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What If...? season 2

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Addict 2006 (talk | contribs) at 09:16, 24 December 2023 (Listing season 2 episode 3's cast, mostly per Collider article). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

What If...?
Season 2
Promotional poster
StarringJeffrey Wright
No. of episodes3
Release
Original networkDisney+
Original releaseDecember 22, 2023 (2023-12-22) –
present (present)
Season chronology
← Previous
Season 1
Next →
Season 3
List of episodes

The second season of the American animated anthology series What If...?, based on the Marvel Comics series of the same name, explores alternate timelines in the multiverse that show what would happen if major moments from the films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) occurred differently. It is set in the MCU. The season is produced by Marvel Studios Animation, with A. C. Bradley serving as head writer and Bryan Andrews primarily directing. Animation for the season is provided by Flying Bark Productions and Stellar Creative Lab, with Scott Wright serving as head of animation.

Jeffrey Wright stars as the Watcher, who narrates the series, alongside numerous MCU film actors reprising their roles. Development of the season began by December 2019, with Bradley and Andrews confirmed to return in November 2021. The first season's head of animation Stephan Franck was revealed as another director by December 2023.

The second season debuted on December 22, 2023, on Disney+ and will release each of its nine episodes daily until December 30, as part of Phase Five of the MCU.

Episodes

No.
overall		No. in
season		Title [1]Directed by [2]Written by [2]Original release date [1]
101"What If... Nebula Joined the Nova Corps?"Stephan FranckMatthew ChaunceyDecember 22, 2023 (2023-12-22)
112"What If... Peter Quill Attacked Earth's Mightiest Heroes?"Bryan AndrewsMatthew ChaunceyDecember 23, 2023 (2023-12-23)
123"What If... Happy Hogan Saved Christmas?"Bryan AndrewsA. C. Bradley and Matthew ChaunceyDecember 24, 2023 (2023-12-24)
134"What If... Iron Man Crashed Into the Grandmaster?"Bryan AndrewsA. C. BradleyDecember 25, 2023 (2023-12-25)
145"What If... Captain Carter Fought the Hydra Stomper?"Bryan AndrewsA. C. BradleyDecember 26, 2023 (2023-12-26)
156"What If... Kahhori Reshaped the World?"Bryan AndrewsRyan LittleDecember 27, 2023 (2023-12-27)
167"What If... Hela Found the Ten Rings?"Bryan AndrewsMatthew ChaunceyDecember 28, 2023 (2023-12-28)
178"What If... the Avengers Assembled in 1602?"Bryan AndrewsA. C. Bradley and Ryan LittleDecember 29, 2023 (2023-12-29)
189"What If... Strange Supreme Intervened?"Bryan AndrewsMatthew ChaunceyDecember 30, 2023 (2023-12-30)

Cast and characters

The series is narrated by Jeffrey Wright as the Watcher, a member of the alien Watcher race who observes the multiverse.[3] Each episode features different versions of characters from the MCU films,[4] with many actors reprising their roles for the series.[5]

Production

Development

In December 2019, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige revealed that work had already begun on a second 10-episode season of What If...?.[6] However, because of the production delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic during the first season, the first two seasons each consisted of nine episodes. Executive producer Brad Winderbaum explained that the proposed tenth episode of the first season,[7] centered on versions of Tony Stark and Gamora first seen in the first season finale,[8][9] would not have been completed in time, and is included in the second season.[7][10] The episodes are approximately 30 minutes in length.[7] A. C. Bradley and Bryan Andrews return as head writer and lead director, respectively,[11] with Andrews directing the majority of episodes and Stephan Franck, the first season's head of animation, directing the first episode.[2][12] Executive producers for the season include Winderbaum, Feige, Louis D'Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Andrews, and Bradley.[2]

Writing

Matthew Chauncey and Ryan Little served as writers on the season, alongside Bradley.[2] While development of the second season was beginning, Captain Carter became the character that the writers wanted to continue to revisit every season to continue her story after she had "bubbled up" in the first season as a prominent character.[13] Some of the 20 concepts not chosen from the first season's initial 30 appear in the second, with Winderbaum noting that since those were initially conceived, "the world's changed and the fictional Marvel Universe has changed" which would allow for new ideas to be presented as well.[14][15][16] Andrews noted that following the first season, in which the "what if" concept were only small changes from what was established, further seasons were able to "expand out" beyond these small moments and "get a little bit wackier".[16] Writing for the season's episodes took place during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the story arcs conceived during brainstorming sessions in 2019. Because of the long-lead production for animation, there was not an opportunity for audience reactions to the first season to impact the creatives' work on the second season. Some of the ideas for the first season were carried over to the second, which will once again occur for the third season.[10] Writing for all of the season's episodes was completed by October 2021. At that time, Bradley said the season would focus more on revealing new sides to MCU characters than the "big, let's end the world"-style stories from the first season.[17] Characters introduced in Phase Four of the MCU also featured in the season,[18] which shows alternate storylines of Phase Four films.[19] The season goes "a little deeper" into what makes the Watcher "tick",[20] and how he would reckon with his choices from the first season.[10] Some of the storyline elements from the first season with Captain Carter, Doctor Strange Supreme, and the Watcher are continued in this season, with Chauncey explaining that fate had made Captain Carter and the Watcher "lone warriors" and described them as mirrors for each other, highlighting how the Watcher watches and engages with Captain Carter throughout her life in the season.[10]

The first episode of the season, "What If... Nebula Joined the Nova Corps?", is a detective story inspired by the film noir genre,[21] such as Blade Runner (1982),[10] exploring if Nebula joined the Nova Corps to prove her detective skills while trying to escape her father Thanos's shadow after Ronan the Accuser deposed him before the events of Avengers: Infinity War (2018).[2] Chauncey explained they wanted to make an episode centered on Nebula after enjoying Karen Gillan's work with the character on the first season.[10] The second episode explores if the Avengers were formed in the 1980s, including Hank Pym / Ant-Man and Ego, similar to the action films of that era.[10] The third episode, "What If... Happy Hogan Saved Christmas?", is a holiday-themed episode centered on Happy Hogan proving himself when the Avengers Tower is attacked by Justin Hammer during a holiday party,[21][2] and was inspired by Die Hard (1988). Bradley said they initially wanted to look to Happy Hogan actor Jon Favreau's films such as Elf (2003) for inspiration, before selecting Die Hard given it was her favorite film when she was younger. The episode references some of Favreau's prior work, such as The Chef Show (2019–20).[21] The fourth episode is a racing-themed episode on the planet Sakaar from Thor: Ragnarok (2017) with Valkyrie and Iron Man.[22][21]

The fifth episode, "What If... Captain Carter Fought the Hydra Stomper?", continues from "What If... the Watcher Broke His Oath?",[23][10] with Peggy Carter / Captain Carter believing that the love of her life, Steve Rogers, is long-dead until he is discovered alive as the villainous Hydra Stomper,[23] with Carter also leading the Avengers in 2012.[10] The sixth episode introduces an original MCU character named Kahhori, a young Mohawk woman who seeks to discover her powers after the Tesseract crash-lands in the Haudenosaunee Confederacy in pre-colonial America.[24] The episode is set in an alternate timeline in which European colonization of the Americas had not occurred.[21][10] Marvel, Andrews, and the episode's writer Ryan Little worked with members of the Mohawk Nation and Disney's diversity department, which brought in consultants from the Smithsonian Institution, to ensure cultural accuracy for its representation of Indigenous Americans when creating the character, setting, design, story, and music.[24][10] The episode's dialogue is in the Mohawk language.[24][21] The seventh episode features characters from Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021) fighting Asgardians centered on the Ten Rings leader Wenwu,[22][10] while the eighth episode is based on the Marvel 1602 comic book limited series.[22] An episode in the season sees an elderly Steve Rogers and Peggy Carter reunited post-Avengers: Endgame (2019).[22]

Casting and voice recording

Jeffrey Wright returns to narrate the series as the Watcher.[3] Marvel's plan for the series was to have actors who portray characters in the MCU films reprise their roles in What If...?,[4] with over 30 doing so for the season. These include:[5] Karen Gillan as Nebula, Jude Law as Yon-Rogg, Michael Rooker as Yondu Udonta, Seth Green as Howard the Duck, Taika Waititi as Korg, Peter Serafinowicz as Garthan Saal,[25] Michael Douglas as Hank Pym / Ant-Man,[26] Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter and Captain Carter,[26][27] John Slattery as Howard Stark, Kurt Russell as Ego, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Laurence Fishburne as Bill Foster / Goliath, Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes / The Winter Soldier, Atandwa Kani as King T'Chaka / Black Panther, Madeleine McGraw as young Hope van Dyne,[26] Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan, Cate Blanchett as Hela, Clancy Brown as Surtur, Josh Brolin as Thanos, Benedict Cumberbatch as Dr. Stephen Strange, Kat Dennings as Darcy Lewis, Idris Elba as Heimdall, Frank Grillo as Brock Rumlow / Crossbones, Jeff Goldblum as the Grandmaster, Tom Hiddleston as Loki, Rachel House as Topaz, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch, Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton / Hawkeye, Sam Rockwell as Justin Hammer, Paul Rudd as Scott Lang / Ant-Man, Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner / Hulk, Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill, Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie, Stanley Tucci as Abraham Erskine, and Rachel Weisz as Melina Vostokoff.[5] In January 2021, Grillo revealed that he had to return the following month to record more episodes as Rumlow.[28]

Reprising their roles from the first season include Lake Bell as Natasha Romanoff,[27] Cynthia McWilliams as Gamora, Mick Wingert as Tony Stark,[29][30][10] and Josh Keaton as Steve Rogers / Hydra Stomper.[29] Julianne Grossman voices the Nova Prime Irani Rael, replacing Glenn Close,[31] Fred Tatasciore voices Groot,[25] Mace Montgomery Miskel voices young Peter Quill, and Keri Tombazian voices Wendy Lawson / Mar-Vell.[26] Devery Jacobs voices Kahhori, a young Mohawk woman who is an original MCU character introduced in the season.[32][24] Jacobs is also set to portray Bonnie in Marvel Studios' live action miniseries Echo (2024).[33]

Animation

Scott Wright serves as animation supervisor,[34]: 26:41  with Flying Bark Productions and Stellar Creative Lab each working on one episode.[34]: 27:48 [35]: 29:04 

Music

Laura Karpman returned from the first season as a composer, and was joined by her wife Nora Kroll-Rosenbaum,[36] who previously conducted Karpman's score for The Marvels (2023). They completed work on the season's score by the start of December 2023.[37] The Kahhori episode features traditional Mohawk music.[24]

Marketing

The season was discussed during Marvel Studios' animation panel at the 2022 San Diego Comic-Con, where "What If... Captain Carter Fought the Hydra Stomper?" was shown, then expected to be the season's first episode.[38][39][23] A trailer for the second season was released on November 15, 2023. Bradley Russell at Total Film felt the season was "serving up the weirdest, wildest side to the MCU yet".[40]

Release

The second season premiered on Disney+ on December 22, 2023, and is scheduled to release its nine episodes daily until December 30.[41] It will be the first Marvel Studios television project to release new episodes daily.[42] It was originally announced to be releasing in early 2023,[22] but by February 2023 it was reportedly unlikely to premiere that year as Disney and Marvel Studios were re-evaluating their content output.[43][44] The late December 2023 release date was announced in September.[3] A screening of the first and third episodes—"What If… Nebula Joined the Nova Corps?" and "What If... Happy Hogan Saved Christmas?"—and a Q&A with the creatives occurred at the Walt Disney Studios lot in Burbank, California on December 11, 2023.[2][10] The season will be part of Phase Five of the MCU.[45]

Reception

The second season has an 92% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 12 reviews, with an average rating of 7.9/10.[46]

References

  1. ^ a b Burlingame, Russ (December 15, 2023). "What If...? Season 2 Episode Titles Revealed". ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on December 15, 2023. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "Marvel Studios Celebrates New Season of 'What If...?'". Marvel.com. December 12, 2023. Archived from the original on December 12, 2023. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c Kit, Borys (September 1, 2023). "Marvel Shuffles TV Calendar with New Dates for 'Agatha,' 'Echo,' X-Men '97' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on September 1, 2023. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  4. ^ a b Sciretta, Peter (March 12, 2019). "Exclusive: Marvel Studios Producing 'What If' TV Series For Disney+". /Film. Archived from the original on March 20, 2019. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
  5. ^ a b c Schreur, Brandon (December 22, 2023). "Disney Confirms Which MCU Stars Are Returning to Voice Characters in What If? Season 2". SuperHeroHype. Archived from the original on December 23, 2023. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
  6. ^ Bonomolo, Cameron (December 19, 2019). "Kevin Feige Reveals What If...? Has More Episodes Than Marvel Studios' Other Disney+ Series". ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on December 20, 2019. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
  7. ^ a b c Sneider, Jeff (August 2, 2021). "Exclusive: Marvel's 'What If...?' Episode Count Revealed — And It's Not What You Think". Collider. Archived from the original on August 2, 2021. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  8. ^ Bucksbaum, Sydney (September 28, 2021). "Marvel's What If…? team reveals season 1 finale intel: There's 'a bigger plan'". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on September 28, 2021. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
  9. ^ Vary, Adam B. (October 6, 2021). "Inside Marvel's 'What If…?' Finale, Season 2 Plans and the T'Challa Spinoff That Never Was". Variety. Archived from the original on October 6, 2021. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Bennett, Tara (December 12, 2023). "What If...? Season 2: New Avengers Lineups, a 'Lost' Episode Revived, and Other Things We Learned". IGN. Archived from the original on December 13, 2023. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
  11. ^ Hipes, Patrick (November 12, 2021). "Disney+ Day: All The Streamer's Film & TV News From Premiere Dates To Series Orders". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on November 12, 2021. Retrieved November 12, 2021.
  12. ^ Arrant, Chris (April 15, 2020). "Work on Marvel Studios' What If...? Continues During Coronavirus Pandemic". Newsarama. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  13. ^ Anderton, Ethan (August 2, 2021). "Captain Carter is the Crux of Marvel's 'What If...?' Animated Series and Will Return in Future Seasons". /Film. Archived from the original on August 2, 2021. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  14. ^ Pulliam-Moore, Charles (August 2, 2021). "Marvel's Captain Carter Will Connect Each Multiversal Season of What If". io9. Gizmodo. Archived from the original on August 2, 2021. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  15. ^ Deckelmeier, Joe (August 7, 2021). "EP Brad Winderbaum Interview: Marvel's What If". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on August 10, 2021. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  16. ^ a b Fleming, Ryan (August 17, 2022). "'What If…?' Director Bryan Andrews On Creating The Evil Doctor Strange And How The Next Seasons Will Be "A Little Bit Wilder"". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on August 17, 2022. Retrieved August 17, 2022.
  17. ^ Bucksbaum, Sydney (October 5, 2021). "Marvel's What If...? team promises 'resolution' in season finale and teases season 2". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on October 5, 2021. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
  18. ^ Silliman, Brian (August 9, 2021). "'What If...?' writer & director on how the alt Marvel series tended to accidentally run into future MCU plans". Syfy Wire. Archived from the original on August 10, 2021. Retrieved August 10, 2021.
  19. ^ Plainse, Josh (August 21, 2021). "Marvel's What If Season 2 Confirmed To Include Phase 4 Movies". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on August 22, 2021. Retrieved August 24, 2021.
  20. ^ Johnson, Jim (July 30, 2022). "Marvel's What If...? Season 3 Will Further Explore the Watcher's 'Humanity'". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on August 1, 2022. Retrieved August 2, 2022.
  21. ^ a b c d e f Johnston, Dais (December 12, 2023). "Jeff Goldblum Confirmed for What If Season 2 (And 5 More Things We Learned)". Inverse. Archived from the original on December 13, 2023. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
  22. ^ a b c d e Moreau, Jordan (July 22, 2022). "'Marvel Zombies,' 'Spider-Man: Freshman Year,' 'What If?' Season 2 Get First Looks". Variety. Archived from the original on July 22, 2022. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
  23. ^ a b c Scott, Ryan (July 22, 2022). "What If...? Season 2 Premiere Review: Captain Carter Gets Her Winter Soldier [Comic-Con]". /Film. Archived from the original on July 23, 2022. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
  24. ^ a b c d e Graves, Sabina (March 9, 2023). "Marvel's What If? Season 2 Will Introduce a Brand New Mohawk Hero". Gizmodo. Archived from the original on March 9, 2023. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
  25. ^ a b Amin, Arezou (December 22, 2023). "'What If...?' Season 2 Episode 1 Recap: Nebula Leads a New Band of Misfits". Collider. Archived from the original on December 22, 2023. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
  26. ^ a b c d Amin, Arezou (December 23, 2023). "'What If...?' Season 2 Episode 2 Recap: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, But Not As You Remember Them". Collider. Archived from the original on December 23, 2023. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
  27. ^ a b Taylor, Drew (July 22, 2022). "Marvel Previews 'X-Men 97' and 'What If' Season 2 at Comic-Con". TheWrap. Archived from the original on July 24, 2022. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
  28. ^ Lawrence, Gregory (January 11, 2021). "Exclusive: Frank Grillo Returning to MCU as Crossbones in 'What If...?'". Collider. Archived from the original on January 11, 2021. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
  29. ^ a b Young, Kai (November 16, 2023). "What If...? Season 2 Cast & Marvel Character Guide". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on November 16, 2023. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
  30. ^ Lethbridge, Thomas (October 6, 2021). "What If…? Episode 9 Cast Guide: Every New & Returning MCU Character". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on October 6, 2021. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  31. ^ Schedeen, Jesse (December 21, 2023). "Marvel's What If...? Season 2 Premiere Review". IGN. Archived from the original on December 21, 2023. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
  32. ^ Scott, Lyvie (December 21, 2023). "What If? Season 2 Release Date, Time, Trailer, and Plot for the Marvel Series". Inverse. Archived from the original on December 21, 2023. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
  33. ^ Barnhardt, Adam (September 26, 2023). "Marvel's Echo Synopsis Has Bad News for MCU Kingpin". ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on September 27, 2023. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
  34. ^ a b Chauncey, Matthew (December 22, 2023). "What If... Nebula Joined the Nova Corps?". What If...?. Season 2. Episode 1. Disney+. End credits begin at 26:25.
  35. ^ Chauncey, Matthew (December 23, 2023). "What If... Peter Quill Attacked Earth's Mightiest Heroes?". What If...?. Season 2. Episode 2. Disney+. End credits begin at 27:41.
  36. ^ Amin, Arezou (December 26, 2022). "'What If...?' Composer on Returning for Season 2 & Creating Music for "These Series of Little Films"". Collider. Archived from the original on December 26, 2022. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
  37. ^ Burlingame, Jon (December 2, 2023). "Laura Karpman Talks 'Unbelievable' Year Scoring Both 'The Marvels' and 'American Fiction'". Variety. Archived from the original on December 2, 2023. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
  38. ^ Kerr-Jung, Sorrel (July 8, 2022). "Marvel Reveals When and Where X-Men '97's First Look Will Debut". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on July 8, 2022. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
  39. ^ Nolan, Liam (July 22, 2022). "SDCC: Marvel Studios Animation Panel Reveals Future of X-Men '97, What If and Marvel Zombies". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on July 22, 2022. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
  40. ^ Russell, Bradley (November 15, 2023). "What... If? season 2 trailer makes Multiverse of Madness look like child's play". Total Film. GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on November 15, 2023. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  41. ^ Richard, Nate (November 29, 2023). "What's New on Disney+ in December 2023". Collider. Archived from the original on November 30, 2023. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  42. ^ Adams, Timothy (November 15, 2023). "What If...? Season 2 Premiere Date And Release Schedule Revealed". ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on November 15, 2023. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  43. ^ Couch, Aaron; Kit, Borys (February 16, 2023). "How Much Is Too Much Marvel and 'Star Wars'? Disney Rethinks Franchise Output". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on February 16, 2023. Retrieved February 16, 2023.
  44. ^ Barnhardt, Adam (March 16, 2023). "Marvel's What If Season 2 Gets a Frustrating Release Date Update". ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on March 16, 2023. Retrieved March 16, 2023.
  45. ^ Sandwell, Ian; Longridge, Chris (November 10, 2023). "Marvel's 'Phases' explained: What is Phase 5? What happened in Phase 3?". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on November 14, 2023. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  46. ^ "What If...?: Season 2". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
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External links

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