At their Comic-Con panel Marvel Studios confirmed a What If…? animated TV series adaptation for Disney+ based on the popular comic book series of the same name. Furthermore, they announced that acclaimed actor Jeffrey Wright (Casino Royale, Basquiat) will voice The Watcher, and that other actors from the MCU will reprise their roles vocally! The series will begin streaming in summer 2021.
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What If is an animated anthology series that will explore how the Marvel Cinematic Universe might have unfolded if key moments in its history had not occurred as they did in canon. For example, what if Loki had found the hammer of Thor? What if the X-Men died on their first mission? The story possibilities are endless, and there’s potential for main actors from the live-action movies to reprise their roles in the animated series. Each episode would tackle a different story, focusing on tales told in alternate universes.
The original What if comic book series debuted in 1977 and over time 200 issues have been published. The stories ranged from the impossible to the ridiculous as Marvel looks to use the streaming service to tell more out of the box stories unachievable through live-action. The animated series could take examples directly from the comic book series, or they could imagine a few new stories to explore. Other examples from the comic books that may or may not make their way into the animated series include:
What if Captain America hadn’t vanished during World War II?
What if Spider-Man didn’t become a crimefighter?
What if Thanos joined the Avengers?
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The service, which has been in development for nearly three years now, is already set to have an extensive library of original content upon its expected fall 2019 debut, from the TV spin-offs of the Star Wars franchise, The Mandalorian, a prequel series to the Rogue One spin-off focusing on Diego Luna’s Cassian Andor and a seventh season of the acclaimed animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
What “What If?” stories do you want to see on Disney+? Sound off in the comments below.
