Marvel’s What If…? could have benefited greatly from the Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer. Following an unfortunate leak, Sony Pictures released the highly-anticipated trailer for Spider-Man’s next adventure, which will pair him with Doctor Strange.
For Tom Holland’s Peter Parker, a battle involving the multiverse will be uncharted territory. But for audiences, it’s just par for the course in Phase 4. Loki (Tom Hiddleston) got a taste of the scope of the multiverse in his Disney+ show and even encountered several different versions of himself who were pulled from different timelines. Then, Marvel’s What If…? provided deep looks at some of the different worlds in the multiverse and how things happened differently for alternate timeline counterparts of Captain America, Black Panther, Thanos, Peggy Carter, Red Skull, and more.
The multiverse being important to multiple Phase 4 projects allows for Marvel to create connections between several of its upcoming shows and movies. A great opportunity presented itself for the MCU with Marvel’s What…If? episode 3 arriving on the same week as the Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer, but nothing came of it. An upcoming line of Marvel Legends action figures tied to Marvel’s What If…? includes “Zombie Hunter Spidey,” who curiously wears Strange’s Cloak of Levitation. It would seem that in this timeline – presumably What If….?’s zombie-themed episode – Spider-Man will acquire the Sorcerer Supreme mantle. Marvel debuting a Spider-Man-Doctor Strange hybrid character is a fun concept, and one that would have been more exciting right after the No Way Home trailer.
The idea behind Marvel’s What If…? meshes perfectly with what Marvel is building toward with Spider-Man 3 and Doctor Strange 2, so it would have made a lot of sense for Marvel to air its Spider-Man episode on Wednesday. This would have furthered demonstrated the importance of Marvel’s What if…? and its relevance to Marvel’s Phase 4 slate. Plus, the introduction of a multiverse Spider-Man character coinciding with a trailer for a Spider-Man multiverse movie would have made for an excellent (and obvious) marketing play.
It’s worth wondering why the MCU didn’t use Spider-Man: No Way Home to boost Marvel’s What If…? It’s possible that the leak sped up the release of the trailer. If so, that could explain the missed opportunity. Either way, Marvel not seizing on this chance speaks to the problems that accompany the Sony-Marvel split. Spider-Man is of course a part of the MCU, but it’s Sony who controls the distribution and most of the marketing. Though there may exist some degree of coordination between the two for the purpose of properly promoting the movie, the relationship clearly isn’t at the best possible place. Even so, the door isn’t closed on Marvel’s What If…? gaining something from the Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer. Enthusiasm for the film may not be at its peak when its Spider-Man-Doctor Strange episode releases, but the movie will mostly likely remain a major talking point for some time.
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