Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige told the creative team behind Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness to watch What If...? for inspiration.

In an interview with Deadline, What If...? director Bryan Andrews discussed the Marvel series' Emmy nominated episode "What if... Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead Of His Hands?" and how it impacted Doctor Strange 2. "...Benedict Cumberbatch did an amazing job playing evil Doctor Strange, and that was long before Multiverse of Madness was really getting started," Andrews said. "[The film's creative team] had kernels of ideas, so Kevin [Feige] had them watch our stuff and was like, 'You guys better watch out, cause this shit's good.' And they came out of that meeting just going like, 'Oh my God, what are we gonna do for a movie?' [Laughs] I think they borrowed a lot from what we were trying to do in that episode, which is crazy."

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In the months since the film's release, Marvel Cinematic Universe fans have received a great deal of insight into the Doctor Strange sequel's production. Along with this information about What If...?'s influence on the film, those involved on Multiverse of Madness have revealed several ideas that almost made it in. Some of the considered possibilities include featuring Thor's other brother, Balder the Brave, in the Illuminati, as well as a far different arc for Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen).

"I think originally it was a version where Wanda was maybe gonna turn bad at the end. That was a big change that I made," Doctor Strange 2 writer Michael Waldron revealed in July. "I had a strong perspective on making her a villain from the get-go. It was always like, 'Well that'll happen in an Avengers movie or something.' My perspective was 'Why are we letting some other movie get the best villain ever?'"

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As for what's next for Andrews, the director is awaiting the results of the first season of What If...?'s three Emmy nominations. Along with its nomination for Outstanding Animated Program, Jeffrey Wright and Chadwick Boseman were both nominated for Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance for their work in the series. Andrews has also been confirmed to be returning to direct not only Season 2 of What If...? but also the upcoming Marvel Zombies series. Marvel Studios has confirmed that the latter series will be Disney+'s first-ever mature-rated series, as it will carry a TV-MA rating.

What If...? and Doctor Strange in Multiverse of Madness are available to stream on Disney+.

Source: Deadline