There are many universes and realities within the MCU. And now we get to experience them first-hand thanks to Marvel’s What If…?. As of today we got to see what would happen if Peggy Carter and not Steve Rogers got the super soldier serum, how different of a Star-Lord would T’Challa made and why Avengers may have died before Nick Fury got to assemble them into a team. And next episode of the series will tell us all about Doctor Strange and how his life would differ if he found sorcery not on a search to cure his damaged hands, but while coping with death of a loved one. Possesing a great power, he would try to change the past and stumble into a path of dark and dangerous magic. Only time will tell how that turned out.
For now tough we can only believe in what the team behind the series is letting on. For example Jeffrey Wright, who voices Uatu the Watcher, said, that he was „really taken” by this episode and it landed him in a place where he „sat up even further in [his] seat”. On the other hand, head writer A.C. Bradley named this story one of her favourites:
The Doctor Strange episode was a very special one to me for writing, and going into it, I was quite scared because it features some very heavy themes. I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say that it deals with flaws and tragedy. (…) Once I sat down and started working on it, it was actually a very rewarding experience because we got to play around with why does loss hurt so much and because it all comes down to love. Only the things we love can hurt us. This is the most human episode of the lot, but it also has some beautiful imagery, some amazing action, and hopefully a few good twists..
And if that’s not enough for you, you can always check out a poster released before the premiere of the 4th episode featuring none other than Doctor Stephen Strange himself:
Doctor Strange Supreme arrives in the fourth episode of Marvel Studios' #WhatIf…?, streaming Wednesday on @DisneyPlus. pic.twitter.com/YcoRodCTtd
— Marvel Entertainment (@Marvel) August 30, 2021
The Marvel Studios’ What If…? series explore different universes of the MCU and is canon, which means it’s not just hypothetical. That’s why it’s worth checking it out. Episodes premiere every Wednesdays on Disney+.