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What If…? Season 2has emerged as one of the highest-rated shows for Marvel. The head writer and showrunner, A.C. Bradley recently announced that she would not be returning for the confirmed third season. Bradley shared that she did not get to tell all the stories she had in mind. The writer opened up about a ‘very very dark’ Spider-Man story that drew inspiration from Clive Owen’s dystopian film,Children of Men.
Directed by Alfonso Cuarón,Children of Menexplored the story of a society nearly destroyed by human infertility. The film received three Academy Award nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, and Best Film Editing.
Also Read:What If Season 2 Hints Robert Downey Jr’s Iron Man Could Have Survived in Avengers Endgame
What If…?Head Writer Reveals Scrapped Dark Spider-Man Episode
A.C. Bradley, known for her work onMs. MarvelandTrollhunters, was attached toWhat If…?during the COVID-19 lockdown period. In a recent interview with IGN, Bradley provided a detailed breakdown of each episode in Season 2 of the show. She also disclosed a Spider-Man episode that never made it to production.
Bradley explained that the storylines for both seasons were written simultaneously during the pandemic. Bradley wanted theWhat If…?episodes to be a fun escape from the harsh reality of the situation, and didn’t want to indulge in darker storylines. However, her Spider-Man storyline explored a dystopian theme similar toChildren of Men. She eventually decided to scrap the storyline in favor of more engaging and positive ones. She toldIGN:
“It felt like the world was already ending and we didn’t need to add to it. And so it became kind of an escape and a fun release. However, I did write an episode, which is forever going in a drawer, that was very, very dark. I was calling it ‘Children of Men with Spider-Man.’”
Bradley revealed that Marvel wanted the first season to feature all the prominent MCU characters. However, she faced no such restrictions for the second season, allowing her to experiment with mostly second-string characters like Nebula, Darcy, Hogan, Hela, and many others. Bradley even had the opportunity to introduce an original superhero in the show’s sixth episode,What If… Kahhori Reshaped the World?.
Also Read:What If Season 2 Reveals 3 New God Level Powers of Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch
‘Children Of MenWith Spider-Man’ May Have Worked ForWhat If…?
Despite Bradley’s claim that theChildren of Men-inspired episode would have been darker for the time, it should be noted that the film also discussed the themes of hope, redemption, and faith. Released at Christmas in 2006, critics particularly noted the relationship between the film’s themes and its time of release.
In the film,Clive Owenplays a British Civil Servant who helps a pregnant woman, Kee, to escape the chaos of a collapsing society. While the beginning of the film shows a world suffering from human infertility, the closing scene features the laughter of many children. A.C. Bradley’s scrapped storyline may have resonated even during the pandemic if it was truly inspired by the themes explored inChildren of Men.
Also Read:What If…? and Loki Season 2 Handed Marvel the Ability to Abandon the Multiverse Saga on a Silver Platter
What If…? Season 2is now available for streaming on Disney+, whileChildren of Menis now available on Starz.
Hashim Asraff
Senior Writer
Articles Published :3020
Hashim Asraff is a Senior Entertainment Writer at FandomWire, with over 2,800 articles published on celebrity culture, comic book movies, and major TV franchises. With a background in Sociology and a keen interest in pop culture, Hashim brings a unique lens to breaking news stories, character deep-dives, film rankings, and fan-driven perspectives.His coverage often includes the MCU, DCU, hit network shows, and celebrity profiles, giving readers a rich blend of entertainment and analysis. A longtime fan of crime and investigative series, Hashim has watched thousands of episodes of NCIS, Criminal Minds, Law & Order: SVU, Bones, Blue Bloods, and The RookieA passionate storyteller and wordsmith, Hashim has also worked as a ghostwriter and managed multiple social media handles. He brought his writing expertise to FandomWire to also pursue his lifelong love for cinema and television.
