What if Peggy Carter took the super-soldier serum instead of Steve Rogers? What if Star-Lord was revealed to be T’Challa? What if Spider-Man's Uncle Ben Hadn't Died? These are the storylines that could be explored in Marvel’s upcoming series What If...? expected to premiere on Disney Plus mid-2021.
What If..? is a television series based on a comic book series of the same name and is expected to span over 10 episodes. It was announced in April 2019, it will launch as part of Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and will be the studio’s first animated series. Many already-established Marvel actors will be reprising the roles of their characters such as Mark Ruffalo, Robert Downey Jr., and Hayley Atwell (Captain America’s Peggy Carter). It is also rumored to be Chadwick Boseman’s last performance as the Black Panther. It has been revealed that he recorded “numerous episodes” for the series before he tragically passed away.
Trollhunters writer A.C. Bradley serves as the creator and head writer of the show and Bryan Andrews, the storyboard artist for Sky High and 12 movies in the MCU, will serve as the director. The first episode is confirmed to feature Atwell’s Peggy Carter taking the super-soldier serum instead of Steve Rogers and becoming Captain Britain. Chris Evans, currently occupied with tons of new projects, hasn’t been confirmed to reprise his role as Captain America in the premiering episode nor in the one that features Captain America as a zombie. The series will bring back characters like Dominic Cooper’s Howard Stark who played the character in Captain America: The First Avenger and the television series Agent Carter, as well as Michael Douglas’ Hank Pym, reprising his character from the Ant-Man movies. Other characters from Marvel’s television and Netflix shows may also pop in for an episode or two.
The What If...? comic book series debuted in the late-70s and spans over 13 volumes. It allows writers to create their own universes, creating a new narrative for some of the world's most renowned, admired characters. Fans can expect this television series to explore unconventional and weird storylines, much like WandaVision. With these two new shows, it is clear that Marvel is working hard to break free from their typical superhero stories and move into more creative realms.
Actor Jeffrey Wright will be making his Marvel debut in the series, playing the pivotal character Uatu the Watcher. His character is the overseer of the multiverse and in the comics, he serves as the narrator of the stories as he moves from one to the next. Traditionally, the comic will open with Uatu describing a canonical moment in the series before pausing the story and announcing the “What if?” factor. However, the comics phased out the character after 76 issues under the guise of wanting to focus more on the divergent plots.
While many are excited about the new series, other fans have criticized the series for picking the safest storylines. It is hard to get lost in the nostalgia of the original comic book series’ quirkiness and weirdness when the television series is afraid of getting weird. Though, this is all speculation as the series hasn’t released an episode guide with the titles of the “What if” choices, beyond Peggy Carter’s. The trailer alludes to the MCU's many iconic scenes, such as a shot of Tony Stark eating a donut (taking the audience back to Iron Man 2) and Doctor Strange seemingly battling himself, and tons of pre-serum scrawny Steve Rogers.
One way fans have suggested the series “spice things up” a bit is by introducing Earth-3940’s Natasha Stark, a female Tony Stark also known as Iron Woman. Although not introduced in the What If comics, she exists in an alternate universe explored in Dark Reign: Fantastic Four #2. This storyline would take the audience back to the Civil War Marvel-era as Reed Richards searches through alternate universes where the Superhero Registration Initiative was successful and the Civil War was avoided.
In this universe, Natasha Stark and Steve Rogers are romantically involved and they eventually get married in their respective costumes. In the comic, Richards explains their relationship as “a deterrent to each others' more aggressive behavior.” This has been a deeply-desired storyline from Marvel fans since the series’ initial announcement (yet, it's one that is most likely to remain unrequited).
Skepticism aside, the show is going to be a new feat for the Marvel production game. This is one of multiple introductions into the multiverse, also teased to be essential to the Doctor Strange sequel and the third Spider-Man movie. What If…? will offer a fun bit of nostalgia to comic book readers, as well as an abundance of new content containing some of the franchise’s favorite characters — even ones that many fans thought they’d never see again, like Tony Stark.
What If...? is expected to wrap up voice recordings in February in order to premiere in mid-2021 on Disney Plus.