“What If…?” flips the script on the MCU, reimagining famous events from the films in unexpected ways. Marvel Studios’ first animated series focuses on different heroes from the MCU, featuring a voice cast that includes a host of stars who reprise their roles. The series is directed by Bryan Andrews; AC Bradley is head writer.
The idea was fun, we can start there. Of course it was. After Loki officially introduced the multiverse, and even before that, fans have always been hanging on the possibility of things going differently. That’s literally why we read fanfiction – and boy, do we read fanfiction. So yes, Marvel Studios’ What If…? always seemed like the kind of show that would interest anyone who’s ever watched more than a few Marvel movies.
But the series is more than that. The series is fun, dynamic, and yes, emotional. Some of the outcomes it presents are as good as the ones we saw in live-action. Some are even better. And yes, though, deep down, these people might be the same people we knew before, it feels good to explore what decisions our favorites would have made under different circumstances.
We are the things that happen to us, after all.
Those decisions sometimes make heroes of us all. Sometimes they don’t. Sometimes they lead us to better paths, for us, for others. Sometimes it means we’re more lost, or that we find something we couldn’t have found any other way. That’s the magic.
But Marvel Studios’ What If…? feels bigger than just a series. In a way, it feels like an audition. The multiverse is now a thing, and there are many, many stories to tell within it. Many, many more characters to be introduced. Which ones will people like? Which storylines will they respond to? It’s hard to guess those things. Except now, Marvel doesn’t truly have to.
They’ve got a place where they can try some stuff, see what the response it.
Some of it will land. Some won’t. There are storylines that will remain just a thirty minute episode in this show about maybes. But there are some that, maybe, we’ll grow attached to. Some we’ll want to see to conclusion. And that’s the genius of the multiverse, of the way Marvel is developing it.
They’re never gonna run out of material. There’s no shortage of possibilities.
I don’t know about you, but for me, that’s a great thing. Bring back some of my lost favorites. Give me closure. Give me happiness. Give me, perhaps, better stories than the ones you’d originally given me. I’m here for all of it.
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Marvel Studios’ What If…? will premiere Wednesday, August 11th on Disney+. New episodes will be available weekly on Wednesdays.
