What If…? scrapped Spider-Man episode drew inspiration from the dystopian film, Children of Men

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What If…? Season 2 has 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.

Spider-Man in What If… Zombies?!

Directed by Alfonso Cuarón, Children of Men explored 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.

What If…? Head Writer Reveals Scrapped Dark Spider-Man Episode

Peter Parker and Hope van Dyne in What If… Zombies?!

A.C. Bradley, known for her work on Ms. Marvel and Trollhunters, was attached to What 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 the What 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 to Children of Men. She eventually decided to scrap the storyline in favor of more engaging and positive ones. She told IGN:

“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?.

‘Children Of Men With Spider-Man’ May Have Worked For What If…?

Clive Owen and Clare-Hope Ashitey in Children of Men

Despite Bradley’s claim that the Children 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 Owen plays 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 in Children of Men.