What If?: 8 Things You Didn’t Know About The MCU’s First Animated Series

Marvel’s What If? marked a new direction in the storytelling possibilities of the MCU. Based on the classic comic series of the same name, What If? explores alternative realities of the multiverse; realities that skew the main MCU timeline that audiences are familiar with. What If? unique format provides a limitless sandbox of possibilities for the creators to experiment with, using the MCU characters audiences know and love.

The analogy series has been a huge hit for Disney+, with a second season currently in production (and a spin-off show Marvel Zombies also announced). With a multitude of future possibilities, and a multiverse wide open following the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the effects of What If? are still being felt in the MCU’s phase 4. With all this in mind, there are many facts and behind-the-scenes details that fans of the MCU’s first animated series will be surprised to learn.

There Were Originally 10 Episodes In Season 1

What If’s first season is comprised of nine episodes, but that total would have been ten if the show’s original plan had come to fruition. Series creator A.C. Bradley has revealed (via Den Of Geek) that the original episode count for the first season was ten episodes, but due to delays caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, one episode was cut from the final line-up.

Bradley has since revealed, in an interview with ComicBook.com, that the lost What If? episode centered on an Iron Man and Gamora team-up. This was speculated upon when the series wrapped its first season, particularly as the Gamora variant that appears as part of the Guardians of the Multiverse is never explored before the final team-up. Bradley also confirmed that the missing episode has been pushed into the season 2 episode list, so expect to see this team-up whenever season 2 of What If? lands on Disney+.

A T’Challa Star-Lord Spin-Off Was Planned Before Chadwick Boseman’s Death

A standout from What If’s diverse cast of characters was Chadwick Boseman’s Black Panther turned Star-Lord. “What If… T’Challa Became a Star-Lord” was a well-received episode of the show and one of the driving factors behind this was Chadwick Boseman’s likability and swagger as the prince of Wakanda turned Robin Hood of the universe.

The creative team was so impressed by Boseman’s performance as Star-Lord that conversations of a spin-off show began circulating. Sadly, none of this would come to be realized as Chadwick Boseman tragically passed away in August 2020 before What If? began airing on Disney+. Released in 2021, What If? marked the final performance by Chadwick Boseman.

Many Different What If? Pitches Never Made It To Production

What If? by its very nature is a show with a never-ending supply of possible ideas, but many of those ideas that were pitched by the creative team never made it into production.

Speaking on the Post-Credit Podcast, series creator A.C. Bradley revealed many interesting behind-the-scenes details about the creative process of What If? including details on episodes that never got beyond the concept stage. One of those storylines featured Spider-Man transforming into a giant spider. Although the transformation of Spider-Man turning into a man spider is something that they explored in the comics and the ’90s Spider-Man animated show, the concept was scrapped for being too dark and macabre for the MCU.

A Guardians Of The Galaxy Episode Was Scrapped For Being Too Similar To Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3

Another titbit revealed by A.C. Bradley in interviews related to an episode centered on the Guardians of the Galaxy that was pulled for being too close to James Gunn’s upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

Bradley explained in an interview with Kakuchopueri.com that she pitched an entire Guardians-themed episode to the director Bryan Andrews, asking if he thought Kevin Feige would like it. Andrews replied, “…oh, yeah, Kevin would love that, that’s half the plot of Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3.”

Inspiration From The Twilight Zone

The Twilight Zone is one of the most influential TV shows in the history of the medium, influencing modern anthology shows like Black Mirror and American Horror Story. However, the effect of the Rod Serling classic can be felt in Marvel’s What If? as well.

The structure of What If? episodes mirror the narrated structure of The Twilight Zone, with The Watcher acting as the Rod Serling stand-in. This connection was confirmed by Jeffrey Wright (The Watcher) in the Disney+ Marvel Studios ASSEMBLED series, where he states his Watcher character borrows from the legacy of Serling’s iconic narration.

H.P. Lovecraft Reference

One of the standout episodes of the first season of What If? is episode four, “What If…Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands?”. This episode illustrates the show at its absolute darkest, with Doctor Strange’s reality collapsing upon itself due to the paradox incurred by Strange’s actions.

The episode sees Strange take on the Strange Supreme form, a twisted and warped version of the character, poisoned by his absorption of monsters and creatures from alternate dimensions. The inspiration for this villainous version of the character, as revealed by A.C. Bradley in Marvel Studios ASSEMBLED on Disney+, was Dorian Gray and Voldemort. But, the monstrous final form took inspiration from the creatures of H.P. Lovecraft’s fiction, notably the tentacled cosmic entity Cthulhu.

No Tom Holland!

What If? boasted a top-quality cast of voice actors to bring the cinematic characters of the MCU to the animated screen. Many of the movie actors returned to voice their animated counterparts, including Samuel Jackson, Christ Hemsworth, and Benedict Cumberbatch. Despite this, a number of famous stars declined to return, including Robert Downny Jr, Chris Evans, and Scarlett Johansson. In cases where the original stars neglected to return to voice their animated counterparts, their likeness remained as part of the character. This was not the case with Spider-Man.

The most likely cause of the dispute is the complicated contract arrangements between Sony and Disney relating to the character of Spider-Man. While the two studios have partnered over the past few years bringing the character to the big screen, their relationship has always been a functional one. Disagreements almost brought the relationship to an end in 2019, until they came to an agreement over the character. The exact details of their agreements have never become public knowledge. The lack of Tom Holland, or his likeness, is probably a by-product of this dispute.

Connection To Loki

What If? opens the multiverse and its possibilities for the first time in the MCU, but it was Loki that kick-started the process. Loki establishes many of the different rules and terminology regarding multiverse events and variants, and if What If? series creator A.C. Bradley had the gift of foresight, she would have referred to Doctor Strange’s “Absolute Point” in episode four as a “Nexus Point” instead.

As Bradley revealed in an interview with The GOAT Podcast (via Youtube), the episode of What If? featuring Doctor Strange’s “Absolute Point” was actually written before Loki’s scripts were finalized, establishing the term “Nexus Point.” Due to the nature of animation, the show ultimately debuted after Loki, which created an odd terminology differentiation between the two shows.

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