A good number of familiar faces will populate Marvel's What If...? Season 2's stories, including some from the Marvel Cinematic Universe's more recent Phases 3 and 4.
Footage of the animated series was shown at San Diego Comic-Con's Marvel Studios Animation Panel attended by CBR, with director and executive producer Bryan Andrews saying, "We keep pushing the envelope of what's possible in the Multiverse." One of the first snippets that fans witnessed saw Captain Carter, Black Widow and Steve Rogers surrounded by robots in a forest. Then, a blast from the Phase 2 past comes as both Hela and Ego make appearances, with a new, voiceless Black Panther, as well as Iron Man on the gladiatorial planet Sakaar from Thor: Ragnarok. A final snippet shows two MCU powerhouses in battle, with the Asgardian King Odin facing off against Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings villain Wenwu aka the Mandarin.
Currently, it's unclear whether live-action MCU actors like Cate Blanchett or Tony Leung will voice their animated counterparts in What If...?, or who will provide the voice of Season 2's returning Black Panther following Chadwick Boseman's death. However, the panel concluded with the premiere of What If...?'s "What If Captain Carter Fought the Hydra Stomper" episode, which saw Peggy Carter battle Steve Rogers in a present-day, Captain America: Winter Soldier-inspired setting. The episode features a voice acting return from Haley Atwell as Captain Carter, who recently brought the hero to live-action in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Similar to the comics of the same name, What If...? takes viewers through alternate timelines inspired by key films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Each story is narrated by the omnipresent Watcher (voiced by Jeffrey Wright), an alien being who observes all variant timelines but refrains from intervening in them. However, Season 1 concluded with the Watcher breaking that vow and assembling a team of heroes -- including the likes of Captain Carter and Star-Lord T'Challa -- to defeat an Infinity Stone-powered Ultron. Teased in the new footage, a Sakaar storyline featuring Iron Man and Gamora was meant to release during Season 1, but was ultimately pushed back due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic's impact on development.
In addition to Season 2, Marvel revealed images for the upcoming What If...?'s spinoff Marvel Zombies. The show follows survivors on a zombie-infested world who must not only battle the infected, but zombified metahumans as well. The character art for Marvel Zombies' protagonists mainly consists of heroes introduced in Phase 3 and 4 projects, ranging from Shang-Chi to Black Widow's Yelena Belova. This also includes Disney+ TV characters like Hawkeye's Kate Bishop and Ms. Marvel's Kamala Khan, though whether each character will be voiced by their respective live-action actor remains to be seen.
Created by A.C. Bradley, Marvel's What If...? Season 2 is slated to release in 2023.
Source: CBR