Marvel's What If…? Writers Explain Sam Wilson Absence

Marvel's What If…? writers have addressed why Sam Wilson hasn't appeared in the Disney+ series yet. ComicBook.com's Phase Zero podcast sat down with A.C. Bradley, Matt Chauncey, and Bryan Andrews to talk about Season 2 of the MCU's animated show. During their conversation, the topic of how they pick Marvel characters came up. A to of fans online wondered how Captain America didn't appear over the course of two seasons. It seems as though the creative team knew something was in the works with Anthony Mackie's Avenger. But, they couldn't have him raise the shield in animation because his live-action debut would have to come first. As a result of pandemic shuffling, that meant no Sam Wilson as Captain America for two seasons. 

"We also couldn't do Sam Wilson's Captain America because, we didn't know when that would be coming out," Bradley remembered. "Again, we were writing Season 2 as The Falcon and The Winter Soldier paused shooting and the scripts were being re-written because of other things. We don't know when anything is airing. So, we couldn't touch it because we're not allowed to introduce… It makes sense, you let the character live in live-action first and then go play in the multiverse."

What If…? Season 1 Focused On Big Names

All of this information also bolsters what the creative team have said in recent interviews. While talking to IGN, Bradley explained that Marvel wanted What If…?'s first season to center around their heavy-hitter characters. So, if it feels like the new guard of heroes is finally getting their time to shine in season two, that's because they are. Hopefully, we get an adventure with Sam Wilson before Captain America: Brave New World releases in theaters. Here's what the writer had to say.

"With Season 1, there was a push to use the headliners, to do the Tony Stark episode, to do the Black Panther episode and Doctor Strange," Bradley wrote. "But with Season 2, we had a bit more freedom. At the end of the day, we're not writing the big blockbuster, 100-million-dollar movie. We're not even showrunning the live-action TV shows. We're the scrappy, little animation show slipping under the Marvel machine radar. So, it was really subconscious but I think we veered toward the scrappy characters in Season 2. We started with the second stringers, the undervalued and overlooked, like Nebula [Karen Gillan], Darcy [Kat Dennings], and Hela [Cate Blanchett]."

What If..? Season 3 Is Coming

Marvel's What If…? has been triumph for the animation department. The show stands as the highest reviewed MCU project of the year. Season 3 has been announced. There's plenty of time to catch up before Season 3 gets rolling.

Season 2 of Marvel's What If…? , which began premiering episodes daily on Disney+ beginning on December 22nd, continues the journey as The Watcher guides viewers through the vast multiverse, introducing brand new and familiar faces throughout the MCU. The series questions, revisits and twists classic Marvel Cinematic moments with an incredible voice cast that includes a host of stars who reprise their iconic roles.

The series is led by Jeffrey Wright as The Watcher, with returning appearances that include Hayley Atwell as Captain Carter, Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange, Karen Gillan as Nebula, Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes, Kat Dennings as Darcy Lewis, Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner / Hulk, and Cate Blanchett as Hela. Devery Jacobs joins the cast as Kahhori, a new Native American character created specifically for the show. What If...? Season 2 is directed by Bryan Andrews, and executive produced by Andrews and AC Bradley.

Do you think Sam is in Season 3? Let us know down in the comments!