Marvel’s What If continues production amid coronavirus pandemic

What if Steve Rogers wasn’t Captain America? What if Captain America was a zombie? We might just find out in Marvel’s What If…?, an upcoming animated series featuring alternative timelines in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. 

It’s one of a slew of new TV shows in the MCU’s Phase 4, coming exclusively to Disney Plus. Actors from the Marvel movies will provide voices for their respective characters in the new series. 

While Marvel movies and shows suspended production in March due to the coronavirus pandemic, What If is still in the works. 

“I normally split my day between my home studio and the Disney lot for dailies and reviews, but now we’re just doing it all remotely,” Stephan Franck, the show’s head of animation, told Newsarama on Wednesday. “From what I hear across town, animation has been able to keep the shows in production with everyone safely working from home. Kudos to the studios for pivoting so fast to remote work.”

Disney’s streaming service launched on Nov. 12 and with it was a short feature focusing on the new Marvel content coming to Disney Plus. The feature, Expanding the Universe, touches on the upcoming Phase 4 shows and included a few What If clips. 

One Twitter user posted gifs of the content. Something new is a brief appearance of T’Challa as Star-Lord. 

There are also two short clips from the first episode, “What if Peggy Carter becomes Captain America.” One shows Peggy’s British shield, while the other has the Iron Man suit created by Howard Stark that’s piloted by a normal Steve Rogers. There’s also a quick glimpse of the Marvel Zombies episode with a zombified Captain America throwing his shield at the Winter Soldier, only for him to catch it just like in the film. 

When does What If come out?

What If is slated for release on Disney Plus in summer 2021. 

What is What If?

The What If comic book started in 1977. The series is hosted by Uata, a member of an advanced alien race known as The Watchers who observe alternate realities but don’t interfere. The aliens made a brief appearance in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 during Stan Lee’s cameo.

Each comic tells an alternate reality of a comic storyline. What If #1 is a retelling of The Amazing Spider-Man #1, in which Spider-Man tries to join the Fantastic Four. Instead of being rejected as he was in the original comic, the alternate reality version has him joining the group to make the Fantastic Five. Other What If storylines include “What if Gwen Stacey survived,” “What if Wolverine joined SHIELD” and “What if Venom possessed the Punisher.”

Who’s going to be in What If?

Jeffery Wright will voice Uata, the Watcher for this universe. He’ll act as the narrator and guide for the series. Actors from the various Marvel films will reprise their roles for the animated versions of themselves, such as Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Paul Rudd (Ant-Man) and Chadwick Boseman (Black Panther). 

One person also returning is Robert Downey Jr. Downey will repirse his roll of Tony Stark once again. It’s still unclear what episode he’ll appear in. 

What storylines will there be in What If?

So far there are two known storylines. The first is “What if Peggy Carter becomes Captain America,” or rather Captain Britain. In this alternate timeline, Peggy receives the super soldier serum to become a British superhero. Steve Rogers, on the other hand, will don a metal suit made by Howard Stark. 

The second will be a take on a series that’s a favorite among many comic fans, Marvel Zombies, as confirmed with a zombie Captain America shown at D23. 

Marvel Zombies, as the name implies, is a horror comic in which heroes and villains in the Marvel Universe are infected by a virus, turning them into zombies. The result is super zombies who travel across the universe and alternate timelines to feed on the living. 

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