What If...?

What If...? is an animated anthology series, set within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, based on the comic series of the same name. It is part of Phase Four and is the fourth Disney+ MCU series. The second season premiered on December 22, 2023, and the third and final season premiered on December 22, 2024, both as a part of Phase Five.
==Synopsis==
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.
==Plot==
===Season One===
The Watcher examines the different universes containing divergences from their original paths. With each story, he finds a moral that connects to the victors and failings, all the while remaining anonymous and unseen by those inhabiting them. In one such timeline, he allows Stephen Strange to suffer with the destruction of his own universe and the death of the love of his life, despite him reaching out for help. In another timeline, he witnesses Ultron successfully defeat the Avengers and acquire the Infinity Stones; resulting in him becoming aware of the Watcher and wishing to break free from his universe so that he can destroy the others. With no one else to turn to, the Watcher enlists the aid of the Strange that he left in purgatory to help him.
The Watcher and Strange recruit Peggy Carter (from a timeline where she took the super soldier serum instead of Steve Rogers), T'Challa (from a timeline where Yondu took him into space), Gamora (from a timeline where Tony gets lost in space), Erik Killmonger (from a timeline where he rescues and then betrays Tony Stark), and Thor (from a timeline where he did not have Loki as an adoptive brother). Together they become the Guardians of the Multiverse and make a plan to defeat the universe hopping Ultron. They return to to his timeline and recruit that version of Natasha Romanoff to fight Ultron with a stone destroyer, but learn that it only works in Gamora's universe.
Natasha reveals that she has Arnim Zola's consciousness on a hard drive and she and Peggy get it into Ultron resulting in Zola destroying Ultron from the inside. However, Killmonger attempts to take the stones for himself, only for a Zola controlled Ultron to fight him for it. Strange traps the two into an eternal struggle and promises the Watcher that he will watch over them. Everyone is returned to their universe proper, with the exception of Natasha, who is returned to a timeline where she died before the Avengers were formed. Peggy returns to her time, where she travelled to the future and discovers that Steve went into cryogenic sleep as well. The Watcher promises to watch over the Multiverse.
===Season Two===
The Watcher continues his examination of different universes including one where Nebula joined the Nova Corp., young Peter Quill was delivered to Ego, Happy gains Hulk-like powers, Iron Man met the Grandmaster, and Hela joined the Ten Rings. One such new universe introduces a young Mohawk woman named Kahhori who is imbued with the powers of the Tesseract and uses them to help defend her home against the Conquistadores who invaded the New World. Shortly afterward, she is approached by Stephen Strange.
Back in Peggy's universe, she is reunited with Steve, but he has been brainwashed by the Red Room. After this revelation, Peggy is pulled from her universe and into one set in 1602 where many familiar faces are reimagined as people of the era. She discovers that this universe had folded into itself with another, hence the out of place people, but with Tony Stark's help, they discover that the Steve Rogers of this universe accidentally created it. They set things right, but Peggy is left stranded in 1602.
Peggy is soon rescued by Stephen Strange who, following the Guardians of the Multiverse event, had turned his dimension into a base of sorts where he has been collecting universe killers and asks Peggy to go and stop one for him in a universe that has completely wiped itself out. Peggy meets Kahhori who was kidnapped by Strange and Peggy realizes that she has been manipulated. Strange, still obsessing over Christine and his universe's death, has created a forge with the intent to sacrifice several multiversal beings to revive his old one. With the help of the prisoners, Peggy and Kahhori defeat Strange, who learns the error of his ways, and sacrifices himself to the forge. His world is reborn, but without him. The Watcher offers to take Peggy back home, but she asks that she take "the scenic route".
===Season Three===
The Watcher goes about examining more universes including one where Bruce Banner accidentally creates a giant kaiju style monster, forcing the Avengers to create large mechs to battle him; a universe where Agatha plots to steal Tiamut's energy by absorbing the Eternals' powers, while teaming up with Kingo in 1950s Hollywood; another universe where Red Guardian prevents Bucky from assassinating Howard and urges him to go on an adventure with him; and a universe where Howard the Duck and Darcy get married and have a celestial child named Byrdie, who grows up to be a hero in her own right.
Tired of seeing sad universes play out, the Watcher decides to intervene over two universes. One where the Emergence destroyed the earth, leaving everyone stranded, and a universe featuring familiar faces in a 1872 western setting. The Watcher aids Riri Williams in defeating Mysterio and brings the scattered people together, and then aids young Kwai Jun-Fan with helping Shang-Chi and Kate Bishop with taking on The Hood. His actions lead him into conflict with his superiors, the Eminence, the Incarnate, and the Executioner who put him in trial for breaking his oath. Peggy and Kahhori, who are still with the Guardians of the Multiverse, now known as the Exiles, along with Byrdie and Storm learn of the Watcher's troubles and rush to aid him.
The Exiles use pieces of the multiverse to find the Watcher, but are forced to activate an Ultron who won his fight in eradicating the universe. This Ultron has become forlorn over his victory and decides to aid them in rescuing the Watcher, sacrificing himself to the superiors. The Watcher, identified as Uatu, imbues the Exiles with powers and together fight the Watchers, but when they threaten to wipe out every variant of them, Peggy sacrifices herself and transports them to Superior Strange's revived universe (having become the one who controls it) and stops the Watchers. Uatu convinces them to see the beauty in each universe and they decide to let them be. Uatu, Kahhori, Byrdie, and Storm honor Peggy for her sacrifice.
==Voice Cast==
*Jeffrey Wright as The Watcher/Uatu
===Recurring===
*Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter/Captain Carter
*Devery Jacobs as Kahhori
*Chadwick Boseman as Star-Lord T'Challa and T'Challa/Black Panther
*Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange/Strange Supreme
*Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury
*Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes 
*Josh Keaton as Skinny Steve Rogers and Steve Rogers/Captain America
*Chris Hemsworth as Thor
*Tom Hiddleston as Loki
*Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton/Hawkeye
*Lake Bell as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow
*Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/Hulk
*Mick Wingert as Tony Stark/Iron Man
*Paul Bettany as Vision and Jarvis
*Cate Blanchett as Hela
*Feodor Chin as Xu Wenwu
*Ross Marquand as Ultron/Sub-Ultron Sentries
*Alexandra Daniels as Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel
*Clark Gregg as Agent Coulson
*Danai Gurira as Okoye (Season 1)
**Kenna Ramsey as Okoye (Season 3)
*Karen Gillan as Nebula
*Jaimie Alexander as Lady Sif
*Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan/Freak
*Michael B. Jordan as Killmonger
*Cynthia McWilliams as Gamora
*Mike McGill as General Thaddeus Ross
*John Kani as T'Chaka
*Seth Green as Howard the Duck
*Frank Grillo as Brock Rumlow
*Fred Tatasciore as Drax, Corvus Glaive, and Volstagg
*Toby Jones as Arnim Zola
*Oscar Isaac as Marc Spector/Moon Knight
*Simu Liu as Shang-Chi
*Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams/Ironheart
*David Harbour as Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian
*Kathryn Hahn as Agatha Harkness
*Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau
*Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson/Captain America
===Guests===
*Dominic Cooper as Howard Stark
*Stanley Tucci as Dr. Erskine
*Bradley Whitford as John Flynn
*Ross Marquand as Johann Schmidt/Red Skull
*Neal McDonough as Dum Dum Dugan
*Maddix Robinson as Young T'Challa
*Michael Rooker as Yondu
*Josh Brolin as Thanos
*Benicio del Toro as The Collector
*Kurt Russell as Ego
*Ophelia Lovibond as Carina
*Carrie Coon as Proxima Midnight
*Tom Vaughan-Lawlor as Ebony Maw
*Djimon Hounsou as Korath
*Sean Gunn as Kraglin
*Chris Sullivan as Taserface
*Brian T. Delaney as Peter Quill
*Michael Douglas as Hank Pym/Yellow Jacket
*Rachel McAdams as Christine Palmer
*Benedict Wong as Wong (Season 1 & 2)
**David Chen as Wong (Season 3)
*Tilda Swinton as The Ancient One
*Paul Rudd as Scott Lang/Ant-Man
*Hudson Thames as Peter Parker/Spider-Man
*David Dastmalchian as Kurt
*Natalie Portman as Jane Foster
*Taika Waititi as Korg
*Jeff Goldblum as Grandmaster (Season 1 & 2)
**Matt Friend as Grandmaster (Season 3)
*Josette Eales as Frigga
*David Chen as Hogun
*Max Mittelman as Fandral
*Clancy Brown as Surtur
*Andy Serkis as Ulysses Klaue
*Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill
*Don Cheadle as Rhodey
*Emily VanCamp as Sharon Carter
*Evangeline Lilly as Hope van Dyne/Wasp
*Georges St-Pierre as Batroc
*Kat Dennings as Darcy Lewis
*Rachel House as Topaz
*Angela Bassett as Queen Ramonda
*Beth Hoyt as Pepper Potts
*Ozioma Akagha as Shuri
*Stephanie Panisello as Betty Ross
*Kiff VandenHeuvel as Obadiah Stane
*Leslie Bibb as Christine Everhart
*America Ferrera as Ranger Morales
*Alison Sealy-Smith as Ororo Munroe/Storm
*Hailee Steinfeld as Kate Bishop
*Kumail Nanjiani as Kingo
*Natasha Lyonne as Byrdie The Duck
*David Kaye as Arishem
*Hamish Parkinson as Beerbot 5000
*Wyatt Russell as John Walker/U.S. Agent
*James D'Arcy as Edwin Jarvis
*Meng'er Zhang as Xu Xialing
*Walton Goggins as Sonny Burch
*Rachel Weisz as Melina Vostokoff (Season 2)
**Kari Wahlgren as Melina Vostokoff and Carina (Season 3)
*Brittany Adebumola as Nakia
*Piotr Michael as General Dreykov
*Gene Farber as Vasily Karpov
*Jared Butler as Kaecilius
*Steve French as Malekith
*Andrew Morgado as Laufey
*Darin De Paul as Zeus and The Executioner
*Alejandro Saab as Mysterio
*Michelle Wong as Ying Nan
*Jason Isaacs as The Eminence
*D.C. Douglas as The Incarnate
*Allen Deng as Kwai Jun-Fan
==Videos==
Exclusive First Look - What If…? - Disney+
Marvel Studios' What If…? - Official Trailer - Disney+
Ask The Question - Marvel Studios’ What If…? - Disney+
“Steve” Official Clip - Marvel Studios’ What If…? - Disney+
“What Is What If…?” Featurette - Marvel Studios’ What If…? - Disney+
Moment - Marvel Studios’ What If…? - Disney+
“Are You Seeing This?” Official Clip - Marvel Studios’ What If…? - Disney+
Mind Bending - Marvel Studios’ What If…? - Disney+
“Land a Punch” Official Clip - Marvel Studios’ What If…? - Disney+
“The Lost Books” Official Clip - Marvel Studios’ What If…? - Disney+
"Zombies" Official Clip - Marvel Studios' What If...? - Disney+-2
Mid-Season Sneak Peek - Marvel Studios' What If...? - Disney+-2
“Power Source” Official Clip - Marvel Studios’ What If…? - Disney+
“First Contact” Official Clip - Marvel Studios’ What If…? - Disney+
Finale - Marvel Studios’ What If…? - Disney+
“Thor Has Been Chosen” Official Clip - Marvel Studios’ What If…? - Disney+
Marvel Studios Assembled- The Making of What If…? - Official Trailer - Disney+
Marvel Studios’ What If…? Season 2 - Official Trailer - Disney+
Marvel Studios' What If... ? Season 2 l Holiday Wordplay l Disney+
Marvel Animation’s What If…? Season 3 - Official Trailer - Disney+
==Gallery==
==Trivia==
*Kevin Feige and the producer Richie Palmer explain that it was what Loki and Sylvie did at the end of Loki season 1 (with the "activation" of the Multiverse) that led to the possibilities seen in What If...?, Spider-Man: No Way Home, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
*This was Chadwick Boseman's final role as Black Panther before his death.
**The episode "What If... T'Challa Became a Star-Lord?" is dedicated in Chadwick Boseman's memory.
**Chadwick Boseman's T'Challa appeared in 4 episodes of the first seasons, as well as voicing different versions of the character.Chadwick Boseman's Episode Count For Marvel's What If Revealed
*Robert Downey Jr. (Iron-Man), Chris Evans (Captain America), Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow), Tom Holland (Spider-Man), and Brie Larson (Captain Marvel) do not reprise their roles for this series.Spider-Man Star Tom Holland Doesn't Voice Zombie Hunter Spidey in Marvel's What If...?Hulk & More Featured In New Trailer For Marvel Studios' What If...?
**The Spider-Man movie rights still being in negotiations between Disney and Sony is the reason why Holland doesn't reprise his role as Spider-Man for the series.Marvel Finally Weighs on Tom Holland's Spider-Man Recasting
*Hayley Atwell's Captain Carter appears in every season of the show, according to the producers.MCU Producer Explains Why Hayley Atwell's Carter Will Return In Future Seasons of What If...?
*Several scenarios were pitched for the series but were rejected as they were already ideas which were going to be used in then-upcoming Marvel projects. Such scenarios include: 
**Old-man Steve Rogers & Professor Hulk, which would happen in Avengers: Endgame. MCU Writer Accidentally 'Spoiled' Avengers: Endgame & Thor 4 For Herself While Pitching What If...?
**Jane Foster lifting Mjolnir and becoming Thor, which would happen in Thor: Love and Thunder.
**A.C. Bradley revealed that a pitch for a Guardians of the Galaxy-focused episode was rejected because it turned out to be half of the plot of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.Marvel’s What If…? Crew Explains Why They Went 3D Over 2D & A Scrapped Episode That Was Too Close To GOTG 3
*One rejected idea for the series was "What if Peter Parker turned into a real spider?", reminiscent of Man-Spider from the comics. This was rejected because it "was just too dark and too body horror for (a PG-13 rating)".Marvel Studios Rejected This Spider-Man Episode Idea For Being Too Scary For Disney+'s What If
*Originally, season one consisted of ten episodes. This was cut down to nine due to the Coronavirus pandemic, with the cut episode being pushed back to season two.Marvel Studios Is Releasing Fewer Episodes Than Originally Promised For Disney+'s What If...?
**According to A.C. Bradley, the episode that was pushed back to season two was "more in the pure comedy vein", and would focus on Tony Stark. Season Two EpisodeEpisode Ten Features Tony Stark
*According to A.C. Bradley, while Season One focused on "big, let's end the world, let's kill everyone" arcs, Season Two episodes will "focus a lot more on the character stories and these heroes and showing a different side of them that people don't expect and hopefully they can relate to". Season Two More Character Focused
*According to Kevin Feige, "Season two will definitely incorporate movies from Phase 4" (Black Widow onwards). Season Two to feature Phase Four
*Gamora's episode was originally going to be in season 1, but was pushed back to season 2, due to Coronavirus complications and there was going to be a spin-off series, featuring on T'Challa/Star-Lord before Chadwick Boseman's death.Inside Marvel’s ‘What If…?’ Finale, Season 2 Plans and the T’Challa Spinoff That Never Was
*Bryan Andrews always planned on having Jeffrey Wright voice The Watcher.Marvel Studios: Assembled The Making of What If...?
*The show's second and third season was announced at Comic Con, with season 2 being released in 2023 and season 3 was confirmed.Comic-Con 2022: MCU and DC Major Announcements & Schedule
*On the Marvel Movies wiki, the universe in which the series takes place, has been called Earth-82111, although it is not said in any What If...? episode.
==References==
==External Links==
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Category:What If...?
Category:Animated series
Category:Disney+ Originals
Category:Anthology series
Category:2020s television series
Category:Marvel Cinematic Universe series
Category:Marvel series
Category:Annie Award Nominated
Category:Annie Award Winner
Category:Emmy Award winning shows
Category:Shows based on comics