Why do so Many Superhero Movies include the Multiverse?

By: I. Mizne

These days, it can feel like every action movie that is released has some sort of relation to a “multiverse”. But what is this phenomenon, and why are so many directors incorporating it now?
 
Multiverses are, as the word implies, many universes. Essentially, they are many different storylines that are interconnected and in this way, every book, movie, trilogy or even series’ storylines are linked in some way, and few directors choose to transform those connections into great movies. Using multiverses not only creates interesting ideas to make new forms of entertainment, but also works to hook viewers to not only one kind of entertainment, but many that overlap each other, leading to an endless realm of possibilities.
 
Many directors use multiverses to their advantage, and many fans (including myself) believe that the upcoming movie known as Spider-Man No Way Home may be an example of this. The movie’s trailer indicated that the multiverse theory may come into play in the plot of this movie. As you might know, three different actors have already played Spider-Man (Tom Holland, Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire), but their characters have never been connected in any way. This is where the multiverse comes in. Some fans expect that this movie will showcase all three actors playing Spider-Man, since in the trailer, Doctor Strange is shown to be breaking the multiverse, which could lead to Andrew Garfield’s and Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Men’s universes to connect in some way to Tom Holland’s.
 
Another example is Doctor Strange in the upcoming series “Multiverse of Madness”, where the title guarantees an inclusion of the multiverse in the plotline.
 
Multiverses are also widely used since they can provide a path for new ideas and more storylines. Continuing with the Marvel examples, many of studios’ main characters unfortunately died in the last movie, but the stories must continue, so they used the multiverse to conjure great ideas for the next movies like Multiverse of Madness, No Way Home, etc.
 
Overall, the inclusion of the multiverse in any superhero movie, especially those with continuous plotlines, has become almost a given, and I for one am incredibly excited to watch Marvel include it in their upcoming film.

Picture source: ​https://www.livescience.com/multiverse