We’ve known for a while that Disney’s highly publicized new streaming service Disney+ would include plenty of Marvel content – and in fact plenty of new Marvel content and not just older movies. However, what exactly that will entail is still somewhat of a question mark. This week the latest Marvel project to be bandied about is a What If series.
The new project sounds like it is moving forward and would be similar to the comics, which explore elements of the Marvel universe that might have unfolded differently. If What If happens, it would be an animated series, unlike some of the live action ideas that have been bandied about, and reportedly Kevin Feige is in the fold and spearheading the project.
We say reportedly because Disney is not confirming a What If series at the time of this writing.
In fact, there have been a lot of rumors regarding potential Marvel shows that are heading to Disney+. This news, which comes from Slashfilm, indicates Marvel will be moving forward with producing a What If TV series and has confirmed with “three separate sources,” but that news does not come from Disney itself.
Other rumors have indicated that major characters like Bucky, Scarlett Witch and even Vision could get their own shows; however, those remain unconfirmed as well. In fact, the only confirmed series we know about so far is the Loki series, which was confirmed by Tom Hiddleston himself. Even that was mentioned by the actor and not the studio at first and the studio had to follow up with a press release.
A look at the lengthy list of rumored Disney+ Marvel projects.
It’s possible that Disney is just fielding a bunch of pitches right now, which is why so many projects are rumored yet unconfirmed. Alternatively, this could simply be chitchat that has run amok.
Either way, a What If series would be totally different than any of the other rumored project we’ve learned about so far. Theoretically, it could even revisit some moments we’ve seen play out on the big screen, as well as ask some questions that could be interesting for Marvel fans. (Examples from the comics include “What if The Avengers Defeated Everybody?” or “What if The Hulk Always Had Bruce Banner’s Brain?”)
Right now, Disney+ is still very much more of an idea than a reality. Disney has said that the studio wants to launch the streaming service in 2019, so hopefully we'll be getting content sooner rather than later. Really, though, I'd love to just have more answers about what subscribers will be getting and exactly how much it will cost the average family, although it should be noted Disney has announced some Muppets content and the oft-discussed Mandalorian series. Until we get more answers, however, I'm thinking more along the lines of, "What if I subscribe to Disney+?" rather than "What happens when...?"
