One of the most exciting thigs about the Marvel Cinematic Universe is the fact that it's a franchise that pays super close attention to its continuity – simultaneously telling original stories while also making sure that they fit into the larger fabric of everything that's being created. It's led to a special flow in the movies over the last decade, but at the same time fans continually wonder what would have happened had certain things in the canon played out differently. Well, now we have the upcoming animated series What If...? to quell some of those questions, and while it's not going to be ready for launch on Disney+ until next year, the first look trailer available above makes it look absolutely magical and incredible.
Disney held its much-anticipated Investor's Day this afternoon, and Marvel Studios delivered all kinds of goodies for fans to chew on, including this debut trailer for What If...? Created by A.C. Bradley, who serves as the head writer, the show is based on the long-running series of Marvel Comics bearing the same name – each issue of which would explore what would have happened in the Marvel Universe had certain events played out differently, or had different choices been made by notable characters. It's been confirmed that a large number of Marvel Cinematic Universe stars are providing their voices for different episodes, which you may have noticed watching the trailer, which features the familiar voices of Chadwick Boseman and Michael Rooker among others. The "lead" in the series is Jeffrey Wright, who vices Uatu The Watcher and is the guide through the various adventures.
As is normal for Marvel Studios, the plots of the different episodes are presently being kept secret, but it's pretty easy to deduce some of them just based on the footage that is presented here. For example, it is made clear that one of the episodes is going to be "What if Yondu picked up T'Challa from Wakanda while kidnapping children for Ego The Living Planet?" The answer seems to be that the man who would have become Black Panther winds up becoming Star-Lord instead:
One of the other episodes looks to be a redo of the plot that plays out in Joe Johnston's Captain America: The First Avenger. The question? "What if Peggy Carter was given the Super Soldier Serum instead of Steve Rogers?" The basic answer is that she would become Captain Britain, but it looks like the show has plenty more in store for us story-wise.
Exactly what to expect from the rest of the series is up in the air, but what is confirmed in the What If...? trailer is that we will get episodes featuring Doctor Strange (battling his evil twin), Iron Man, Captain Marvel, Thor, The Collector, and many, many more.
Marvel Studios has not yet specified exactly when they will be dropping the first episode of the series on to Disney+, but we at the very least do know the season. You can expect What If...? to premiere some time in Summer 2021 – so sometime between May and August. Like the case with all Marvel projects, we are immensely curious in how it is all going to unfold and will be paying close attention to its development, so stay tuned here on CinemaBlend for all varieties of future updates about the show.
