Multiverses are so hot right now.
The concept of multiple — possibly infinite — alternate realities unfolding alongside our own is decades old; physicist Hugh Everett III is widely credited for developing the theory at Princeton in the 1950s. The multiverse has cropped up in science fiction and comic books ever since, and it’s most often been employed in time-travel stories like “Back to the Future,” where a timeline has been split or changed and needs to be repaired.
But the head-squeezing metaphysics of parallel timelines intersecting and influencing each other has largely kept the idea on the fringe of mainstream popular culture.
Then, ’round about 2016, the idea that we are “living in the worst timeline” began to take a rather fearsome hold on social media, accelerating in 2020 with the COVID pandemic. In that potent environment, Hollywood has embraced the multiverse utterly. This has been especially true for the comic book adaptations championed by Disney, Warner Bros. and Sony, as each has reached a kind of critical mass in the face of the astronomic success of the interconnected Marvel Cinematic Universe. There have simply been so many Marvel and DC movies over the last 40 years that the only way to link them all, and be fresh while doing it, is to scream “Multiverse!” and hope for the best.
OK, yes, it’s a bit more — or way more — complicated than that. But that complication can also be thrilling, as anyone who has seen the indie adventure “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” starring Michelle Yeoh, can attest.
Still, keeping track of how all of these multiverses are supposed to work can be overwhelming — so we’ve done it for you! Below, you will find a handy guide for all the biggest multiverses currently unfolding in film and TV, and how to make sense of them.