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The Marvel Cinematic Universe is branching into exciting new directions with the introduction of the multiverse. The events of Loki kicked the door down and, now, Marvel’s What If…? is set to take viewers even deeper into the craziness by taking them through various timelines. Based on what we know about the show, the writing staff really swung for the fences when it came to formulating stories. But interestingly, it turns out one idea for the series reportedly overlapped with plans for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. And now franchise director James Gunn has provided an interesting response to that claim.
What If…?’s head writer, A.C. Bradley, has been doing press ahead of the show’s imminent release, and she’s been dropping some interesting details along the way. It was during a roundtable discussion attended by IGN and other news outlets that Bradley mentioned the idea would’ve spoiled plans for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. The question she was asked specifically referred to the Watchers, to which Bradley explained she’d spent three days working on a story. Unfortunately, through executive producer Brad Winderbaum, she ultimately learned that she had “accidentally pitched the back half of [Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3].”
Well, in the age of social media, word travels fast, and it was only a matter of time before James Gunn caught wind of A.C. Bradley’s comments. A fan actually brought them to Gunn’s attention on Twitter, and the filmmaker issued an honest response:
So it would seem that James Gunn was completely out of the loop when it came to A.C. Bradley’s pitch but seems interested in knowing how the concept would've lined up with his own ideas. It’s honestly not too surprising, given that Gunn isn’t directly involved with What If…?. And of course, Bradley is reporting to producers like Brad Winderbaum and Kevin Feige, who are well aware of Gunn’s plans for Vol. 3.
Funnily enough, this isn’t the first time one of A.C. Bradley’s ideas clashed with other MCU plans. Apparently, she originally wanted to include an episode that saw Jane Foster become Thor, though she was eventually informed of Taika Waititi’s Thor: Love and Thunder.
Despite her initial disappointment though, A.C. Bradley seems to be fine with how things turned out, and she had nothing but praise for Gunn’s vision for Guardians Vol. 3. She even recalled thinking just how “amazing” the movie will be. But considering James Gunn’s prior work within the franchise, this shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. Those first two Guardians of the Galaxy movies are available to stream on Disney+, which you can sign up for using this link.
James Gunn is a pretty solid fixture within Marvel Studios, so it’s likely someone will provide him with some clarification on the What If…? situation at some point. Let’s just be thankful that everything’s straightened out now, and Gunn’s story will be saved in its entirety for that May 5, 2023 release date.
But before that, be sure to check out Marvel’s What If…? when it finally makes its way to Disney+ on August 11th.
