The WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes are in full force demanding for fair pay and benefits. What If…? head writer A.C. Bradley takes aim at Marvel Studios, calling them out on underpaying him and fellow writers for work done on Ms. Marvel.

A large part of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes revolves around streaming residuals, with many writers and actors being paid pennies in residuals, oftentimes extremely late, to the point of not being able to qualify for healthcare. Following the announcement Ms. Marvel would be debuting on ABC, What If…? head writer A.C. Bradley called out Marvel Studios for not paying proper fees to the writers:

Hey @WGAWest let's make sure @DisneyStudios & @MarvelStudios pays the writers network residuals!
Despite significantly rewriting all episodes, & the WGA mandating I receive writing credit on 3 eps… I was only paid a weekly rate & never paid script fees. https://t.co/tSG0L4lEqk

— A.C. Bradley (@TheAshBradley) July 15, 2023

A.C. Bradley clarified their statement by explaining that the What If…? team weren’t the main writers for Ms. Marvel. Instead, Marvel Studios brought them on so they wouldn’t have to pay the original writers another fee to return, leading to both parties receiving less than they should have for the work:

We were brought on during production to revise the scripts. The original writers had already been paid & were no longer employed at the studio. Marvel didn't want to pay another fee.

— A.C. Bradley (@TheAshBradley) July 16, 2023

Due to the rapid rise in streaming in the last decade, studios have mostly had free range to bend the rules of paying writers and actors due to the prior contract not including streaming services to the extent they’re prominent today. A.C. Bradley isn’t the only writer calling out corporations like Marvel Studios, with writers across the WGA taking aim at their employers for a lack of payment. With how much money these companies seem to be bleeding during the strike, one can only hope writers and actors get fair deals soon.

A Multiverse of Possibilities

What If…? also features the voices of Josh Brolin, Natalie Portman, Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Renner, Paul Rudd, Mark Ruffalo, Jeffrey Wright, Hayley Atwell and other major stars from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The series “flips the script on the MCU, reimagining famous events from the films in unexpected ways,” according to Marvel’s official description of the series.

In addition to the second season of What If…?, Marvel is also working on two more animated series — Marvel Zombies and Spider-Man: Freshman Year. The former is a direct spin-off of What If…? episode five, which revolves around a Marvel Cinematic Universe that suffers from a zombie plague.

All episodes of the first season of What If…? are now available to stream on Disney Plus. Stay tuned for the latest news regarding the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more content!