Tag: What If…?

‘What If’: Pandemic Pushed an Episode Into Season 2

It looks like we might’ve finally gotten the confirmation on how many episodes we can expect in Marvel Studios’ first foray into animation. What If executive producer Brad Winderbaum confirmed that they originally planned ten episodes in the first season before pushing one into the second due to the ongoing pandemic. It also seems to imply that we might get the second entry sooner rather than later.

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. Season 2 will also be 9.

He also goes on to describe their approach to the length of each episode, as they weren’t restricted or given any mandate in regard to how they would tackle each episode, which acts as its own individual story.

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.

There are rumors that at least Captain Carter would make her way into live-action in the upcoming Doctor Strange sequel. The latest trailer also teased that this team of multiversal members will unite as the Guardians of the Multiverse. So, it’s uncertain how it might connect to an overarching story and continue into the second season. It’s still an anthology series at its core. At this point, anything is possible in the MCU.

Source: Collider

August 2, 2021
‘What If’: Dave Bautista Reveals He Was Never Asked to Voice Drax in Disney+ Series

In all our excitement for the upcoming animated series, What If, we’ve been wondering about the noticeable absence of specific actors. We know that a handful of actors, which includes Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans, and Tom Holland aren’t returning for the series. Yet, there was also the surprising absence of Dave Bautista in the list even though we got a brief glimpse of his Drax interacting with T’Challa’s version of Star-Lord. Well, the actor took to Twitter and unveiled he never got asked in the first place.

https://twitter.com/davebautista/status/1422297797588623361?s=21

This reveal is rather surprising, as the actor has been outspoken on his love for the character. We also know he’ll return in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. So, why wouldn’t they want him to reprise the role? Either they already reached their limit on the budget with the massive voice cast, or Drax might not even have a line in the series. Yet, as the image above proves, he’ll interact with T’Challa at some point in the series.

So, it’s a bit baffling how they determine who joined the cast and who doesn’t. It would be great to get an official statement on how this got determined throughout production. Animation takes quite a bit of time, and they confirmed they’ve been working on it long before either Loki or the Doctor Strange sequel entered production. Even James Gunn was surprised by this statement in a reaction to his tweet. He’s openly stated that the upcoming Guardians film is likely the last time he’ll portray the character. We’ll see what the future holds for the iconic team member.

Source: Twitter

August 2, 2021
EXCLUSIVE: ‘What If’s Multiverse Concept Wasn’t Restricted by ‘Loki’ or ‘Doctor Strange’ Sequel

In the final episode of Loki, we watched as the Sacred Timeline expanded into madness. It branched off into every possible direction. This new pathway of infinite universe sets the stage for Marvel Studios’s What If. It’ll be our interlude into the multiverse ahead of Doctor Strange In the Multiverse of Madness. With multiple different projects tackling this unknown territory, it could become difficult to keep things in line between the many creatives involved. In an interview with Charles Murphy, head writer A.C. Bradley discussed how they coordinated with other projects like Loki and Doctor Strange.

When it comes to coordinating between Marvel projects, it’s not as much as you actually think. Weirdly enough because we’re animation and animation is a medium of patience, we started production- I started writing on the show back in the fall, late fall, of 2018, so my job was basically to keep the rules loose, so that the Loki team could if they needed to create anything with the TVA, I hadn’t already set any rules on papers. So, that was kind of easy and fun, it let me run wild, I didn’t have to worry about the TVA and pruning timelines, and I didn’t have to worry so much about Doctor Strange 2. This was just so as much fun in all the weird and wild places that we can go in the multiverse.

Hearing that the team didn’t feel any restrictions with the multiverse and how they could tell their stories is great and should make for some interesting outcomes. Their concept is also loose enough for them not to be too dependent, as they mainly explore different versions o the multiverse based on stories we’ve witnessed in the past years. It also helps that their early work on the project gives others the chance to work from where they left off, as noted with how they left it vague to ensure Loki’s TVA concept wouldn’t get affected.

August 2, 2021
EXCLUSIVE: ‘WHAT IF…?’ Creators Originally Wanted to Go 2D

Marvel Studios’ first foray into animation is set to release on August 11th with What If…?, a series that will span a series of countless alternate outcomes within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. At a glance, the show immediately stands out with its unique art style and animation. However, the series almost looked like a completely different show at one point. In a recent interview with our very own Charles Murphy, What If…? director Bryan Andrews revealed that when the show first began development, they pictured it in 2D animation but decided otherwise due to the amount of work needed.

“Originally .it would’ve been awesome to go 2D because cause I love it, but you know, everyones busy. There’s a lot of animation being made right now and a lot of great studios have already been snatched up and the clock was ticking and we needed to do something. We felt a 3D-for-2D style might actually help us because there was a number of studios that were available that could do that. The only thing was that we wanted to lean even more heavily into the 2D part of that 3D-for-2D because most cel-shaded 2D-for-3D stuff I really dislike. We’re trying to push it and they were all excited about trying to push it as well and its an ongoing process that we’re still trying to figure out.”

With Marvel Studios focusing on more animation, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a 2D animated series down the road to set it apart from What If…? and further expand the possibilities of animation. The art of great 2D animation has been lost in this sophisticated age of 3D animation so a return to form would be most welcome to see.

August 2, 2021
EXCLUSIVE: A Father-Son Stark Episode Almost Made the Cut in Season 1 of ‘WHAT IF…?’

After screening the first three episodes of Marvel Studios What If…?, I had the chance to talk to the series writer, AC Bradley, and director, Bryan Andrews, to get some insight into the creative process behind the studio’s first animated series.

With only 10 episodes and a wealth of ideas from which to choose, I asked Bradley if there were any characters, ideas or places that didn’t make the cut but stood out to her.

“We had dozens of ideas that, hopefully, some of them will pop up in Season 2. But there’s been a few characters that we just couldn’t touch because we didn’t have room or time. I’m happy that we got Howard the Duck in there because that’s such a fan kind of favorite little character-I said, “Let’s give him a moment”-because I doubt he’s going to be joining the Avengers anytime soon. We did have some great story line for multiple characters, like there was an Iron Man story that I really wanted to do, exploring a relationship with his father, but we already had another great Iron Man story. We only have 10 spots, you kinda gotta spread around the love. I’m a sucker for a good kind of sins of the father on the son kinda story.”

Tony’s relationship with his father, Howard, was an integral part of the first 3 phases of the MCU and the idea of Howard’s sins coming back to haunt Tony were central to Iron Man 2 but who knows what other hidden sins of Howard’s could have been explored and how they might have impacted Tony in another universe? Like Bradley said, there’s hope that some of these lost ideas make their way into future seasons, so since she was so keen on this one, maybe it’ll make the list for Season 2.

August 2, 2021
‘What If’: Captain Carter to Utilize Scrapped Captain America Storyboards

We’ve seen some creative ideas make their way into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Yet, there is still something that sadly ends up on the cutting room floor. Normally, a franchise doesn’t get a chance to revisit them, but Marvel Studios’ new animated series What If gives them a unique opportunity. Director Bryan Andrews confirmed that some unused concepts will get utilized through the newly introduced Captain Carter. He’s been with the company since 2010s Avengers as a storyboard artist and finally has the chance to reuse scrapped ideas.

There’s a ton of Captain America stuff that I had done over all the years that just never quite got in there. And I was like, ‘Ah-ha!’ ‘Cause now we have Captain Carter and she’s got the shield, there’s a lot of stuff ready to go… The moves are visually invigorating and they should be on the screen.

Of course, he does confirm there will be a lot of unique elements that belong to Captain Carter and make her stand out from Steve Roger’s time. It’s great they get to bring back old ideas through this show. Who knows, we might even see some concepts from earlier entries that never made it on the silver screen but get adapted in animated form.

The concept of the What If series opens up what feels like endless possibilities and could become a mainstay in Marvel Studios’ line-up. We know that they’ll also adapt a prelude comic, as head writer A.C. Bradley confirmed a version of Fury’s Big Week will get adapted as an Agatha Christie-style story. It’ll be interesting to see what else the ten-episode season might offer once it premieres in a few weeks.

Source: The Direct

August 1, 2021
‘What If’: Tom Holland’s Absence in Cast List May Confirm Spider-Man’s Leaked Identity in Disney+ Series

The official cast list for Marvel Studios animated series What If finally got revealed. It includes a long list of iconic MCU actors that are returning to the franchise to lend their voice to this new venture. Yet, there are some notable absences. Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Brie Larson, and Scarlett Johansson are noticeably absent from the list. We’ve known that Tony Stark will get a new voice actor through the first trailer, but there never was a statement regarding why they didn’t join the production. Yet, there’s another absent actor in the list, whose character we know makes a return to the series, Tom Holland. Toy leaks confirmed a version known as Zombie Hunter Spidey. Yet, a leak hinted that it isn’t Peter Parker in the iconic role.

There was a toy leak that first confirmed Spidey’s appearance in the series. Yet, it wasn’t Parker, but rather mentioned that Steve Rogers took over the role at some point. There’s a chance he took on the mantle after something happened to Peter during the zombie outbreak. He’s also wielding the iconic cape of Doctor Strange, which means the survivors of the outbreak are using all the weapons they have at their disposal. Yet, we know there’s a Zombie Captain America in the series, which opens up a lot of questions about how this zombie outbreak affects the multiverse.

It might connect to the issue regarding Sony’s rights to that specific version of the character. If you look closely, the costume provided in the animated series is different from the films, as the redesign is closer to the ones we see in Disney’s theme park. It’s the one used in the Worldwide Engineering Brigade attraction. So, it seems likely they had to fall back on this version of the character due to the rights. The animated rights to the character returned to Disney and were the reason why Spectacular Spider-Man got canceled back in the day.

So, they might’ve taken this unorthodox direction to include him in the series without requiring Sony’s input. Of course, it could also be a similar case to the absence of other actors. There’s a chance he simply couldn’t return to the role, but they still included a version of Peter Parker that becomes a zombie hunter. The leak teasing Captain America taking on the role could be from another storyline if it turns out true. The Zombie version of Steve Rogers would put a dent in this leak but with a series exploring the multiverse, anything is possible.

Source: Polygon, Comic Book

August 1, 2021
Marvel Studios ‘What If’ Cast List Confirms Clark Gregg’s Return as Agent Coulson

Marvel Studios’ upcoming Disney+ series will explore the alternative realities of stories we’ve followed throughout the last few years. We’ve learned that quite a few iconic actors will reprise their iconic roles from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Surprisingly, there are some receptions as Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, Black Widow, and Captain Marvel will get new voice actors as confirmed in the latest trailer. Yet, there are some great minor characters finally making their return to the franchise, such as the official cast list confirming Clark Gregg’s Agent Coulson returning to the franchise. Here’s the complete cast list for the series as provided by Comic Book:

Andy Serkis, Angela Bassett, Benedict Cumberbatch, Benedict Wong, Benicio Del Toro, Bradley Whitford, Carrie Coon, Chadwick Boseman, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Sullivan, Clancy Brown, Clark Gregg, Cobie Smulders, Danai Gurira, David Dastmalchian, Djimon Hounsou, Dominic Cooper, Don Cheadle, Emily VanCamp, Evangeline Lilly, Frank Grillo, Georges St-Pierre, Hayley Atwell, Jaimie Alexander, Jeff Goldblum, Jeremy Renner, John Kani, Jon Favreau, Josh Brolin, Karen Gillan, Kat Dennings, Kurt Russell, Leslie Bibb, Mark Ruffalo, Michael B. Jordan, Michael Douglas, Michael Rooker, Natalie Portman, Neal McDonough, Ophelia Lovibond, Paul Bettany, Paul Rudd, Rachel House, Rachel McAdams, Samuel L. Jackson, Sean Gunn, Sebastian Stan, Seth Green, Stanley Tucci, Taika Waititi, Tilda Swinton, Toby Jones, Tom Hiddleston, and Tom Vaughan-Lawlor.

It’s crazy to think how many actors returned to lend their voices to the animated series. Yet, some major actors did not return. If they continue the series with multiple seasons, it’ll be curious to see if they can keep this sizeable voice cast. Gregg’s return is a great one, as it also adds to the show, potentially connecting the franchise with the events of Agents of SHIELD, whose canonicity is always an open question. He’ll likely appear in the episode that is based on Fury’s Big Week, the first adaptation of the prelude comic.

Source: Comic Book, Variety

August 1, 2021
Jeffrey Wright Confirms Some ‘What If’ Episodes Were Recorded During the Pandemic

It’s crazy to think that Marvel Studios is heading into animation. The once small production company grew by quite a bit. Disney+ was just the beginning of their next big step. WandaVision kicked off a new era for the company that will soon enter its next phase. What If will expand the franchise into animation and introduce us to the multiverse. As one question can change everything, Jeffrey Wright‘s Uatu will guide us through the various episodes.

The actor had a chance to sit down with Entertainment Weekly to talk bout recording for the series and getting to work on the project alongside Chadwick Boseman, as the animated series will be his last performance within the MCU. He also got to share how he decided on what voice to use, as he has experience with doing voice work. he revealed that a few of the episodes were recorded during quarantine from his closet.

We recorded some of these episodes during lockdown during the pandemic last year. I recorded a bunch of stuff in my closet in Brooklyn. [Laughs] So the preparation was setting up the little mini recording studio and closing the closet door, and banging it out next to my underwear drawer. But it worked out! Good acoustics in there.

It’s become the norm that many actors that do voice work started building recording booths in their homes. Christopher Judge shared some insight into how he did all his work from home while voicing Marvel’s Avengers version of Black Panther. Luckily, it’s gotten easier than ever to work from home. So, they don’t require a fully built booth to do voice work, and actors have gotten creative to solve this issue. Wright shares his excitement about getting to work in his pajamas.

Source: EW

July 28, 2021
‘WHAT IF…?’ Marvel Legends Arrive, Hint at a Live-Action Captain Carter

During today’s Hasbro Pulse Fan First Wednesday, the latest wave of Marvel Legends, this time for the upcoming animated series What If…?, were revealed and may have given away more than just a good look at the characters. The wave, which goes up for pre-order this afternoon at 1:00 PM ET, comes with 7 figures and a Build-A-Figure Uatu. Of the 7, 6 are set to debut in the Disney Plus streaming series What If…?, and the other is labeled “Marvel’s Sylvie” from the recently concluded Loki series. A closer look at the packaging for each character reveals that Haley Atwell’s Captain Carter is called “Marvel’s Captain Carter”, an indication that the character may well make the transition to live-action.

There have been rumors that Carter would appear in an upcoming live-action project, but this is the first evidence of that possibility. The labeling seems intentional to set Captain Carter apart from the other What If…? characters, none of which are labeled as “Marvel’s” characters.

The rest of the wave is comprised of T’Challa as Star-Lord, “Heist” Nebula, Zombie Captain America, a Zombie Hunter Spidey and Doctor Strange Supreme. These Variant characters are likely to be revealed as having come into existence following the death of He Who Remains at the hands of Sylvie, making her inclusion here sensible.

If one had to hazard a guess as to when we might expect Atwell’s Captain Carter to appear, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness would seemingly be a heavy favorite as it is expected to deal with the fallout of Loki.

What If…? will begin streaming weekly on Disney Plus on August 11th.

July 28, 2021