Episode 3 of Marvel’s What If…? debuted this Wednesday and its cast list features some of the biggest stars in the MCU. Samuel L. Jackson leads, with Tom Hiddleston, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, Clark Gregg, Jaimie Alexander, Frank Grillo, and Michael Douglas also involved. However, the animated series didn’t secure the participation of a couple of major players. Namely, Scarlett Johansson and Robert Downey Jr.
So just as a new voice actor was found for Black Widow in episode 3, so was Downey replaced as Iron Man. Harley Quinn actress Lake Bell voices Natasha Romanoff, while Mick Wingert steps in as Tony Stark. If it wasn’t for Downey’s name being conspicuously absent from the opening credits, we might’ve been fooled into believing the Avengers: Endgame star was involved in the show, as Wingert’s impression is incredibly good.
But that’s not all so surprising, considering the actor has been Marvel’s go-to Downey replacement for a while. Wingert has voiced Stark across Disney’s animated Marvel universe—on shows such as Avengers Assemble, Spider-Man, and Guardians of the Galaxy—since 2017. He’s also portrayed the character in a handful of video games since 2014. Wingert has likewise sat in for Jack Black as Po in the Kung Fu Panda TV and video game spinoffs.
While Bell’s Widow is a leading character in the episode alongside Jackson’s Fury, Wingert only has a brief cameo as Stark in a recreation of a scene from Iron Man 2—but with a twist. This time, Tony is assassinated, setting off a bleak chain of events which ends in the death of four out of five of the founding Avengers. We’ll definitely be seeing—or hearing—more of Wingert on the show, though. Trailers have confirmed that another episode will explore Stark teaming up with Michael B. Jordan’s Killmonger, in a retelling of 2008’s Iron Man.
Marvel’s What If…? continues next Wednesday on Disney Plus.