What If...?/Trivia

A list of trivia related to What If...?.
==References to Marvel Comics==
*Marvel Studios had discussed adapting the What If...? comics in the past, but decided not to do so until after the conclusion of The Infinity Saga so they would have enough storylines to create alternate options of. Moreover, in making the series animated, it allowed the studio to explore all of these ideas "unbounded".Marvel’s What If…? Crew Explains Why They Went 3D Over 2D & A Scrapped Episode That Was Too Close To GOTG 3
==References to the Marvel Cinematic Universe==
*Winderbaum said it was not a coincidence that the series was set for release so soon after the first season finale of Loki, which introduced the multiverse, since What If...? explores facets of the Multiverse in a way that Winderbaum believed made the series as important as any other MCU property. 
**Bradley confirmed that all episodes of the series are canon to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with most of the episodes taking place in their own universes.What If...? Is Officially MCU Canon - IGNMarvel's 'What If...?' Executive Producer Talks The Multiverse And A New Assembly Of Avengers - Slashfilm
*Since work began on What If...? before the development of Loki and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness in 2022, Bradley was unsure how those projects would be exploring and explaining the MCU version of the multiverse. Thus she chose to focus on the possibilities within the alternate timelines of the multiverse, which she described as a "sampler of assorted chocolates", and left elements such as the Time Variance Authority to be explained by those other projects. As a result, Kevin Feige and Winderbaum kept the creative teams of Loki and Multiverse of Madness informed of what was happening in What If...? as work on them began.What If's Marvel Multiverse Was Already Forming Before Loki and Doctor Strange 2 - Gizmodo
**The creative team of What If...? also met with Loki executive producers Stephen Broussard and Kevin Wright as well as the co-executive producer of WandaVision Mary Livanos to establish a "rule book" regarding the multiverse, its branch timelines, and nexus events.How Marvel's What If...? Coordinated With Loki, WandaVision, Spider-Man, and More - Comicbook.com
*Winderbaum said there was potential for the variant characters in the series to appear in live-action, just as "what if" concepts from the Marvel Comics eventually made their way into the main comics continuity. Andrews and Hayley Atwell both expressed interest in a live-action film starring the latter as Captain Carter in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.‘What If…?’ Writer and Director on Their Last Call with Chadwick Boseman and a Captain Carter Movie - Hollywood Reporter A live-action variant of Captain Carter would appear as a member of the Illuminati from Earth-838.
**However, Atwell wanted the right creative team that could "pave the way for [Carter] to tap into the cultural consciousness of today and become a modern heroine of our times".Exclusive: Hayley Atwell's Captain Carter brings 'chutzpah and style' to Marvel's 'What If...?' series - USA Today
*On September 9, 2021, in a recent interview, writer A.C. Bradley said that she should’ve called Christine Palmer’s death in the What If... Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands? episode a Nexus Point instead of an Absolute Point like in the Loki tv series but the scripts for Loki weren’t written as yet.WHAT IF Interview AC Bradley Marvel Head Writer Talks Spider-Man Uncle Ben, Zombies, Star Wars - YouTube
*On September 22, 2021, an episode of Assembled titled The Making of What If...? was announced to air on October 27, 2021.Black Widow & Marvel's What If Documentary Specials Receive New Release Dates on Disney+ - The Direct
*On September 30, 2021, it was revealed that Ross Marquand, who previously portrayed Red Skull (which was portrayed by Hugo Weaving in Captain America: The First Avenger) after the role was recast in both Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame on the planet Vormir had him reprised his role as Red Skull in What If... Captain Carter Were The First Avenger? in the series' first episode, but he also went onto voice Ultron in What If... Ultron Won?, the series eight episode, a role previously voiced by James Spader in Avengers: Age of Ultron.Avengers: Endgame's Red Skull Actor Plays Another MCU Villain In Latest What If Episode - The Direct
*On October 6, 2021, it was revealed that while Marvel’s What If...? season 1 has just concluded, the creative team behind What If…? teased that for the second season, Head writer A.C. Bradley said that “Going into the second season, we're sticking with anthology form, and it's going to be all-new stories, lots of fun, new heroes, and pulling more from Phase Four than we were obviously able to this season. Hopefully, we'll see hints of the Eternals and Shang-Chi and the Black Widow film characters.What If...? Season 2 Will Feature Shang-Chi and Eternals - IGN 
*On October 8, 2021, What If...? head writer A.C. Bradley and director Bryan Andrews spoke with Variety about the series and addressed the possibility of Jeffrey Wright playing his role in live-action. Ultimately Andrews stated that it is up to Kevin Feige.Inside Marvel’s ‘What If…?’ Finale, Season 2 Plans and the T’Challa Spinoff That Never Was - Variety
*On October 27, 2021, it was revealed in The Making of What If...?, the fifth episode of the first season of Assembled that the relationship between Captain Carter and The Watcher 'evolves in a grande fashion' in season two of What If...?.Fandom Oct. 27, 2021 Tweet via Disney Plus - Twitter
==Unorganized Trivia==
*What If…? is Chadwick Boseman’s last Marvel project before his death.
*An episode pitch involving the Guardians of the Galaxy was suggested for the first season, but it had to be scrapped after A.C. Bradley was told that she had inadvertently written half the plot of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
*There was going to be an episode that would've consisted of Spider-Man turning into an actual spider, but the idea was scrapped as A.C. Bradley found the idea to be far too dark in comparison to the rest of the series. The writers also considered an episode for the series that would've had the Avengers as dinosaurs but rejected it for being too silly.
*One episode idea that Bradley came up with would've involved Loki becoming worthy to wield Mjølnir. This idea was discarded early on however, as the idea of Loki becoming a hero was already in the works for his own show. 
*Bradley also pitched an episode inspired by What If? #10, which featured a timeline where Jane Foster became a female version of Thor after finding Mjølnir. The idea was rejected due to Thor: Love and Thunder having a similar premise.
*Other scrapped ideas for the first season included Iron Man and Pepper Potts going to space in the vein of The Odyssey and a crossover with .
*Several actors from the MCU did not return to voice their characters and were replaced by various voice actors. These actors include Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Holland, Brie Larson, Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Zoe Saldana, James Spader, Hugo Weaving, Gwyneth Paltrow, Letitia Wright, Jeff Bridges, Zachary Levi, Ray Stevenson, Tadanobu Asano, Rene Russo, William Hurt, and Liv Tyler. Most of these actors have since long departed from the MCU after their contract with Marvel expired, while some were replaced due to scheduling conflicts, and in Tom Holland's case, contract complications with Sony.
Before it was officially announced, the show was originally planned to be one season and 23 episodes long, with each one centered around each movie in The Infinity Saga, but production constraints forced Marvel to split it into what was eventually announced to be two 10-episode seasons. When the COVID-19 pandemic began, the season episode count was dropped to 9 episodes each, seemingly meaning that for all future seasons of the show going forward, they will each be one episode shorter than they would've been.
*For season two, all episodes were stylized as "What if..." instead of "What If..." like the series title suggests.
*As of September 15, 2021, fans can preorder a Hot Toys figure inspired by What If... Captain Carter Were The First Avenger?. The 1:6-scale figure features Carter herself, wearing her Captain Carter suit from the episode. It also comes with accessories including the matching shield, her pistol, and her sword. That figure is available to preorder now from Sideshow for $235, with an expected ship date of January-March 2023.THE FIRST EPISODE OF MARVEL’S ‘WHAT IF…?’ GETS HOT TOYS FIGURES - The Pop Insider
*The art style for the series was heavily inspired by the artwork of the artist .Marvel’s What If...? was inspired by a low-key gay icon and favorite of Stucky shippers - Polygon
*As of September 17, 2021, Funko began to showcase some new Pop figures for pretty much every episode of What If...?"Queen General Ramonda Funko Pop Added to Marvel's What If...? Line - Comicbook.com
*On September 18, 2021, the official Marvel Studios twitter account released some promotional images seen in the opening credits of various What If... episodes.Marvel Studios Sept. 18, 2021 Tweet - Twitter
*On September 21, 2021, it was mentioned that despite the focus being on the live-action actors who were able to return to voice their roles in What If..., one significant name which has been a part of Marvel's projects for a while quietly returned, too and that is Seth Green, who has voiced Howard the Duck in animated series like and , and even a brief appearance in James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.Seth Green Interview: Marvel's What If...? - Screen Rant
**Green went onto revealed that that he recorded his lines a year before COVID even happened, further highlighting that “it was before Avengers: Endgame came out.”Seth Green Recorded ‘What If…?’ Long Before ‘Avengers: Endgame’ Even Released in Theaters - Murphy's Multiverse
*On September 23, 2021, Hudson Thames who voiced Spider-Man in the episode What If... Zombies?!, was asked about how he approached being cast as Tom Holland's iteration of Spider-Man. The actor/singer disclosed that his plan for imitating Tom Holland's Peter changed once he found out how much dialogue he'd be voicing stating that: “At first, I was definitely trying to sound like Tom [Holland], and then I realized it wasn't going to be a few lines. [I realized] it was going to be me having to find an identity with that character, so I kind of threw that away and did my thing with it. Serendipitously, we sound a bit similar. As I kept going in more and more for more sessions on the episode, I was like, 'Oh, this is an opportunity to live in this character a little bit' and have fun with it." Thames went on to talk about the research he did for the role in order to capture Tom Holland's "playfulness and energy"...MCU: New Spider-Man Voice Actor Reveals Why He Didn't Want to Copy Tom Holland In What If - The Direct
*On September 24, 2021, it was revealed that the soundtrack for What If... Thor Were an Only Child?, the series seventh episode Season 1 was officially released.Marvel’s “What If…?” Episode Seven Soundtrack Now Available - Laughing PlaceWhat if...? (Episode 7) Original Soundtrack - Spotify
*On September 25, 2021, as part of promoting the episode, Marvel Studios released a wedding invitation for the Las Vegas marriage union of Darcy Lewis and Howard the Duck in the episode What If... Thor Were an Only Child?.Marvel Studios Sept. 25, 2021 IG Post - Instagram 
*On September 26, 2021, according showrunner AC Bradley, what would have been episode 10 of Season 1, but has since been added to Season 2's episode roster, would have been one of the funniest of the season.Marvel's What If...? Delayed Episode Is "Pure Comedy" - Comicbook.com
*On September 27, 2021, Bradley teased that for season 2 "the training wheels come off," allowing the team to bring "weirder" and "wilder" things to the story. She even revealed that one episode has a lot of "(her) own personality" infused, including a hilarious mention of "bad 90's clothing choices".MCU Writer Teases 'Weirder' Season 2 For Marvel's What If - The Direct
*On September the Marvel Studios Twitter account promoted What If... Ultron Won?, the series eight episode for season one.Marvel Studios Sept. 30, 2021 Tweet - Twitter
*On October 4, 2021, Marvel Studios and Disney+ released a new poster ahead of What If... The Watcher Broke His Oath?, the finale for Marvel's What If…? finale featuring Gamora. This Gamora appears to have defeated her adoptive father, Thanos, wearing a version of his armor.Marvel's What If? Reveals New Episode Poster Featuring Gamora
*On October 5, 2021, A.C. Bradley revealed that there was one scene that was too horrifically violent to remain in the Disney+ series. The scene in question was originally intended for What If... Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands?" the tragic story originally also included a brutal murder.Marvel's What If? Changed Horrifically Violent Scene - Comicbook.com
*On October 7, 2021, Bradley confirmed that the episode rumored to feature Tony Stark and Gamora was cut after one of the head production offices had to deal with tough pandemic-related issues. She was also happy to reveal that Tony actually lived all the way through this episode after the first eight entries often times gave the MCU icon a cruel fate.MCU Writer Receives Hate Mail Over Iron Man Stories In Marvel's What If - The Direct
**Also on this day, Andrews, revealed that even before “What If... T'Challa Became a Star-Lord?” became one of the first season’s strongest episodes, plans were coming into shape for a full-on animated spin-off about the variant. “I don’t know if Chadwick Boseman new this, but there was planning to have Star Lord T’Challa spin-off into his own show with that universe and crew,” Andrews said. “We were all very excited. We know he would have loved it, too. And then, you know, he passed, and so all that’s in limbo. So, who knows? Maybe one day.”What If's First Season Almost Had More Gamora, and Led to a Star-Lord T'Challa Spinoff - Gizmodo
*On October 8, 2021, Funko's New York Comic Con 2021 Virtual Con Pop figures launched on this day; which included their lineup of Pop figures for Marvel's What If...? animated series for Season 1 that follow this week's season finale.Marvel's What If...? Season Finale Funko Pops Are On Sale Now - Comicbook.com 
*On October 23, 2021, in a tweet posted earlier today by the official Twitter account of , the series poked fun at Marvel's animated series What If...?, posting a series of images with cast members photoshopped so that they appear to be playing different characters in the series. Featuring Hughie actor Jack Quaid as Homelander, Mother's Milk actor Laz Alonso as A-Train, Kimiko actress Karen Fukuhara as Queen Maeve, and Frenchie actor Tomer Capon as The Deep.The Boys Oct. 23, 2021 Tweet - Twitter
*On October 25, 2021, Iron Studios released promotional images for the 1:10 scale Zombie Captain America statue from What If... Zombies?!, the fifth episode of the Disney+/Marvel Studios animated series What If...?. The collectible is available to pre-order now from Sideshow, priced at $150.Iron Studios brings out its dead with Zombie Captain America Marvel’s What If…? statue - Flickering Myth
*Four variants of Tony Stark died throughout the first season.
==References==
Category:Trivia
Category:What If...?