After two years of fans wondering where the Marvel Cinematic Universe would go following the massive events of The Infinity Saga, Marvel Studios unveiled their plans for Phase 4 through 6, now dubbed The Multiverse Saga. This long-term plan will resolve with a pair of Avengers films,Avengers: The Kang Dynastyin May 2025 andAvengers: Secret Warsin May 2026. Fans have been eagerly anticipating Secret Wars for years as the most recent 2015 comic book storyline is famous for featuring the Marvel multiverse destroyed with the fragments brought together in the world made up of different fragments of the multiverse and as a film teases major possibilities in terms of new characters and old returning favorites.
Progress onAvengers: The Kang Dynastyhas been made rather quickly, as it was confirmed shortly after the announcement thatShang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Ringsdirector Destin Daniel Cretton is at the helm with a script byAnt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’sJeff Loveless.Avengers: Secret Warson the other had less news, even being delayed from its original November 2025 to the new summer release date.
No director is attached, but it was recently confirmed thatMike Waldron would write the scriptforAvengers: Secret Wars. Waldron has a long history working with Marvel and makes perfect sense to as the choice to pen the script for a movie that requires adapting a massive event comic known for multiple universes colliding. Here is what makes Waldron such a good choice.
This is the biggest one but also the most interesting in terms of which Avengers film he is writing. Waldron is the head writer onLoki, which is theDisney+ MCU showthat truly blew open the door of the multiverse in the MCU. Much of the rules of the multiverse were introduced in the film, including terms like variants to describe different versions of characters and the concept of branching timelines, which were followed up on in the animated seriesWhat If…?.
Lokiis also the introduction to the character Kang the Conqueror, in the form of his variant He Who Remains.Lokiseason two teased thearrival of Kang the Conqueror, who is the primary villain of both the upcomingAnt-Man and the Wasp: QuantumaniaandAvengers: The Kang Dynasty.
It is because of how involved Waldron has been in introducing Kang the Conqueror that it is interesting he is not the writer ofAvengers: The Kang Dynastybut insteadAvengers: Secret Wars. While it is likely Kang will have a role in the film, many have assumed the primary villain will be Doctor Doom as he is the lead antagonist in both versions ofSecret Warscomics. It could be that Kang will take the major villain role from Doom in the film. With Waldron having laid out the rules for the multiverse in the MCU, it makes a certain amount of sense they would want him for their grand multiverse finale.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Waldron’s second MCU credit is another multiverse-heavy project,Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madnessis the first MCU project to teaseAvengers: Secret Warsas both a variant of Mr. Fantastic and Clea reference the term ‘incursion,’ which in the comics were the destructive multiversal collisions that set upSecret Wars. Clearly, during the development ofDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the plans forAvengers: Secret Warswere already being cultivated and the seeds planted.
Related:How Doctor Strange in the Multiverse Teases Future MCU Stories
Waldron being the main writer on two massive multiverse projects indicates he is a key architect in this corner of the MCU the same way that James Gunn was the cosmic side of the franchise followingGuardians of the Galaxy. Waldron’s work in the MCU can now be seen as a loose trilogy, withLokibreaking down the multiverse andDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madnessbeing the film that explores various universes before the epic conclusion ofAvengers: Secret Wars.
Rick and Morty
Waldron was a producer onRick and Mortyand is credited as a writer on one episode, the second of season four, titled “The Old Man and the Seat.“Rick and Mortyis an award-winning and critically acclaimed animated series known for its complicated but also incredibly silly, crude yet profound science fiction concepts that are self-referential in a style that many MCU projects are. The series is also one that draws a fair share of comedy from the concept of the multiverse. The Councils of Ricks is a satire of both the Council of Kangs and the Council of Reeds in Marvel Comics.Rick and Mortyin many ways feel like a calling card to adaptSecret Wars.
Related:Avengers: Secret Wars Directors Who Should Be Considered
Waldron is also one of manyRick and Mortywriters to have joined the MCU. In addition to him, there isAnt-Man and the Wasp: QuantumaniaandAvengers: The Kang Dynastyscreenwriter Jeff Loveless andShe-Hulk: Attorney at Lawhead writer Jessica Gao. The fact that many of the writers of the Multiverse Saga entries worked onRick and Mortyindicates not only a shared cohesive style that can be carried over but also writers that have a history of working with one another and building off each other’s work to make a stronger hold.
Waldron was not a major creative voice onCommunity, but his time as a writer’s assistant on the series was likely very beneficial. It is apparent he learned many lessons from his time working there and brought them over to the rest of his work. LikeRick and Morty,Communityis a Dan Harmon-created series that is self-referential that is filled with homages, and spoofs, and very much calls attention to itself as a piece of fiction. For what started out as a simple sitcom at a community college quickly morphed into a fun meta-commentary on not just sitcoms but other genres, and the series played around with the concept of multiverses.
Worth noting is thatJoe and Anthony Russo, the directorsofAvengers: Infinity WarandAvengers: Endgame, were producers onCommunityand directed a handful of episodes. In many ways,Communityand the MCU are intrinsically linked as many of the stars, writers, and directors fromCommunityhave helped shape the MCU. It now seems like the logical choice for someone who got his humble start as a writer assistant onCommunityis now helping shape the grand epic conclusion to another era of Marvel storytelling.
