Multiverse of Marvel’s What If…? Series Can Be Explored In Live-Action

The What If…? animated Disney+ series has released a fantastic trailer and is all set to explore the MCU through an alternate lens. True to

By Ishita Chatterjee
August 9,2021
Featured Image

The What If…? animated Disney+ series has released a fantastic trailer and is all set to explore the MCU through an alternate lens. True to the name of the show, it will explore the variety of hypotheticals in the MCU paired with beautiful animated visuals.

But the series is still limited by its half-hour format. So there’s only so much one can get from the alternate universe stories. What If…?’s executive producer agrees and thinks that there’s so much more that could have been explored in the series.

The producer tells Inverse that the series could definitely continue expanding its alternate storylines. In fact, it’s possible that it might transition from the animated format to live-action projects later on.

agent carter

Does this mean we could see a zombie universe in live-action soon? Not quite. But before we tell you what the producer meant, let us take a detour to a galaxy far far away.

Similarities Between Star Wars And MCU Animated Series

MCU and Star Wars have something in common
MCU and Star Wars have something in common

What If…? is going to be the first animated offering from Marvel. It looks like apart from the comic books, it was Star Wars shows like The Bad Batch and The Mandalorian, which were sort of a blueprint for it.

But it needs to be kept in mind that Star Wars television started out as animation with the help of The Clones Wars and Rebels. It was only later that it transitioned into live-action storytelling with the help of The Mandalorian.

In fact, The Mandalorian was the first live-action Star Wars TV show. Also, it was the first show that streamed on Disney+. But Marvel TV pretty much started off on the exact opposite of this spectrum.

WandaVision, Loki, the falcon and the winter soldier
WandaVision, Loki, the falcon and the winter soldier

They have launched with 3 live-action shows till now and What If…? is going to be the first animated MCU series. However, there are similarities between the upcoming Marvel animated series and the Star Wars animated offerings.

After all, both of them introduced animated-only characters like Ahsoka Tano or Captain Carter. Also, they revisited previous beloved film characters as well as fleshed out their plots and storylines more.

These shows did it all by offering more easter eggs all along the way so that the audience can feel that they are watching a connected story. Also, it helps keep the audience invested.

In Star Wars, each series, animated or live-action, has helped fill in the gaps present in the franchise’s overall narrative. In the MCU, these Disney+ shows have helped flesh out the multiverse even more.

They have helped explain what the multiverse is and then showed what it was capable of. However, here’s where the similarities end and the differences begin.

What If…? Characters And Storylines Can Show Up Later On In The MCU

What if.. animated series
What if.. animated series

Know that the characters introduced in Star Wars animation later on transitioned into live-action. For example, Ahsoka Tano was played by Rosario Dawson, and Bo-Katan Kryze was portrayed by Katee Sackhoff (both in The Mandalorian).

So, could the stories and characters of What If…? get the same treatment? As per series executive producer Brad Winderbaum, it’s possible. In an interview with Inverse, he said:

“We wanted each story to be able to be open and shut in that half an hour timeframe, but it’s hard not to imagine more chapters with some of these characters. I hope that one day we do get to see more adventures in some of these alternate timelines.”

Winderbaum also said that just because the What If…? series features a specific storyline, that doesn’t automatically mean that it wouldn’t be used in a live-action project down the line. He says:

“All you have to do to prove that is look back at how many stories from the What If…? comics ended up in the main continuity of the comic prediction is a similar thing could happen on the cinematic side as well.”

So for those wanting to see Captain Carter back or perhaps hoping for a zombie apocalypse in the MCU, you might just get your wishes (Who knows maybe Luke Skywalker can pop in as well). To know more, check out the What If…? series premiere on 11 August, only on Disney+.

Check Out: Why Doctor Strange’s What If Episode Is So Important To the Show Marvel Actor Reveals