Marvel’s What If…? has arrived, offering our first look at the MCU in animated form. The question on everyone’s mind, though, is whether the new show will tie into its live-action siblings or remain separate.
“We had conversations early on about how the multiverse was going to work, because of Loki and the Doctor Strange movie,” head writer A.C. Bradley tells SFX in the latest issue of the magazine. “But I was always one for ‘keep it simple’ and keep moving forward. I don’t want to complicate What If…? with extraneous rules that are going to impact anyone else. I learned a long time ago, keep your rules short and simple, make your characters complicated.”
Having said that, Bradley adds, “We were always aware of the movies and where we might butt into them, and what we might hit. And there were certain things that were no-go zones when you’re breaking [story]. But it wasn’t that bad. It just let us go weirder. And especially in our second season, we go a little weirder, because we’ve checked all the big stories that people want to see in season one. Season two is: what do we personally want to see?”
Speaking with GamesRadar+, the writer detailed the two rules the show cannot break. “One was we couldn’t do anything that the movies or TV shows were already doing. So that let us go to weirder and stranger places,” Bradley said, adding that the second was a little more… out there.
“Despite my damndest, I was not allowed to use Star Wars characters. I tried many times; they kept reminding me that Luke Skywalker is not an Avenger,” she said.
Bradley previously revealed to Total Film that we can expect an Agatha Christie-inspired episode of What If…?, along with a political thriller episode, and more.
You can check out the full interview with the What If…? writer in the new issue of SFX Magazine (opens in new tab), which features Titans on the cover. For more from SFX, make sure to sign up to the newsletter, sending all the latest exclusives straight to your inbox.