What would happen if…? already found available on Disney Plus Y could change the Marvel Cinematic Universe forever. At least, that’s the promise of writer AC Bradley, the head of the project. But as anticipation mounts about how the series will impact future Marvel stories, there is another war in the works. One that includes one of its most iconic characters.
Of course, we mean Spider man, the focal point of a long controversy between Marvel and Sony Pictures. Over the past five years, Spidey’s future has gone through various stages and contract battles. And even a very notorious break between the producers, which ended in a provisional agreement between the two. As you will recall, Sony Pictures owns the film rights to the entire context surrounding Spider-Man. The situation forces Marvel to negotiate each appearance of the character on screen.
After the most recent and highly public clash between Marvel and Sony Pictures, both production companies take the integrity of the Spider-Verse very seriously. Because of that, one of the first questions the team of What would happen if…? it was obvious: Could you use the arachnid character in the series of novel visions about the Marvel Cinematic Universe? It was a cumbersome detail and there were doubts even if the project could include New York’s friendly neighbor.
But apparently things were much simpler than Bradley expected. The writer should only dedicate himself to telling the best possible story and let the lawyers work out the rest of the situation. To his surprise, Marvel executives insisted on placing special emphasis on the quality of the premise for Spider-Man. The rest would be resolved outside the studio and possibly thanks to last-minute deals between the companies.
In the end, Zombie Hunter Spider-Man joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe through What would happen if…?. A novelty that already surprised the public from the trailer and has aroused considerable interest. For now, everything seems to indicate that his chapter will show an unknown facet of Spider-Man and, in addition, a surprising story.
In court, on paper and on screen
Of course, it is a long negotiating journey. The rights for the reproduction on television of any story related to Spider-Man are complicated. The lawyers had to review the fine print to understand what would happen if the character participated in What would happen if…?. Apparently, Marvel’s legal team had to resort to an obscure contract clause to get it done.
In it, it is specified that Sony has all the rights for the animated adventures of the character, as long as they do not exceed 44 minutes. With its approximately thirty minutes in length, What would happen if…? I would have no problem including Spidey.
For the writer, it has been a relief not to have to meddle in a clash of the titans. “I think it works with people above our salary level,” joked Bradley on Uproxx. “However, I think I asked that from the beginning. I thought, Can we touch Spider-Man? They said, ‘Don’t worry about it. Let’s solve it. Just tell the best story you can and we’ll cross that bridge. ‘ That was Marvel’s general mandate: as long as you don’t do something we do in the movies, have fun and we will solve it”.
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The same instructions were given to Bryan Andrews, director of What would happen if…?. According to the same interview, the orders of Marvel executives was worry about storytelling. In fact, the Spidey chapter will apparently be capital in the understanding of the new “House of Ideas” series.
“They want quality,” said the director. “They tell us, ‘We’ll take care of that. Don’t worry about anything else, ‘which I think is incredible. From the first day in all your projects, it is quality until the end. And that’s great”.
What would happen if…?, the first animated series from Marvel Studios on Disney Plus, you can already enjoy it on that platform. It will air weekly.