Marvel’s What If Writer Explains Season 2’s Surprise Ending

A.C. Bradley explains how the pandemic affected What If…?’s finale.

December 30, 2023, 8:00pm

The ninth and final episode of the second season of Marvel’s What If…? was released on Disney+ today, and it asked the question, “What If… Stranger Supreme Interviened?” After the events of the previous episode, Strange Supreme (Benedict Cumberbatch) enlists Captain Carter’s (Hayley Atwell) help to save destroyed universes from their respective killers. However, this is the same Strange from the first season who destroyed his own universe while attempting to save Christine Palmer. Turns out, Strange is still grief-stricken, and he’s secretly planning on using the universe-killers to help revive his own. In the end, Strange’s universe was saved after reality was changed so that Strange had never been born.

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Turns out, some people were surprised that the world didn’t end in the episode, so What If…? head writer A.C. Bradley took to Twitter to explain their reasoning behind the episode’s (mostly) happy ending.

“Since it’s been asked, wondering why the world doesn’t end in #WhatIfS2? We penned#WhatIf S2 between Jan-Oct 2020 amidst the onset of Covid, BLM protests, and a US presidential election. When it felt like OUR world was on the brink,” Bradley explained.

“… #WhatIf became our sanctuary, a retreat where heroes rise against the darkness, and the most unexpected ones shine the brightest: Nebula, Hela, and a young woman wanting to see a cool lake,” she continued. “Sometimes, it’s just more fun to save the world.” You can check out Bradley’s post below:

… #WhatIf became our sanctuary, a retreat where heroes rise against the darkness, and the most unexpected ones shine the brightest: Nebula, Hela, and a young woman wanting to see a cool lake.

Sometimes, it's just more fun to save the world.
— A.C. Bradley (@TheAshBradley) December 30, 2023

Is What If…? Getting a Season 3?

What If…?‘s sophomore season was well-received by critics and fans alike and currently stands on Rotten Tomatoes with an 83% critics score and 75% audience score. In fact, it has the highest critics rating of any Marvel Cinematic Universe project released in 2023. If you were a fan of the show’s latest season, you’re in luck, because a third season has already been confirmed.

It was revealed earlier this year that the third season of What If…? was already in production, and Marvel Studios released a teaser yesterday that saw Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier teaming up with the Red Guardian. While Marvel didn’t confirm that Sebastian Stan and David Harbour were providing the voices for their characters, it definitely sounded like them. Considering Stan lent his voice to the latest season of What If…?, we’d be surprised if he chose not to return for Season 3. Aside from the new clip, not much is known about the universes that will be explored in the season. You can check out the clip below: