his mistakes.