The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a neat thing, but it has to adhere to its own rules. If a thing happened in Iron Man, then it has to be acknowledged down the line. Of course, there are certain things that get tossed out or slightly ret-conned, but for the most part, the universe remains largely intact within its own canon.
But if you wanted to throw out the canon and have some fun, what then? The answer seems to be coming to Disney+. /Film reports that Disney is developing an animated series based on the What If comics. Per /Film:
The idea is that they could potentially have some of the main actors from the live-action Marvel Cinematic Universe movies reprise their roles in the animated series, which would imagine alternate possibilities from another dimension. The time commitment for voice acting is a whole lot less than for live-action productions, which could accommodate some of the biggest Marvel talent. The series would function as an anthology, just like the comic book series, with each episode tackling a different premise.
That’s a really fun idea, especially when you have concepts like “What If Janes Foster Had Found the Hammer of Thor?” or “What If Spider-Man Had Never Become a Crimefighter?” (he apparently becomes a late-night talk show host and has a cape. This is a concept that’s bursting with ideas, and the anthology format should really allow for some unbridled creativity. One episode could be an outlandish comedy and another could be a Twilight Zone-esque thriller. You get to see the characters you enjoy, but you don’t have to unwind how it might affect the rest of the MCU. Instead, it’s just a good way to tell stories involving Marvel characters, and within the realm of animation, you really don’t have any limits on what can be imagined or done with the stories.
What If? now joins the Loki series that’s been confirmed by Disney as well the live-action miniseries for Falcon and Winter Soldier and another for Vision and Scarlet Witch. I wouldn’t be surprised if we get more details on all of these series later this year at either Comic-Con or D23.
