What if…? Season 3 shouldn't be the end of the story

After only three short seasons in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, What if…? coming to an end. The animated anthology debuted in 2021 and delved into the madness of the Marvel Multiverse, but as the MCU gears up for What if…? season 3 2024 it feels like things come to an abrupt halt.




Away from the live-action adventures of the MCU, What if…? arrived as part of the franchise's ever-expanding Disney+ slate. There are other animated excursions in the form of X-Men '97, Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Manand the delayed one Marvel Zombies serving as one What if…? by-product. But when it comes to this series that explores alternate timelines, there are only eight episodes left.

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What if…? Season 3 is the end of the road

Storm and Mjölnir in What If..._ season 3

While What if…?The versatile character has told his own stories away from the MCU's main canon, with fan favorites like Benedict Cumberbatch, Chris Hemsworth, Hayley Atwell, Elizabeth Olsen and the late Chadwick Boseman all reprising their live-action roles. What if…? Season 3 tells of another crop of Multiverse stories, overseen by Jeffrey Wright's Uatu, aka The Watcher.


Highlights of What if…? Season 3 includes the return of White Vision from WandaVisionMoon Knight's long awaited reintroduction, and X-Men: The Animated Series' Alison Sealy-Smith reprises her role from X-Men '97 like Storm. The Storm of Mjolnir was a highlight of the season 3 trailer. And with Disney buying 20th Century Fox in 2019, the arrival of the X-Men in the MCU marks a new era for the franchise.

Just like What if…? Season 2 introduced Kahhori as a brand new hero expected to jump into live-action, Natasha Lyonne makes her MCU debut in Season 3 as a new creation named Byrdie. There are also rumors that Wright's Uatu will play a big role in the future of the franchise, while the stalwart Captain Carter seems like an easy fit for Avengers: Secret Wars' supposed recreation of Battleworld. This comes after Hayley Atwell played a version of the character in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.


What if…? have largely told their own stories that have played out over the course of a season and culminated in a massive multiversal team-up. Haven't had to worry about the main canon of the MCU's Earth-616 so far. Still, with the series coming to an end, many are waiting What if…? to go out with a bang and set up a future live-action project for the MCU. With two Avengers movies on the horizon, it makes sense to start planting those seeds now.

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The MCU misses out on the potential for what if…? Season 4

What if..._ season 3 The Watchers

While Sealy-Smith likely won't come through as Storm for the upcoming X-Men reboot, her role in What if…? reminding fans of the potential that future seasons hold What if…? could have lasted. Similar to how Deadpool & Wolverine included Channing Tatum's Gambit and Wesley Snipes' Blade, What if…? season 4 could have had any number of familiar faces lend their vocals to classic roles. Imagine a Ghost Rider episode with Nicolas Cage, Ben Affleck voicing an animated Daredevil, or a Spider-Man-centric episode that capitalizes on Drew Goddard's Sinister Six movie that never happened.


More importantly, the upcoming debuts of The Fantastic Four and X-Men include a host of characters that would be perfect for their own What if…? stories. After all, live-action versions of Charles Xavier become the Juggernaut (What if…? #13) and Dazzler is Galactus' herald (What if…? #33) is unlikely to play in the mainline MCU. Beyond that, the potential for Wolverine to fight Conan the Barbarian (What if…? #16), Punisher becomes Venom (What if…? #44), and The Thing becomes a mutated Hulk-a-like (What if…? #37) are just some of the stories audiences are missing out on.


It is unclear exactly why What if…? is ending, but it sounds like it was always planned as a three-part story that could jump into other projects. This has already been demonstrated by Marvel Zombies spin off from Season 1's “What If… Zombies?!” Speaking to The Official Marvel Podcast in July 2024, executive producer Brad Winderbaum said Season 3 “feels like the completion of a trilogy”:

Although the Watcher was briefly teased Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2the live-action MCU has yet to tap into its potential. As the franchise introduces more cosmic entities, such as Thor: Love and Thunder did with Eternity and Agatha All Along did with Death, the Watchers (and specifically Uatu) look poised to play a role.


What if…? Season 3 puts together an alternate Avengers lineup with Sam Wilson, Shang-Chi, and Monica Rambeau, which is convenient since all of these are potential recruits for the supposed New Avengers in the MCU. Even if What if…? ends in the traditional sense, it is possible to continue exploring some of its ideas in spin-offs that Marvel Zombies. By entertaining ideas too “wild” for live-action, What if…? has at least served as a testing ground for unusual concepts. There has already been a Christmas episode, so it might also be an idea to revisit it What if…? for the occasional special.

As disappointing as What if…?end may be, it's important to remember that it's the only Disney+ series to receive a three-season order. Most of the Marvel shows have been limited to a single season, and even the critically acclaimed ones Loki it doesn't look like it's coming back for a third season. Also with Secret Wars tipped to destroy the Multiverse and end the current Multiverse Saga before entering the rumored “Mutant Saga”, it makes sense that What if…? running out. Although it's a shame fans never got to see Wolverine become Lord of the Vampries (What if…? #24), even the Watcher doesn't know what the future holds What if…? contains.


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