With the upcoming and expected success of Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness, alongside recent films like Spiderman: Into the Spider-verse, stories involving the idea of a multiverse are experiencing a renaissance of sorts. Many films have bubbled up recently, and will likely be coming up to try and capture that same energy and interest that the MCU has managed.
While this trend is on the rise, films have played with the idea of the multiverse for quite some time. From fairy tales and magical doorways to cosmic horror and heady sci-fi, alternate universes are a fantastic way to explore characters, societies, and worlds that are familiar to viewers by re-examining them from a new perspective – like in these movies.
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe – 6.9
One of the original alternate universes, The Chronicles of Narnia built a massive universe that is filled with imaginative worlds. Most forget, but The Magician’s Nephew shows that Narnia is not the only alternate world to exist in C. S. Lewis’s multiverse, but Narnia is largely the most important one.
As far as multiversal movies go, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe is modestly praised for its acting and setting, but the practical and special effects work perfectly to capture the wonder that the books have been inspiring for years. From Aslan’s mane to the Ice Queen’s sleigh, the magic of an alternate reality comes through remarkably.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 – 7.0
Sonic the Hedgehog is a movie that carries a great deal of weight and expectations, and the sequel continues to build upon the success of the first. The sequel expands on the hinted-at multiverse that sonic is able to access via his magical golden rings. This multiverse film centers very deliberately on earth though.
Sonic’s life on Earth comes after he escapes the Echidnas who attacked him and his master when he was young. The multiversal nature of the movie is a welcome addition to the series, following in the footsteps of the cult-classic Sonic X anime. With end-credits scenes that hint at more sonic characters to come, even more multiverse travel could be in the future.
Enchanted – 7.1
A very strange addition to this list, but the case for it isn’t unfair – Enchanted is the story of an animated Disney-esque princess who runs away from her world and stumbles out of a manhole in real-life New York. As characters go back and forth between these universes, we see a much more liberal use of the universe connection than many others on this list use.
Enchanted makes itself a unique offering in other ways as well – very few romance films have been made that utilize the multiversal concept. Some romances have been featured in these films, but very few have made it as much a focus of the film as Enchanted does. Disenchanted, the upcoming sequel, promises to build upon the charming worlds.
Coherence – 7.2
Possibly the darkest film on this list, Coherence is a 2013 film that came and went with little fanfare but a lasting impression. The core concept is that a group of friends gather for a dinner as a strange comet makes its pass overhead. As the story progresses, the group begins to become paranoid and anxious as it is revealed that the comet has thinned the walls between universes.
This film really pushes a horror vibe upon the viewer, forcing the audience to consider how dangerous alternate versions of ourselves could really be. What’s more, as characters move about it becomes much harder to tell who comes from where. The paranoia and danger build very quickly as the universes collapse on each other.
Doctor Strange – 7.5
Doctor Strange was the first movie to directly address the concept of the multiverse in the MCU. The villainous Kaecilius directly utilizes alternate universes to power his magic, and the massive power behind him is Dormammu, master of the Dark Dimension. The mind-bending visuals and concepts provide the perfect base of the MCU’s larger multiverse.
The upcoming sequel, Multiverse of Madness promises to build even further on the concepts seen both here and in Wandavision. The multiverse in the Marvel comic books has a long history with both Wanda and Strange, with both of them often protecting their universe against threats from other versions of themselves.
The Lego Movie – 7.7
While not technically a multiverse film in the same way others are, there are many ways that The Lego Movie builds a very meaningful story that spans multiple dimensions. Aside from the big reveal that the Lego-verse is located in Will Ferrell’s basement, the protagonists’ Emmet and Lucy travel through several worlds and dimensions throughout the story.
From the Old West to Cloud Cuckoo Land, the movie makes every effort to show the audience the incredibly varied worlds and universes that exist within the Lego Multiverse – including the Lego DC and Duplo universes. But the film stays grounded in relatable concepts like Emmet’s averageness and Finn’s urge to play with legos.
Zack Snyder’s Justice League – 8.1
The Justice League films actually don’t delve into the grander DC multiverse, but there is an argument that the original cut of the movie and the Snyder-cut are two alternate universes. The stories of both versions are, for obvious reasons, very similar, but there are enough divergences that they carry that same uncanny feeling that most multiverse films build upon.
The differences between the two edits show exactly how multiverse differences come out – in little ways that provide the characters and residents of these universes with unique experiences. Different characters show up, have different importance, die in different ways. Each universe unique, but familiar.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse – 8.4
Perhaps one of the most striking and inspirational multiverse films, Spiderman: Into the Spider-verse provides a view of how multiverses can be very different while still looking very similar – or having the same heart. Teenager Miles Morales gets caught up in Kingpin’s attempt to access other universes, which results in the death of Spider-man… one of them.
Into the Spider-verse is deeply moving in how it uses the multiverse backdrop, alongside the many Spider-people of the multiverse, to show that anyone can be a hero. Alongside this, it also forms a sort of argument against people who complain about characters such as Jane Foster’s Thor ‘not being the real Thor’ and other similar characters.
Spider-Man: No Way Home – 8.4
Spiderman: No Way Home quickly became one of the most popular Spiderman films in years thanks to the clever usage of the multiverse concept to bring together the three live-action Spidermen in a similar manner as Into the Spider-verse. With Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, and Tom Holland, the multiverse feels a little safer.
No Way Home cracked the MCU’s multiverse open, introducing opportunities for future MCU projects to continue developing on the multiverse concepts introduced in Loki and in other areas. But it will be difficult for future projects to carry on the excitement and joy of seeing fan-favorite Spideys meeting up on the big screen again.
Everything Everywhere All at Once – 8.9
Everything Everywhere All at Once is a multiverse film like none other. Rather than a grand superhero, the protagonist of this movie is Evelyn Wang. Evelyn is a mildly successful Chinese immigrant who struggles with tax day – and soon finds herself at the center of a battle across the ‘manyverse.’
This film’s examination of the idea of a ‘multiverse’ is at once philosophical and emotional, while also leaning into the absurd and hilarious. EEAaO is a movie that remains incredibly grounded in the character’s emotions and personalities, even as they explore and draw upon a grand multiverse full of possibilities. A true masterpiece of a film.
