Marvel’s What If…? will premiere on August 11 on Disney+. Jeffrey Wright will be the show’s ominous narrator, the Watcher. A character poster was released on July 28 as an EW exclusive.
Marvel too tweeted out the poster the next day, have a look.
With many vibrant characters and events at one’s disposal in Marvel, it sure is worth playing with the idea of “What If…?” something did not go according to the canon. The show will explore such scenarios, be it Agent Carter taking on the title of Captain America or T’Challa’s ride as a Star-Lord.
Now the interesting thing about What If…? is that they are nothing simply hypothetical. As the release order of Marvel’s works is now carefully arranged, both WandaVision and Loki has opened up the multiverse for a chaotic perusal.
Each story in What If…? story will take place in a different multiverse, with the Watcher observing it all. The events in What If…? may also have consequences in the upcoming Marvel movies.
The Watcher, also known as Uatu, is part of the extraterrestrial species that assigned themselves the task of monitoring other species. Uatu is the Watcher tasked with keeping an eye on Earth, its Solar System and all its events.
Jeffrey Wright talks about his role as the Watcher to EW, saying he has observed that narrations of many all-knowing or wise mythical beings have been presented having a British accent, no matter the actual origin of the character. For his Watcher, he surely wants to avoid this.
Why does every wise man in the history of cinema or wise woman or sage need to be British? So the first time we encounter The Watcher in the comics on the moon, I figured it was wide open where we could go with the voice and how can we craft together an idea and music to his voice that’s resonant today.
Jeffrey Wright
Voice actors have a tremendous task of conveying the character’s personally only through audio cues. This proved to be something Wright was excited to work on, especially with the gravity of being a “new member” of the MCU.
Uatu/the Watcher is described to be one of the most dramatic beings in his first comic book introduction in Fantastic Four #13 (1963). How Wright will translate this into What If…? is just one of the many things to look forward to.
It’s also interesting to know that Uatu has broken the Watcher’s austere rule of never intervening in other species’ events, several times. Not to forget, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 had a small drive-by cameo of the Watchers. Perhaps Wright may someday transition from voice to screen.
For now, have your calendars marked for August 11 — Watch If…? on Disney+.
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.
Source: Ew
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