How What If…? Season 2 Makes Multiverse Stories Exciting

What If…? Season 2 is officially rolling out, with a new episode releasing on Disney+ everyday for nine days starting December 22. It is the follow-up to the first animated series from Marvel Studios, telling anthology stories set in alternate Marvel universes with variant characters of beloved Marvel Cinematic Universe heroes and villains. The series sent out all episodes of Season 2 to press for review ahead of the holiday season, earning praise from the Phase Zero crew on social media ahead of their recaps which will release in batches of three episodes.

Ahead of What If…? Season 2’s release, the filmmakers behind the series attended a screening and Q&A where they opened up about their efforts and hopes for the series. On hand for the event were AC Bradley, writer and executive producer, Bryan Andrews, director and executive producer, and Matthew Chauncey, writer and producer. The trio covered topics ranging from forming new rosters of Avengers ensembles to writing the characters consistently with their Sacred Timeline counterparts so the audience can enjoy time with variants of the characters they love.

Below is a list of takeaways from the What If…? Season 2 screening and Q&A. For more What If…? updates, reviews, breakdowns, and discussions, be sure to subscribe to the Phase Zero podcast on any major podcast platform and on YouTube! 

The Cast is Impressive

While not all of the actors from live-action Marvel Studios projects returned to voice their characters in What If…? Season 2, many of them are going to be heard. The list of returning actors includes Hayley Atwell, Michael Douglas, Sebastian Stan, Elizabeth Olsen, Karen Gillan, Jon Favreau, Seth Green, Taika Waititi, Kat Dennings, Chris Hemsworth, Jeff Goldblum, and more. The filmmakers were particularly excited to get Douglas back as a Hank Pym variant, again.

“It is Michael Douglas coming back,” Andrews said. “It’s super cool.He’s been with us every time.I don’t, Brad [Winderbaum], I don’t know how he can make it happen.It’s like he did those Ant Man movies and he’s just, like, ‘Hey, Michael Douglas, you want to come play?’ and he’s just like, ‘Sure, kid, sure.’”

Multiple Teams of Avengers

What If…? Season 2 will put together several character pairing which fans have not seen before in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, it will also put together Avengers rosters of heroes which did not become ensembles for their own heroic adventures in live-action, as well. One particular episode sees a group form in the 1980s, decades prior to the events which pulled the likes of Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hulk, Hawkeye, and Black Widow together.

“I think kind of fan casting different Avengers line-ups is something, you know, we all do as fans and, we ended up doing in the writers’ room,” Chauncey said. “And so, I think early on in season one, one of our ideas was what would an Avengers movie look like if it took place in a different era?If there was an Avengers-level crisis in the 1980s?And so, the idea of setting an episode in the ’80s was something that really excited us, and I think one of the fun parts about it is A, thinking through the history of the MCU, which is so rich, and realizing, oh, there actually are so many great characters established in the movies, who were active during that period.And then the fun of it was getting to craft a story kind of narratively and then aesthetically that sort of mirrored ’80s action movies.And so, it was sort of like what would a Marvel Studios movie look like if it were made in the ’80s?And the face we have Michael Douglas playing Hank Pym in the ’80s, that era when he became so iconic, it was kind of a trip to get to write a 1980s Michael Douglas movie.”

New and Original, Kahorri

For the first time, What If…? will be centering an episode around a character who is entirely new to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Kahorri will be introduced to the series without having previously appeared in a Marvel Studios or Marvel Comics title.

“She’s amazing. Special shout out to Ryan Little, who wrote that episode,” Bradley said of Kahorri. “And also to the entire Mohawk community, who, like, really kind of backed us up.I remember our first Zooms about that.Again, pandemic.It was, like, April 2020.And it was really fun.We got Disney Diversity on the phone, and we told them the episode.And they went, ‘We’re gonna call the Smithsonian.’ And I was like, ‘Is that, like, the bat phone?You’re allowed to do that?’ They’re like, ‘Yeah, we’re gonna get the Smithsonian.’  They have the Rolodex.They have the Museum of the Native American.They have the Rolodex.Let’s get them involved.”And so from day one, we were talking to people.We brought them in for everything from design, story, costuming, music.It was really a collaborative effort, and we were so lucky to get all the help.It was really kind of amazing and beautiful.”

Stakes for Each Episode

One challenge for writers telling multiverse stories is to get audiences invested in a new story and character. Audiences are heavily invested in the heroes from the MCUs Sacred Timeline but the anthology stories in What If…? episodes introduce new versions of them who will not impact the story, emotional arcs, or other elements of the main timeline’s heroes (unless, of course, the eventually cross or merge universes to interact). The creatives behind What If…? take this task quite seriously and still have a good time with it.

“Part of the fun is that we have kind of all the toys that the MCU has to offer, but none of the responsibility of it, having to be exactly fitting in this larger narrative,” Chauncey said. “The challenge is we only have sometimes 22 minutes to tell these stories, but the hope is that unlike some of the live-action movies that deal with multiverse stuff, What If…? is the show where you actually get to live in these alternate realities for the whole story.So hopefully it’s kind of like filling in that larger canvas and kind of creating the stakes of the multiverse for those live-action movies. ‘Cause I think sometimes when you’re dealing with the multiverse, you’re like, ‘Oh, if there’s an infinite number of, you know, Peggy Carters, what does it matter if you lose one?’  But I think hopefully our show is making you invest in all of these worlds, in all of these characters, so that you realize, you know, everything in this multiverse really does matter.”

The Return of Justin Hammer

Sam Rockwell has not had any appearances in Marvel titles since 2010’s Iron Man 2. Fans have asked for it and now they’re getting it. The character takes on another villainous role when he tries to ruin Christmas in What If…? Season 2 and the filmmakers are happy to have him.

“‘Die Hard,’ right?And it’s like, ‘Okay.Well, who is our Alan Rickman?Who is our villain?’” Andrews explained of the episode which sees Happy Hogan attempt to save Christmas. “And in the writers’ room, we’re just goofing around, thinking up ideas.And I don’t know who came up but Justin Hammer. It’s like, ‘Of course.Of course, it has to be Justin Hammer.’ It’s amazing.And then, he said yes. We just put out the word. And some actors can’t come in for whatever reason.They’ve got other stuff going on; they’re busy; the schedules are insane.It’s like herding cats sometimes.But Sam Rockwell said yes, and he had a lot of fun on it.And it was great.He did a great job.”

The Missing Episode is Found!

Season 1 of What If…? was originally supposed to feature an episode where Tony Stark finds himself on Sakaar, going on an adventure with Gamora under the watch of the Grandmaster. In fact, Jeff Goldblum once infamously assumed Robert Downey Jr. would be reprising his role as Iron Man for the animated serirs. Though he does not, the episodes remains awesome now that it is finally arriving. Bradley joked that the team, “Lost it behind the couch,” but Andrews credits the delay for the episode to the pandemic.

“It kinda was one of the casualties of the pandemic, and with the vendors and stuff, it was a little difficult for them to really get cookin’ on it,” Andrews explained. “It was better like, ‘Oh, we gotta, like, save it ’cause we want it to be right.’ So, it needed to just adjust.So, and luckily, there was one that was super ahead of schedule, like, on the later season.So, you know, it’s a little switcheroo.Boring stuff.You guys don’t want to hear that.But we get it.”

Andrews promised the episodes is “insane” and is “firing on all cylinders,” before clarifying that nothing changed about the episode from its original plan. Though it was delayed into Season 2, Tony Stark crash landing on Sakaar happens the same way it would have, had it been finished in time for the first season.

Season 3 is in the Works

The team behind What If…? is currently at work on the show’s third season, just as Season 2 finally premieres. It is unclear when the thrd season will arrive on Disney+. The gap between Season 1 and Season 2 was slightly more than two years. 

“We’re presently working on the third season as well, and we go even further genre there,” Andrews revealed. “So, but I can’t say any more than that.”