Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: What If…?

  • Update: Marvel Studios ‘What If…?’ Set for an August Debut, Date Still Uncertain

    Update: Marvel Studios ‘What If…?’ Set for an August Debut, Date Still Uncertain

    Update: After speaking with Disney, we understand that, as of now, no release date has been set for the series and the original report was in error.

    What Is Marvel's What If…? The Disney Plus Animated Series Explained - IGN

    What If…? will revisit some of the key moments in the MCU and reimagine those events in unexpected ways. Concept art and trailers for the 10-episode series have shown off some of the characters such as T’Challa as Star-Lord, an Ultron from a timeline where he apparently won, Super Soldier Peggy Carter and a most excellent Party Thor. The series will also introduce Uatu the Watcher, voiced by Jeffrey Wright, to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Production on a second season of the show has already begun and early feedback on the series has been incredibly positive. As of now, Disney has not addressed whether or not they’ll drop all 10 episodes at once, a few in week one or stick with the weekly format they’ve followed pretty routinely so far.

     

    Source: Bad Taste

     

  • Marvel Studios’ ‘What If’ Eyeing an August Release Date

    Marvel Studios’ ‘What If’ Eyeing an August Release Date

    In about a month we will get introduced to a new perspective on time travel in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Disney+’s next project, Loki, will see the return of our favorite God of Mischief from the altered timeline due to the Avengers meddling in Avengers: Endgame. There are still three more shows set to release in the latter half of the year with Ms. Marvel, Hawkeye, and What If. It is still unclear when we can expect these series to release, but it looks like an article by Entertainment Weekly may have offered some more details. They offered an exclusive look at what we can expect in summer 2021.

    It kicks off with June 9th’s release of Loki and goes through various shows that are set to premiere in the coming months. It includes the recently announced Masters of the Universe: Revelations, Ted Lasso, and many more. At the 22nd spot, Marvel Studios’ What If was highlighted and they reveal it is eyeing an August release. It makes sense as Loki will run for around six episodes with it ending in July. They might have some time between the seasons to promote it.

    The series will feature various alternative timelines, where the events we have witnessed in the MCU took on a unique form, such as Peggy Carter taking the Super Soldier serum. It will also be the last work that Chadwick Boseman did for Marvel Studios before his tragic passing. He will voice T’Challa who set out into space instead of Peter Quill. It’ll be interesting to see if we get an official release date announcement before Loki premieres, as we haven’t gotten a new trailer since December’s Investor Days.

    Source: Entertainment Weekly

  • RUMOR: Latest LEGO Toy Leak Hints at a New ‘What If’ Spider-Man and ‘Loki’s Throg

    RUMOR: Latest LEGO Toy Leak Hints at a New ‘What If’ Spider-Man and ‘Loki’s Throg

    At this point, I think Marvel Studios will not trust any toy companies anymore. It looks like, once again, a leak from the toy company has offered a bit more insight into an upcoming project than it should be. The site Brick Fan has uncovered a list of LEGO Minifigures that are inspired by the various Disney+ shows. It includes quite a long list of characters, such as WandaVision‘s Scarlet Witch and White Vision alongside Bucky and Sam Wilson’s Captain America, which got heavily teased in the last episode of Falcon and Winter Soldier. It also includes some confirmed characters for the What If series, T’Challa as Star-Lord, Zombie Captain America, and Captain Britain. Of course, you’re not here for the already well-known characters.

    The list includes the first mention of Lady Loki. She’s been rumored since the first potential hint at a child-version of the God of Mischief hit the web. There is also the mention of Loki alongside Throg, which could hint at the character’s live-action debut in the June series. He isn’t just a Thor version of frog, but actually, a man named Simon Walterson. He was turned into a frog by Loki in the comics. Now, the list also includes some reveals for What If. There is mention of a version of Steve Rogers, who holds the title Spider-Man. There was an interview some time ago where Chris Evans revealed he would love to be Spider-Man, but disliked the costume. So, maybe his wish finally came true. We have to take this with a grain of salt, but it would be quite a curious direction if it turns out to be true.

    What gives this some credence is the inclusion of a Thanos version of Gamora. Her artwork was leaked alongside Ultron not too long ago. If we consider that would imply the other characters included in this Minifigure group may make their appearance in the MCU’s future. The curious inclusion of Steve Rogers as Spider-Man makes it a bit questionable, as the character does belong to Sony. Perhaps this could be a sign for a new era, as he can appear on the Disney+ projects. It’ll be interesting to see how this potentially pays off once the series release.

    Source: Brick Fan via The Direct, ScreenRant

  • ‘What If’ Concept Art Leaks Online Teasing the Return of Ultron

    ‘What If’ Concept Art Leaks Online Teasing the Return of Ultron

    It looks like some concept art for the upcoming What If series has found its way online teasing some iconic characters in new designs. It isn’t the first time something related to Marvel Studios’ first animated series finds its way online, as recently a poster was released prematurely featuring our first look at various characters. The art teases some recognizable faces, such as Loki in his Thor get-up and Tony Stark riding a makeshift Hulkbuster. To be fair, we can’t make out his face so anyone could be in that suit.

    We even will have the return of Benicio del Toro‘s Collector. Now, what stands out is that it showcases Gamora in Thanos’ armor. It would hint at her embracing the legacy her adoptive father decided to pass on to her rather than running away with the Guardians of the Galaxy. Yet, the biggest reveal is the return of Ultron, who hasn’t appeared since 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron.

    Now, it doesn’t confirm if James Spader will return to take on the character, but if you consider most of the MCU staff are returning for their characters it is rather likely. His design seems to imply he has become a ruler and could hint at a story if he won the battle for Sokovia. Now, that would imply that his meteor did exactly what it was intended to do and the world was reshaped in metal.

    Now, that is a fun idea to play around with as it would be the MCU’s way of introducing the Wasteland from the Future Imperfect and Old Man Logan series. It recently introduced in the Marvel’s Avengers game as part of the Hawkeye DLC. What If is starting to shape into a must-watch once it releases some time this summer.

    Source: Twitter

  • Latest ‘What If’ Merchandise Teases Party Thor and Zombie Captain America

    Latest ‘What If’ Merchandise Teases Party Thor and Zombie Captain America

    It looks like some more merchandise has found its way online. Yesterday, a poster was uncovered that teased the Guardians of the Multiverse. It included a variety of characters that we have seen in past trailers. Yet, it also gave us a look at some new characters that might get the spotlight with their own episode. Interestingly enough, The Direct discovered some more merchandise on the site Ocio Stock that highlighted a missing member of the multiversal guardians, the zombified version of Captain America. It was odd that he was missing, as he was one of the earliest reveals for the series, but he might not be the main focus of his episode.

     

     

    Now, there is one rather surprising reveal, as it looks like the merchandise revealed the Thor-focused episode. It seems that he is going to throw quite the party, as he is highlighted as “Party Thor” in the merch alongside his iconic hammer. The trailer from Disney’s Investors Day did offer a glimpse at Thor recovering his iconic hammer similar to what we witnessed in the first Thor film. Perhaps this version of the character ends up pulling the hammer out and wants to celebrate his victory.

     

    There are a few other pieces of merchandise, but nothing as revealing as the Party Thor shirt and baseball caps. There is also a unique logo that gives us the duality of Jeffrey Wright‘s Watcher. We get his “human” form with half of his face turning into the galactic version we have seen throughout most of the teasers. It was only the latest poster that gave us a look at the character’s physical form. It’ll be interesting to see if more merchandise hits the web and if we can expect a new trailer alongside a release date soon.

    Source: OcioStock via The Direct

  • Leaked ‘What If’ Promo Teases the Guardians of the Multiverse

    Leaked ‘What If’ Promo Teases the Guardians of the Multiverse

    The trend continues that toys and merchandise reveal some first looks at upcoming Marvel Studios projects. Twitter user @AnneComics found a rather curious piece at a trip to the mall that features the Guardians of the Multiverse. In it, we can clearly see characters that were already confirmed for the upcoming What If series heading to Disney+. T’Challa as Star-Lord, a sinister-looking Doctor Strange, and Captain Britain are all present. Interestingly, this is already readily available as the marketing for the series hasn’t started yet. So, they probably weren’t supposed to release that just yet and it found its way online. The reason it is strange is that it also offers a look at other characters that might get the spotlight in various episodes, such as Killmonger, Gamora, Thor, and Black Widow. It also presents us with our first clear look at Uatu the Watcher.

    https://twitter.com/AnneComics/status/1381330404045688832?s=19

    The promotional artwork is already available on the FYE shopping site. So, here is a higher solution look at it:

     

     

    Now, the big question on our minds is if the Guardians of the Multiverse may end up as an actual team. I doubt it, as it could be a simple slogan used for the advertising to pull the show’s anthology set-up together. It could be a fun concept for the various alternative realities to merge at the end of the season and battle a common foe, which would add a new connective tissue between these shows. It’ll be interesting to see if these characters are also highlighted once the official push for the series begins, which will most likely start airing after Loki ends its run. For now, we can only wait in anticipation to see more of that amazing animation once the next trailer is released.

    Source: Twitter, FYE

  • Theory Thursday: How ‘What If…?’ Sets Up ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’

    Theory Thursday: How ‘What If…?’ Sets Up ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’

    Marvel Studios is exploring new avenues with this summer’s Disney+ animated series What If..? To those unfamiliar, the anthology comic run that started in 1977 explored alternate realities. It would explore how one detail could change the curse of history. So, now that Marvel Studios is exploring new ventures, such as WandaVision‘s sitcom stylings, the animated series may elevate the MCU to new creative heights by exploring different genres. After Avengers: Endgame introduced the concept of alternative timelines into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it made us wonder if the upcoming multiversal storyline might be more relevant than we might at first expect.

     

    A Multiversal Question

     

    Around a week ago, I discussed the new direction for Marvel Studios’ canonical timeline. At the moment, the main timeline has remained pretty linear over the past decade. Avengers: Endgame changed that two years ago, as we got introduced to this universe’s time travel. The moment they change something in the past, the ripple effect will create a new timeline. As you can see in the visual above, What If is about to split the timeline up into the multiverse. Theoretically, this show might give Marvel fans their first full-on deep dive into the expansion that I believe will be known as The Marvel Cinematic Multiverse moving forward. Not just that, it also will have some deeper implications for the franchise’s future. 

     

    Just The Beginning

     

    The first trailer for What If…? gave us a glimpse at multiple alternate universes. If I had to choose, I’m most excited about the one focused on Doctor Strange. I believe that, unlike the other episodes, it won’t retell a previous episode but rather tease one that’s yet to come. So, I firmly believe it will provide a glimpse of his upcoming sequel. Not just that, it will also tease the main villain that will bring madness into the multiverse. He is rather prominent in the trailer, as it teased us with an alternate version of the magical doctor that has fallen to the dark side.

     

     

    He could bring about the destruction of the world (and possibly the multiverse as we know it). Upon closer examination, he conjures a very familiar form of red magic with black dots swirling around it. I suspect that this may turn out to be Chaos Magic, which we got introduced to in WandaVision. This version of Strange seems to be losing his humanity, as he has tentacles expanding from his hand. I believe that this isn’t Strange but rather someone imitating him. Whoever this individual turns out to be, there is a good chance he might be the main villain of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. After the season finale of WandaVision teased Wanda’s quest, she may have found her way into this alternate dimension. If you take a closer look at the image above, you can see a woman in red staring at this twisted version of Strange. Going by her red outfit, I suspect she could turn out to be Wanda seeking her children.

     

    Anything is Possible

     

    The Doctor Strange sequel is among my most anticipated MCU films to release in the coming years. When the multiverse is involved, pretty much anything and everything is on the table. Perhaps we even get to revisit the alternate realities presented in What If. Just imagine Doctor Strange and Wanda Maximoff enter an alternate reality centered around Marvel Zombies, which pays tribute to Army of Darkness. It would be a waste not to pay tribute to the film that the same director, Sam Raimi, worked onn. Or, you could have Doctor Strange face off against different versions of characters we know, like a live-action Peggy Carter as Captain Britain. Case in point, you should consider paying attention to What If…?, especially now that the multiverse is about to be blown wide open.

     

     

    Case in point, you should definitely consider paying attention to What If…?, especially now that the Multiverse is about to be blown wide open.

  • Marvel Studios Should ‘TEAM-UP’ On Disney+

    Marvel Studios Should ‘TEAM-UP’ On Disney+

    It’s been almost two years since we last saw Marvel Studios grace the famous Hall H stage at San Diego Comic-Con, and what a doozy that last presentation was. We were lucky enough to be granted a plethora of project announcements that included everything but the kitchen sink. From the bold new film horizons of Eternals and Shang-Chi to the comforting return of fan-favorite characters to the small screen with Hawkeye and WandaVision. Yet one of the most exciting announcements was also perhaps the least talked about. In 1977, Marvel Comics launched a series titled What If…?, a comic book that explored what the Marvel Universe might look like if key events in its history occurred differently. At the aforementioned 2019 Comic-Con, Marvel Studios revealed it would produce an animated series by the same exact title, serving the same exact purpose, albeit for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It’s an experimental work for the studio, featuring their first foray into animation, and is sure to aid in Marvel’s quest to diversify their storytelling heading into the future, but there’s one aspect of the series that is particularly exciting. Just like the comic it draws inspiration from, it’s an anthology. The show gives the viewers a chance to see a new adventure, starring different characters, every week. It’s an exciting format that opens up countless possibilities in terms of expanding what fans already know about the MCU, and if it goes over well with the general audience, I don’t think Marvel should stop using it after What If…?. After all, why quit adapting disco era anthology magazines after only one? Mr. Kevin Feige, if you’re reading this, I’m here to make a case for Marvel Studios’ Team-Up, the greatest Disney+ original that doesn’t exist. Yet.

     

    First off, a little history lesson. Marvel Team-Up is a comic series that originally ran for 150 issues (plus seven annuals) from 1972 until 1985. The basic premise was as simple as the title: in each issue, one Marvel character would unexpectedly bump into another Marvel character while dealing with a problem, and then the two characters would work together to solve said problem. Oftentimes, the objective of the book was to promote minor characters by throwing them into adventures with major ones (i.e. Spider-Man meets Werewolf by Night), and then to fill the spaces in between with marquee pairings that could maintain sales and keep interest with readers (i.e. Spider-Man and the X-Men). The villains of these stories also had a tendency to be lesser-known threats, such as Zarrko the Tomorrow Man or the Grey Gargoyle, so that the arrival of big-name baddies could be saved for more mainstream titles. Although it wasn’t advertised as a Spider-Man series, the web-head was featured as one of the main characters in 140 issues and all but one of the annuals, and the series was subsequently replaced by a new ongoing Spidey book after a 13-year run. The popularity of the team-up concept persisted, however, and Marvel Team-Up found itself revived three more times, in 1995, 2005, and 2019, for a handful of issues each, while alternate versions of the Spider-Man character found themselves meeting all kinds of super powered individuals in the similarly short-lived Ultimate Marvel Team-Up and Superior Spider-Man Team-Up.

     

    If Marvel Studios thinks they can find success copying the What If…? formula and pasting it onto their own Marvel universe, I think they can find success doing the same thing with Marvel Team-Up. Maybe I’m biased, considering the series was among the first I ever read as a kid and does have a hefty amount of sentimental value, but the idea makes a lot of sense in context as well. If you think about it, the general idea behind the original Team-Up was even used in a reverse fashion by Sony to some effect for their newest Spider-Man trilogy, co-produced by Marvel Studios, in which they found ways to team Spidey up with established MCU characters (Iron Man, Nick Fury, and reportedly, Doctor Strange) in an attempt to promote his new brand. Now imagine, for a moment, that strategy being applied to a hypothetical show wherein each week, two MCU characters, who wouldn’t be likely to interact often in any sort of film, cross paths and take down a relatively minor threat in the time span of an hour-long episode. The show’s objective would function much like that of the comic, mixing the marvelous misadventures of less popular MCU heroes or side-characters with bigger names, in an effort to give the spotlight to actors who wouldn’t normally have a chance to show what they’re made of and create fun new character dynamics that fans might not even know they needed. It would also be a chance for Marvel Studios to flesh out their universe in an organic way, showing what their protagonists and deuteragonists get themselves into when the big events aren’t happening, and opening the door for a litany of quirky new villains to make their live-action debut without taking time or space away from the main films and television series. Obviously, this kind of show would cost a small fortune to cast if every episode featured Spider-Man or Doctor Strange-level characters, but following the book’s given format would mean that the majority of episodes could center around cheaper names and faces, and the proof that folks would still tune in to watch is already in the WandaVision-flavored pudding. One of the latest episodes mainly featured Randall Park’s Jimmy Woo (side character from Ant-Man and the Wasp) teaming up with Kat Dennings‘ Darcy Lewis (side character from Thor) to solve a supernatural mystery involving Teyonah Parris‘ Monica Rambeau (side character from Captain Marvel), and half of Twitter is already calling for Marvel to make a spin-off.

    A potential Team-Up series could also capitalize on the same kind of behind-the-scenes hype that The Mandalorian has used as a mixed marketing and creative golden goose since its inception. With the Team-Up pitch acting as an anthology, every episode could also feature the work of a different director, famous or otherwise, lending their talented touch to the script and conversation-inducing name to the credits. It would give Marvel Studios the opportunity to work with boundless talent from every race, gender, and creed (should they take it, and they should), and would allow multiple directors to get their hands on the world of Marvel, if only for an hour or so at a time. Perhaps Edgar Wright was never able to make his Ant-Man movie as intended, and perhaps we’ll never get the “young Hank Pym and Janet van Dyne series” that many fans found themselves clamoring for a couple of years ago, but we could hypothetically get an Ant-Man and the Wasp team-up episode set in the 1960s, directed by Edgar Wright as a consolation prize. As a bonus, should a certain director prove more than capable of handling the MCU, the studio could even make the move to give them a larger project, which is once again something we’ve seen work with The Mandalorian and Deborah Chow, who, after an impressive showing in the debut series, is on her way to direct every episode of the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi show. The same goes for guest appearances from new characters. The second season of The Mandalorian made headlines when Timothy Olyphant seduced audiences as Cobb Vanth for only a single sultry episode, and it now seems possible that he could appear in more Star Wars content down the line. Envision the kind of damage he could do in an episode of Marvel Studios’ Team-Up, playing long-lost Asgardian warrior Balder the Brave, as he fights alongside Jamie Alexander as Lady Sif and Simu Liu as the misplaced Shang-Chi, against the evil forces of the witch Karnilla and her magic Norn Stones in the realm of Nornheim, all directed by Rick Famuyiwa. Wouldn’t you like to see a Disney Gallery inside look at that episode? Put it back-to-back with the Jimmy Woo/Darcy Lewis reunion and you have yourself a show. Also keep in mind that the MCU is only growing, and soon a series like Marvel Studios’ Team-Up would be able to include characters from the world of X-Men, Blade, and the Fantastic Four, which most of us would see as an absolute win.

     

    One quick side note, should Marvel Studios not be able to afford such a series in live-action, it wouldn’t be heartbreaking to bring the project to life via animation, like What If…? before it. Animation is a wonderful medium for all ages, and the market for exclusive animated shows on Disney+ has never been better, thanks to the valiant effort of The Clone Wars seventh and final season. We now know that the entertainment juggernaut has no problem getting its impressive stable of performers to return for one-episode vocal parts, and if Marvel can strike another deal with Quebec-based animators Squeeze, they could create any environment for any episode, without having to build a set.

  • Frank Grillo Confirms Crossbones Return in ‘What If’

    Frank Grillo Confirms Crossbones Return in ‘What If’

    All eyes are on the upcoming Disney+ series. WandaVision is going to finally air this Friday. Falcon and the Winter Soldier is eyeing a release in March before Loki takes over in May. Those aren’t all the shows we can expect this year. 2021 is going to be huge for Marvel Studios after last year’s hiatus. Among them, What If is going to be their first venture into animation. The series is set to re-explore the films from the first three phases, but with a twist. They have teased that a wide variety of MCU actors will return to voice the characters they made iconic. Well, it looks like one more is joining the fray.

    In an interview with Collider’s Steven Weintraub, actor Frank Grillo revealed that he will be involved with the upcoming What If project. Of course, he didn’t give away what we can expect from his return as Crossbones, but he did give us a hint for how many episodes he’ll be around.

    CAA called, my agents called and said, ‘They’re doing this thing, What If…?, and they have four or five episodes planned out, you can do it all in one [day].’ I’m like, ‘Whatever, I don’t care what the money [is], it doesn’t matter, yes I’m going to do it. Absolutely. All day, every day.’

    Grillo‘s enthusiasm is certain infections. We still don’t know much about What If, which primarily seems to focus on different scenarios with simple twists. So far, we’ve seen an evil Doctor Strange, Peggy Carter replacing Steve Rogers, and a Zombie Captain America. There is a good chance he is involved with the Zombie episode, which could be connected to Crossbones bio-weapon that was originally meant to kill Cap during Captain America: Civil War. At this point, it is just pure speculation, but it certainly is going to be exciting to see how they’ll twist our understanding of the stories we’ve spent so much time with in the last twelve years.

    Source: Collider

  • Deep Thoughts: One Hypothetical Marvel Studios 2022 Release Calendar

    Deep Thoughts: One Hypothetical Marvel Studios 2022 Release Calendar

    Earlier this week, we looked at one hypothetical 2021 release calendar for Marvel Studios. That possible calendar saw Hawkeye wrapped up on Christmas Eve 2021 and it seemed like a bad place to stop thinking. Following the same premise of trying to get new content out on as many Fridays as possible, here’s one totally made up and hypothetical way Marvel Studios could do that in 2022!

    ***NOTE***

    Please read and share responsibly and don’t latch your hopes and dreams onto this. Don’t take it seriously and don’t start marking your calendars. This is one possible option with the only real intention behind it being to see if it could be done well.

     

    After originally thinking Hawkeye would carry over into 2022, we learned that the series is only 6-episodes, meaning it will conclude on Christmas Eve 2021 and they’ll probably skip out on New Year’s Eve content. If we assume Marvel Studios follows a similar start to WandaVision in that it allows the studios to return from the 2-week holiday layoff, get whatever press events and social media teases up and running in the week leading up to release, the 2022 Marvel Studios onslaught will kick off on January 14th!

    She-Hulk is going to get to kick off 2022 in style. The Tatiana Maslany-led comedy series begins filming in Atlanta in March 2021 and could easily turn episodes around in time for a mid-January 2022 release. The series is filming for quite a long time and we’ve seen some information that leads us to believe they could be filming as many as 10 episodes next year. Whether that is one long season or two is unknown, but should it be one, long 10 episode season, it could run from January 14th until March 11th, which fits nicely in our big puzzle.

    Should Marvel Studios continue their Marvel Studios Legends series, they could stream a Doctor Strange episode the weekend of March 18th, one week ahead of the release of Doctor Strange: In the Multiverse of Madness. By the time this film comes out, it’ll have been 6 years since the first film and almost 3 years since we last saw the Sorcerer Supreme on the big screen, so it wouldn’t be the worst idea to catch fans up and tell the story to new audiences. We would also expect the final trailer for Thor: Love and Thunder and the first trailer for Black Panther II to be released ahead of this so theater audiences could preview them ahead of the film.

    The sledding gets a little rougher here with Moon Knight potentially running into the theatrical release of Thor: Love and Thunder. Thankfully, I am reminded that Season 1 of The Mandalorian took a Friday off so that audiences could head to theaters to catch The Rise of Skywalker (big high five to The Machine for helping me get out of my mental rut). That same idea could work here and who knows, maybe a film that includes a God Butcher could unexpectedly tie-in to a series about a guy working as the Earthly avatar of an Egyptian god…

     

    Thor: Love and Thunder promises to be an absolutely wild ride. Taika Waititi is back and has made no bones about the fact that he’s turning everything up on this one. Chris Hemsworth’s Thor is the first Marvel Studios solo character to move beyond the trilogy structure meaning all bets are off. Natalie Portman returning as Jane Foster to become the Mighty Thor is the biggest news, but adding Academy Award Winner Christian Bale as Gorr the God Butcher, bringing back Jamie Alexander as Lady Sif alongside Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie AND having the Guardians of the Galaxy along for the ride make this the studio’s biggest non-Avengers film to date.

    An episode of Marvel Studios Legends for Nick Fury and Talos seems like a must leading into Secret Invasion. We know Talos has posed as Fury in the past and it’d be alright if Marvel Studios cleared some of that up heading into Secret Invasion and that could stream on May 13th, one week after Thor 4 hits theaters.  Secret Invasion is still in the earliest stages of development, so there’s no word on an episode count, but for the purposes of this calendar, we’re sticking with the standard six; hypothetically, if Secret Invasion kicked off a six-week run on May 20th, it would conclude on June 24th, just ahead of Black Panther II.

     

    It’s still tough to think about a sequel to Black Panther happening without Chadwick Boseman, but Marvel Studios has a plan and a date. An episode of Marvel Studios Legends ahead of this film could serve not only as a tribute to Boseman, but also as a way to highlight whomever Marvel Studios has chosen to focus on from the World of Wakanda. Black Panther II is currently set to premiere on July 8th, which means it would be accompanied in theaters by trailers for Blade and Captain Marvel 2.

     

    While there was no direct indication that What If…? Season 2 would stream in 2022, Kevin Feige did mention in an interview in December of 2019 that they were already hard at work on the 10-episode second season. As was the case with What If…? Season 1, there’s no indication of whether or not Marvel Studios will stream a new episode of the animated series each week or drop them all at once, but given the nature of the premise is to slot new content on as many Fridays as possible, I’m going with the former.

    Like Moon Knight before it, Ironheart could be headed for a one-week hiatus to get Blade in theaters on October 7th (something that is yet to be announced by the studio but we’ve included in our little experiment). Marvel Studios could get Riri Williams’ story started on September 23rd and 30th before taking the week of October 7th off for Blade.

    Though there’s no word on when Blade would hit theaters, the official Disney Investor Day Fact Sheet lists it chronologically ahead of Captain Marvel 2 and Disney still has the October 7, 2022 date set aside for a Marvel Studios project. With those things in mind and for the purpose of our hypothetical calendar, we are putting Blade right here.

    Ironheart returns from its one-week hiatus and jumps back into action, concluding its run with a 4-episode stretch from October 14th through November 4th.

    Following the pattern of Marvel Studios preparing audiences for the return of popular characters through episodes of Marvel Studios Legends, a Captain Marvel episode could stream on November 4th. With Monica Rambeau and Kamala Khan joining Carol Danvers in the film, a Legends episode could prove pretty useful to catch fans up to speed ahead of the November 11th debut of Captain Marvel 2.

    While he’s never been the centerpiece of his own project, James Rhodes has been in 7 Marvel Studios films. His story is one worth recapping in a War Machine episode of Marvel Studios Legends on November 18th one week before he takes the lead in Armor Wars!

    Breaking from the mold just a little here, the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special can debut on Thanksgiving, which is the kickoff of the U.S. holiday season.

    Boom, you looking for this! The final Marvel Studios project of 2022, Armor Wars, could begin its six-week run on November 25th and run right up until the final Friday of the year on December 30th.

    Piecing this one together meant taking quite a few liberties, including adding a film that has not officially been given a date. But again, the working premise here was to get new Marvel Studios content on as many Fridays as possible. As things developed, keeping streaming series from dropping new episodes on the same days as films would make their theatrical debuts became a secondary concern and that meant having to color outside of the lines a few times. However, it looks like we mish-mashed together a way to get 51 weeks of Marvel Studios content in 2022!