ScreenCrush: The Podcast! - Let's Rewrite Marvel's Multiverse Saga!

Episode Date: March 25, 2025

Marvel's Multiverse Saga has had...a few problems. But what if...that saga was good? Like, really, really good? In this hypothetical video, we reorder movies and shows to tell a longer, more compelling narrative that sets up the MCU's Mutant Saga and the X-Men for phases 7-9.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Agent Nate Russo returns in Oracle 3, Murder at the Grandview, the latest installment of the gripping Audible Original series. When a reunion at an abandoned island hotel turns deadly, Russo must untangle accident from murder. But beware, something sinister lurks in the Grandview's shadows. Joshua Jackson delivers a bone-chilling performance in this supernatural thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Don't let your fears take hold of you as you dive into this addictive series.

Love thrillers with a paranormal twist? The entire Oracle trilogy is available on Audible. Listen now on Audible. Follow me and ponder the question. How come you suck? Hey, welcome back to Screen Crush. I'm Ryan Ary, and I wonder if you will join me today for a little thought experiment. What if the Multiverse saga was like really, really good?

That'd be something, wouldn't it? Let's lick through the vastness of the multiverse and rebuild Marvel's Multiverse saga so it has coherent themes, storylines, and actual Avengers movies. So I'm going to walk you guys through some hypothetical phases 4, 5, and 6 of the Multiverse saga, and maybe together we will fix what's been broken in the past few years. Now, I should note that this is all done in hindsight. I am not a movie producer. Hell, I can barely run the cash register here in the store.

I'm also going to be ignoring a few real-life logistical problems, like production schedules, cast availability, etc. But there are also going to be two major differences in our alternate universe. One, Disney does not put pressure on Marvel Studios to crank out content as fast as possible. And two, Marvel is allowed to take their time on the saga. I mean, the Multiverse saga seemed like Disney was forcing Kevin Feigy to rush ahead to the next Avengers endgame. I mean, remember, Avengers Secret Wars was originally supposed to release this year. So it seemed like Disney just didn't want to wait to get to that next $2 billion payday.

And here is another ground rule I'm going to establish. I'm going to keep all of the projects that Marvel made. But I'm going to add in a few more and move some things around. Personally, I don't like the concept of the multiverse for an entire saga, but that's not up to me because we are working with what we got. I'm also not going to be writing a lot of fan fiction, so for the most part, I want to step aside and do a studio's number one job. Leave creators alone. And remember, you can now listen to Screencrush on all of your favorite podcast platforms, and check out this brand new shirt we designed for our merch store. It's a parody of the thing designed to look like John Carpenter's the thing. Links for that are below. So right, I don't get it. What's so bad about the Multiverse saga?

been churning out content instead of telling stories, so most of their projects end up being kind of mid because they're rushing everything. And after they dumped Jonathan Majors, they brought in Robert Downey Jr. as Dr. Doom, which to fans looks really desperate. And now they are speed running through the last phase of the saga with almost half the projects in phase six and there were in phase four. So, let's change all of that. First of all, we have to clearly define our phases. Phase one of the MCU was about duty. Phase two was about found families. Three was about failure. And overall, this entire saga was about reconciliation. The Multiverse saga is about identity. Phase 4 is about grief as the universe is

still reeling from the effects of the snap. Now I am going to tell you every project that will be released in each phase, but I'm not going to go into too much detail on the release order. For the most part, they're interchangeable. Phase 4 should still kick off with Wanda Vision, which establishes the aftermath of the blip and the phases theme of grief. I would also like to make Falcon and the Winter Soldier into a movie to give Sam Wilson's cap the big screen debut he deserves. But here's a huge change. I would have consolidated Loki's season one and two. They tell a whole story that is actually crucial to know at the start of the multiverse saga. You have to know that the entire saga is now set in a great big multiversal tree because that

explains all the multiversal shenanigans that follow in every phase. Now, many of our phase four stories are going to focus on grief and loss. Black Panther, Wakanda forever is about losing Tchala. Thor, Love and Thunder is about Thor losing Jane. Guardians of the Galaxy 3 are about the guardians getting over Gomorra's loss. And of course, there's Black Widow, where Elena Belova has to eventually accept the death of her sister. And, in our alternate universe, I should note, we're making all these movies way better. Tycho and Tidi is not given free reign to let his actors be too silly on set. And in this alternate universe where everything is perfect, Marvel Never Fire James Gunn.

Also, some projects like Hawkeye are now movies, while others like the Eternals will become TV shows. A major difference is, I would have liked to have seen Armor Wars released in Phase 4. It would have set up Roady as the new Iron Man and continued the phase's theme of overcoming loss. If not love persevering. Now, I still think that Doctor Strange 2 should come out in this phase, but it should not be a movie about the multiverse yet. Instead, let's pretend that Scott Derrickson was able to make Nightmare the villain of the film like he originally intended.

Also, I do think that Wanda's death should still occur in this movie, but at the end of the film, as it originally occurred in earlier drafts of the screenplay. Similarly, Spider-Man No Way Home also stays in this phase, but it's more toward the end of the phase. Losing Aunt May really hits home this theme of loss, and Peter also ends up losing everybody he loves. This is also a really fun way to tee up the possibilities for the Multiverse saga. And also, I should note that the show What If continues to run in every single phase.

Except, you know, in this alternate universe, it doesn't suck at the end like it does on our Earth, which I call Earth suck. Ant Man 3 is now moved into Phase 4, and I personally feel like it should have ended with Scott's death. This way, the phase that's all about grief actually ends with a death, And it sends a message that going forward, none of your favorite characters are safe. And then, now, this is pretty key, the phase actually ends with Avengers Secret Invasion. Now, I know, we've already made at least two entire videos about this, but Secret Invasion should have been a massive story where superheroes are impersonated by scrolls. And some major heroes should have turned out to have been impostors.

Like, for instance, The Wasp, maybe Rodee, Maria Hill. Just go nuts with it. The Avengers should try to reform to stop this threat, but then they should ultimately fail. Instead, similar to the comics, the invasion is stopped by Thunderbolt Ross. And this leads us into Phase 5, where the overarching theme is fear. In the comics, Norman Osborne, the Green Goblin, was the one who actually defeated the scrolls. And then he used this worldwide acclaim to become appointed head of shield. So then he twist the security apparatus of the world for his own evil ends.

He forms his own Avengers, composed of villains, and forms a cabal of supervillains. So in the MCU, let's replace Norman Osborne with Thunderbolt Ross. Ross becomes president and cracks down on superheroes. He leverages the rest of the world against New Asgard, Talekon, and Wakanda. Captain America, Brave New World is about him reorganizing the world under American rule. Across the planet, everything just kind of sucks now. The renewed optimism after the blip has spiraled into real-life problems about starvation. Hell, Thanos cults form, saying that he was right.

Two different things completely. And look, not for nothing with Brave New World, I would have added Elijah Bradley, Isaiah's grandson into the attempted assassination scene. That way, Elijah could get wounded and then get the super blood transfusion from his grandfather so he could become the hero patriot like in the comics. So anyways, Ross forms his own super team, which leads us into Thunderbolts. So in this version, they're not just anti-heroes, they are straight-up villains who now work for the government. You mean like Suicide Squad?

This is what Norman Osborne does in the comics when he forms the Dark Avengers. This phase is also where we should put the Eternals, which is now a Disney Plus show. The Eternals would now see that humanity is just as barbarous and fearful as when they first arrived on the plane. planet, and this would make them genuinely have doubts about whether or not the human race was worthy to live. So amidst all of this, organizations like the Ten Rings would thrive, so it's the perfect place to bring in Shang Chi to fight his sister's empire. Are there Shang Chi's in Phase 5? No, actually, Shang Chi's still in Phase 4. I got mixed up. So yes, Shang Chi's in Phase 4, Shang Chi 2 is in Phase 5, where he can face off against his sister and her Ten Rings organization.

And I think this would also help us to keep the focus on grounded heroes. So shows like Echo can show us how the criminal element is able to. to run wild while the government is distracted by super-powered threats. This would also be an ideal place for Daredevil Born Again season one, show how Wilson Fisk is able to work with Ross's government to crack down on vigilantes. Fisk could utilize old Stark tech that was seized by damage control to give his soldiers augmented armor. So then they would be credible threats to heroes like Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, and Daredevil.

And because the theme of this saga is fear, let's introduce all of our horror characters, Blade, Moon Night, Werewolf by Night, and Agatha all along, All of those take place in this saga. Like, imagine the added paranoia if people knew there were shape-shifting aliens and vampires walking around the Earth. I think She-Hulk would also be fun to include in this world. Like, how does the legal system deal with all of these problems? And I'm also putting her in phase five to give them a little bit more time on that CGI. Please take your time!

Ironheart is also a really nice fit here because Riri Williams would be on the run from the Feds, and we can see how the hood ties together the criminal underworld in the absence of Wilson. and Fisk. Now, Ms. Marvel should also be released in this phase because I think would be interesting to see how Kamala, an Avengers superfan, reacts in a world that now distrusts in outlaw superheroes. That shows themes about surveillance and the government policing superheroes would fit in perfectly in this phase. And Ms. Marvel then leads into Captain Marvel 2. And these two should release right out on top of each other. I will never understand why Disney Plus was rushing out shows like Ms. Marvel when they should release right before their tie-in movies. Like this would build

the hype train for weeks toward the theatrical release. Think about it. You would watch the end of Ms. Marvel one week and then the next day see how it was resolved in the movie Captain Marvel 2. Now Captain Marvel 2 is going to show us that all that chaos on earth is actually still happening out in the cosmos. We should actually see Carol destroy the supreme intelligence. We should see her deal with the fallout, not hear about it 20 years later. The scroll emperor should be a genuine villain who wants to become the New Cree empire. But instead, the movie the Marvels was like aggressively fine. But consider you, that they had a whole universe as a playground,

I think that movie's vision was limited. And this is where we were going to get really, really different. Deadpool 3 is now in this saga. But instead of bringing back Wolverine, let's focus on Deadpool being a bridge from the X-Men world to the MCU. Like the time travel at the end of Deadpool 2 should have accidentally landed him in the 616 where he is trapped. This would be a great way to show that the X-Men characters from the Fox films

can now cross over into other universes. If you want to bring Hugh Jackman along, fine. but I would save him for Secret Wars. And then we get the Dark Phoenix Saga. Ew, that really bad movie? Yes, but hear me out. Take that really bad movie and fix it. I mean, there are reports that after Marvel bought Fox,

they made Fox change huge aspects of the movie, including changing the scrolls to whatever alien race Jessica Chastain is in that film. So instead of doing that, actually incorporate that movie into the multiverse saga, make the Phoenix Force a multiversal entity that ends the movie, flying off to kill more universes and cause more incursions. I would also move the Fantastic 4 to Phase 5, like start showing us that the Multiverse saga

is going to give us multiple movies that take place in different universes. So all of this leads into the next Avengers movie, Avengers, Dark Rain. And this is where we will see Ross gather a team of villains to finally go after the actual Avengers. It is a total power play, a world war in the making. Or if you want to get really silly with it, I guess this could also be that World War Hulk movie that everybody wants. Hulk's son's army from Sakara shows up,

and the devastation is total. The main thing is, after this movie, Earth sucks, and it's going to make us wish that there was some other universe where none of this happened, which takes us into phase six, where the theme is going to be escape. So I would kick off this phase with Spider-Man 4, a grounded street movie where Spider-Man teams up with Daredevil

to finally defeat Fist's private army of police vigilantes, and maybe Spidey...