Marvel's What If...? has concluded on Disney Plus after its ninth episode, which saw the Watcher breaking his oath, intervening to save the Multiverse and throwing a bit of focus to Black Widow in this season finale. While Marvel Studios' first animated offering hasn't always been first class, which is often the case with anthology shows in general, its creative successes outweigh its failures.
Will there be a What If...? season 2 from Marvel on Disney Plus? Yes. The good news is that the series was commissioned for two seasons from the start – 10 episodes were intended for both seasons 1 and 2 of What If, as confirmed by Marvel's Kevin Feige back in December 2019. While only nine made it out in season 1 and nine more are coming in season 2, the show's future is secured, with the second season expected next year.
So, what do we know about Marvel's What If...? season 2? Below, we'll round up everything the producers have said so far about the future of the show, including its release date, and explore how the season 1 finale's post-credits sequence could tie in to future episodes.
Will there be a Marvel's What If...? season 2?
Yes. The series was announced back in July 2019 during San Diego Comic Con (remember that?), and as soon as December 2019, Marvel's Kevin Feige was telling BuzzFeed Brazil that they were already working on the second run of episodes. Animation needs a long lead time, so it makes sense Marvel commissioned two seasons from the jump.
Does Marvel's What If...? season 2 have a release date?
There is no release date for What If...? season 2 yet, but we wouldn't expect the wait to be as long as it is for typical Marvel productions. Getting commissioned for two seasons means that's made the future a little easier to figure out for the creators of the show. The aim is to release season 2 in 2022, according to producer Brad Winderbaum in conversation with Screen Rant.
"As you know with animation, it takes a long time to produce. We were fortunate enough to get the green light on a second season early enough to have a chance to release it next year. We'll see what happens. Obviously, I don't want to predict the future with this new world we live in, but our intention is to make it an annual release."
According to an Entertainment Weekly interview conducted with director Bryan Andrews and head writer A.C. Bradley, season 2's various episodes are at different stages of production. One is almost complete, while others still need plenty of work. So who is to say when season 2 will roll around.
So, if the show gets a third season, you can expect to see that in 2023. But let's not get ahead of ourselves...
Will What If...? season 2 explore MCU Phase 4 stories?
Season 2 will "definitely incorporate movies from Phase 4", Kevin Feige told Screen Rant back in August. That means the likes of Black Widow, Shang-Chi, Eternals, Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness could be riffed on in the next set of anthology episodes.
This should help keep things fresh as the show moves forwards. We wouldn't be surprised to see the show explore different spins on the various Disney Plus Marvel series, either.
We'll also be getting the episode that was cut from season 1. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly after What If...?'s season 1 finale, Andrews confirmed that a story involving Gamora (who we were surprisingly introduced to in episode 9), Tony Stark and Sakaar will feature in season 2.
We shouldn't expect to see many of season 1's stories carry over into season 2 either. Speaking to Variety, Bradley said: "A lot of the Season 1 episodes were hopefully resolved enough in the finale... so we try to give some closure to all those stories in the finale."
It sounds that What If...? season 2, then, will focus on new tales from previous MCU productions.
Marvel's What If...? episode 9 post-credits: how could this scene tie into season 2?
Season 1 ends with Captain Carter – star of episode 1, who returned for this finale – being sent back home to her reality. If you wait for the post-credits scene in episode 9, too, you'll see that Peggy really does get a happy ending.
Natasha shows her to a warehouse where we see the Hydra Stomper from episode 1 – and someone is inside the mech. While we assumed Captain Carter's version of Steve Rogers perished in episode 1, this would appear to confirm he survived.
No matter which reality we're talking about, then, Peggy may get a satisfying conclusion with Steve. Although, according to Bradley (per EW), Peggy could get an episode in season 2, so maybe her happy ending will have to wait after all.
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