What If...? Season 2 Will Be Better (Thanks To Doctor Strange 2)

What If...? season 2 will release in early 2023 and can fully capitalize on the first season's premise thanks to one Marvel Studios Phase 4 film: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Doctor Strange 2 was one of the first MCU feature films to focus on the multiverse after Spider-Man: No Way Home and had the titular character exploring multiple universes. This basic premise and certain elements introduced in Doctor Strange 2 can allow What If...? to improve its already intriguing season 1 with its sophomore season.

Despite What If...? season 1 focusing on plenty of different universes, the show's main form of disappointment came from the lack of crossovers concerning the multiverse, with each episode instead opting to confine itself to one specific universe until the final few episodes of season 1. However, with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness fully fleshing out the Multiverse Saga through Phase 4 to the wider MCU fandom, What If...? season 2 can capitalize and feature a greater mixing of multiverses. Also, Doctor Strange 2 introduced the official explanation of a concept from What If...? season 1, episode 4: incursions. Through incursions, and the more expansive universe in Doctor Strange 2, What If...? season 2 can massively improve on the first.

How Doctor Strange 2 Changes What If...? Season 2

One of the main ways Doctor Strange 2 changes What If...? is through how the former actually explored the multiverse. While What If...? season 1 certainly focused on different variations of the Marvel multiverse, they were confined to its titular scenarios of how MCU stories would be different should certain elements be changed. While the show will obviously still have to commit to this given its title, Doctor Strange 2's exploration of just how crazy the multiverse can be will give What If...? season 2 greater freedom. From a potential exploration of the many universes seen in Doctor Strange's trip through the multiverse, or more grounded but still different ones like Earth-838, What If...? season 2 can be changed for the better.

Doctor Strange 2's Earth-838, for example, introduced the Illuminati to the MCU. One thing that What If...? season 2 could do is focus on how the MCU would be different if teams like the Illuminati, or even the X-Men, were the main superhero team of a Marvel universe rather than the Avengers. However, another way the second season of the show could be impacted is through incursions.

What MCU Incursions Mean For What If...? Season 2

While an incursion was focused on in What If...? season 1 through the Doctor Strange-centric episode, Doctor Strange 2 explored the concept in greater detail and showcased just how dangerous they can be. With the ending of What If...? season 1 seeing the Guardians of the Multiverse forming to stop Infinity Ultron, season 2 could instead be all about the Watcher attempting to stop different incursions from taking billions of lives in different universes. This could see a return of some heroes from season 1, and the new ones included in season 2, and give What If...? season 2 a fitting endgame that ties to a main aspect of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

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