The problem was underspecified, but I suggested that under the assumption that the value would be an Optional[dict]. If you have another falsy value, it means either Optional[Any] or something like Optional[Union[dict, list]] (I put list as an example, but you get the idea).

I would say the only reasonable choice is Optional[dict], in which case it should be sufficient, but Python being Python, it could be anything. And in these cases you need to handle all cases way more carefully.