Marvel’s first-ever animated anthology series, What If…?, explores a world where major moments in the Marvel Cinematic Universe change and the characters we know are not the same anymore. With the premiere dropping in just five days, Marvel has switched up the order a bit.
Season 1 of the upcoming series was initially supposed to have a 10-episode long run but had to be cut short to 9 episodes due to covid-related issues.
Collider confirmed this news with executive producer Brad Winderbaum, who explained,
We had to push an episode into Season 2. It was just, honestly, like everything else, that was a COVID impact. There was an episode that just wouldn’t hit the completion date, but luckily we do get to see it in the second season of the show.
Brad Winderbaum
Winderbaum also added that Season 2 will also consist of 9 episodes, making the total count 18 episodes.
Each episode of What If…? tells a different story and has a different angle. There was no pressure regarding running time, which gave the writers and animators more creative freedom.
We targeted a half an hour for each episode. Some of them come in a little longer, some of them come in a little shorter. We wanted to tell as many stories as we could, and we had a certain budget we had to work with, so it felt like that 10-episode — now 9-episode run — was the right quantity.
Brad Winderbaum
Marvel’s What If…? is based on a Marvel comic from the ’70s that gives us an alternative reality. The series will have The Watcher, a “non-Earthly being” who observes and occasionally intervenes in these events as they play out in the multiverse.
The first three episodes titles were revealed, and fans already have a hint of what to expect from some of these storylines based on the trailers.
- Episode 1 will focus on Captain Carter. We’ll see what would’ve happened if Peggy Carter took the super-soldier serum instead of Steve Rogers.
- Episode 2 will show T’challa as Starlord instead of as the king of Wakanda. What if T’Challa was kidnapped by Yondu instead of Peter Quill?
- Episode 3 will have Loki On Earth, but will he finally get his wish to rule the planet? There isn’t much information about the episode.
The voice cast includes Josh Brolin, Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Natalie Portman, Hayley Atwell, Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffalo, Paul Rudd, Sebastian Stan, Taika Waititi. It will mark late Chadwick Boseman’s final performance.
Here’s the release schedule for Marvel’s What If…? on Disney+
- Episode 1: Wednesday, August 11 — 12 a.m. PT/3 a.m. ET/8 a.m. GMT
- Episode 2: Wednesday, August 18 — 12 a.m. PT/3 a.m. ET/8 a.m. GMT
- Episode 3: Wednesday, August 25 — 12 a.m. PT/3 a.m. ET/8 a.m. GMT
- Episode 4: Wednesday, September 1 — 12 a.m. PT/3 a.m. ET/8 a.m. GMT
- Episode 5: Wednesday, September 8 — 12 a.m. PT/3 a.m. ET/8 a.m. GMT
- Episode 6: Wednesday, September 15 — 12 a.m. PT/3 a.m. ET/8 a.m. GMT
- Episode 7: Wednesday, September 22 — 12 a.m. PT/3 a.m. ET/8 a.m. GMT
- Episode 8: Wednesday, September 29 — 12 a.m. PT/3 a.m. ET/8 a.m. GMT
- Episode 9: Wednesday, October 6 — 12 a.m. PT/3 a.m. ET/8 a.m. GMT
What If…? will premiere on Disney+ from August 11, 2021.
About What If…?
What If…? is an American animated anthology series created by A.C. Bradley for the streaming service Disney+, based on the Marvel Comics series of the same name.
It explores what would happen if major moments from the films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) occurred differently.
The series is produced by Marvel Studios, their first animated series since becoming their own production company. Bradley serves as head writer of the series, with Bryan Andrews directing.
Jeffrey Wright stars as the Watcher, who narrates the series. By September 2018, Marvel Studios was developing a number of series for Disney+, and one based on the What If…? comic was first reported in March 2019.
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