After the first season of What If…? streamed in 2021, one episode that didn’t stream got nearly as much press as the ones that did. That episode, which became known as The Lost Gamora Episode, featured Tony Stark ending up on Sakaar. Even though it spawned a Lego set, the episode–written by AC Bradley–ended up being destined for Season 2 of the animated adventure. Now that it’s finally streamed, Bradley has opened up a bit about it.
It turns out that while Bradley wrote the episode in 2019, it had been gestating for far longer. “Seeing Iron Man in 2008 was a game-changer for me,” she said. “I’d just graduated from USC Film School, was working as an assistant at a management company, writing every morning but still trying to find my voice. What did I want to write? What did I even have to say? Then one Saturday, a friend texted me—we ended up catching Iron Man at the Arclight.“
That fateful showing, it turns out, set Bradley on the path to being a major part of the creative team of What If…? as it opened her eyes to what a comic book movie could be. “I remember walking out of the theater and telling her that this is it—I want to write Iron Man—or rather, stories like that: action-adventure, but with heart and humor. Telling a very human, personal story, but wrapping it in superheroics and, of course, killer explosions.”
After serving as the head writer for the first two seasons of What If…?, Bradley announced that the second season would be her last project with Marvel Studios. With another season of the Multiversal series confirmed, it will be someone else’s turn to turn their dreams of working on comic book projects into a reality.
