Ask the Mary Sues: Which Franchises Should Explore Their Own Multiverse?

This week, our collective brains exploded when we learned that Marvel and Sony’s upcoming Spider-Man three-quel would be bringing back Alfred Molina to reprise his role as Doctor Octopus. Since then, the internet has been deluged with rumors that Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, and more former Spider-Man cast members would be showing up. There’s even a rumor that Charlie Cox would be reprising his role as Matt Murdock/Daredevil, which would bring the Marvel/Netflix Defenders onto the big screen.

These developments got fans assuming that the film would delve into the multiverse, with an assist from Dr. Strange. And Peter Parker is no stranger to the multiverse, having met all sorts of spider-folks in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. But whether or not the film will dive into the multiverse (or it’s just, as some are speculating, an introduction to the Sinister Six), it got us thinking about all things multiverse.

We now live in a pop culture landscape where franchises are rebooted, reimagined, and remade even faster than they were before. And thanks to the boom in streaming content, characters and stories are being molded into everything from films to games to series to apps. We asked ourselves, what franchises would we like to see get the multiverse treatment, and here were our top picks.

Jessica Mason:

I think there could be some fun version of every version of the legend of King Arthur teaming up so, I dunno, save Britain or Wales or something. They can compare how sad they all were, who got cheated on the most, whether their true true love was Lancelot or Merlin and of course, they can measure swords. You know, in like, a bro way.

Dan Van Winkle:

I’m going to need a Mario multiverse. Sonic already got to team up with his past self! Where are all the Marios/Luigis/Peaches/Bowsers coming together to lend their own unique skills? Yeah, Mario Odyssey sometimes switched it up with NES Mario, but I need more—ideally, all of the different iterations getting full 3D models in one game together. Pleeeeease? It’s Mario’s 35th anniversary, after all!

Briana Lawrence:

Thanks to Jump Force, there’s already a crossover of Shonen Jump manga characters in gaming. Now I want an all-anime magical girl verse: give me Sailor Moon meets Madoka Magica meets Pretty Cure meets Winx Club. I want it all.

Princess Weekes:

Buffy the Vampire Slayer has launched a whole genre of snarky awesome women who should all team up to smash the world. Wynonna from Wynonna Earp, Bo from Lost Girl, Dutch from Killjoys, Pam from True Blood can be the token bad-ish girl team mate. Buffy is their team captain and Xena is the coach basically.

Rachel Leishman:

When are we going to get all the different Sherlock Holmes actors in one movie all playing Sherlock Holmes? I’m tired of half seeing them and half getting what I want. Did I love seeing Robert Downey Jr. and Benedict Cumberbatch in the MCU? Absolutely, but there was no Jonny Lee Miller and I just want to collect all the Sherlocks and throw them in one big pot. Henry Cavill is invited as well.

Chelsea Steiner:

Mike Schur has given us some of the most hilarious and heartfelt sitcoms of the aughts, thanks to his run on The Office, Parks and Recreation, The Good Place, and Brooklyn Nine-Nine. And while there have been several Parks and Rec Easter eggs hidden in The Good Place, I would love to imagine a world populated by the idiosyncratic do-gooders and foils of his series. I mean, the Jason Mantzoukas factor ALONE would be worth it: Dennis Feinstein, Adrian Pimento, and the Dereks sharing a scene? Sign me up.

What multiverses would you like to explore? Let us know in the comments!

(featured image: Sony Pictures Animation)

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