Marvel’s What If…? returns for season two and there’s still so much more of the MCU and its bevy of characters that need to be seen.
Season one of the animated series introduced viewers to the multiverse anthology narrated by the all-seeing watcher. The episodes took us through alternate universe stories featuring MCU characters including Captain Carter, Iron Man, Killmonger, Star-Lord T’Challa, Doctor Strange, and more. In the season one finale, the Ultron variant Infinity Ultron defeats the Avengers and, once he realizes the multiverse exists, decides to bring “peace” by destroying every single universe. The Watcher breaks his oath and gets involved to stop Infinity Ultron. He puts together a team consisting of Captain Carter, Star-Lord T’Challa, Strange Supreme, Killmonger, Gamora, and party Thor to fight the evil synthezoid, and the Guardians of the Multiverse win against Infinity Ultron.
Season two will take a different approach than season one, but expect there to still be a whole lot of multiversal madness.
What is the release date prediction?
There still isn’t a release date for What If…? season two, but hopefully, an announcement should be made any day now. The expected release date was early 2023, so there’s still a chance it’ll release in the next couple of months, but if that doesn’t happen it might be much later. Comments made by Kevin Feige suggest that it might not be until 2024, and that scenario would be devastating.
The animation process is painstaking and takes a very long time to produce, but in good news, season three has already been confirmed. Ideally, season three could arrive in 2024, much sooner than the wait for season two. What If…? season one premiered back in August 2021 and lasted for nine episodes instead of the expected 10 due to the COVID-19 pandemic affecting the animation houses.
Who’s in the cast?
Although an official cast list hasn’t been confirmed, it’s expected that many familiar voice talents from season one will reprise their roles. Some of these include Jeffrey Wright as The Watcher, Hayley Atwell as Captain Carter, Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes, Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff, Lake Bell as Natasha Romanoff, Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner, Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange, and Chris Hemsworth as Thor.
Gamora, who appeared briefly in the season one finale, will be voiced by Cynthia McWilliams. The season one episode that was removed was a Tony Stark episode that had Gamora in it, and that’s been moved to season two.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, What If…? head writer A.C. Bradley has confirmed that more of Phase Four will be used for season two, so we’ll have plenty of new additions. Bradley brought up Eternals, Shang-Chi and the Legends of the Ten Rings, and Black Widow in reference to this. There are also TV shows to consider such as Hawkeye, Moon Knight, and Miss Marvel, and if all of this can’t fit into season two, there’s always a chance that season three could invite more to the party.
What will the storylines be?
The anthology format will continue in season two and Bradley said it would be lots of fun and wackier with new heroes. A Captain Carter Funko product depicted Captain Carter wearing a skirt and a red cloak, and it’s a different aesthetic from her season one incarnation, leading some to believe that this is a different version. It was revealed at 2022’s San Diego Comic Comicon that What If…? an episode will adapt Neil Gaiman’s Marvel 1602 that’s set in Elizabethan England. It’s possible that the Peggy Carter variant could be a part of this story based on the character’s designs.
Season two will have fewer world-ending storylines and stories about annihilation. Infinity Ultron and the Marvel zombies stories would fall into those categories, as would the Doctor Strange episode where he becomes the power-hungry Sinister Strange and fixates on saving Christine Palmer by amassing ancient power, and in so doing, creates a paradox that destroys the universe imprisoning him in a limbo state. Expect more character-focused stories for season two, and with newer characters to explore, there’s an opportunity to uncover more about these characters through their variants.
What if… Kang appears in What If…?
With the upcoming multiverse war that Kang is gearing up for in Avengers: Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars, it’s possible that What If..? will be directly impacted by the main MCU. Kang wants to conquer every universe, and there could even be a Kang variant in some of these universes ready to take over. In the final battle where the heroes mount an attack against Kang, we could be seeing some of the characters from the show join forces to take on this colossal threat. Although the stories in season two are expected to be told on a smaller scale, it could still lay the groundwork for the ultimate battle for the multiverse.