D23 has been the source for a ton of news this weekend, which makes sense considering Disney owns everything. On Saturday, Aug. 10, they began announcing details of the many animated Marvel series. One of the most entertaining has been What If…?, which just confirmed that Iron Heart, Shang-Ch, Captain America, Monica Rambeau, and Moon Knight will appear in episodes of the upcoming third season. Season 3 will be the final chapter in the MCU series, as it concludes the Watcher’s storyline and arc. As Brad Winderbaum, Marvel Studios’ Head of Streaming, told The Official Marvel Podcast:
[It] feels like the completion of a trilogy. It goes beyond the first two seasons in its exploration of the multiverse, and it pulls in characters that are very unexpected, and has what I think is an extremely moving and fulfilling culmination for the Watcher.
What If…? director Bryan Andrews told the crowd at D23 (via Empire Magazine on X), “We can take big swings. The wilder What If…? got, it seems the more the audience responds. He said to expect “some Western stuff going on, some stompy robot stuff going on…”
The first season of What If…? premiered back in 2021, and explores various alternate timelines across the multiverse in which major moments from the Marvel Cinematic Universe occur differently, as observed by the Watcher, a member of an alien race who observes the multiverse…but do not interfere. Created by A. C. Bradley for the streaming service Disney+ and based on the Marvel Comics series of the same name, What If…? flips the script on the MCU, reimagining famous events from the films in unexpected ways. Marvel Studios’ first animated series, it focuses on different heroes from the MCU, featuring a voice cast that includes a host of stars who reprise their roles.
The Multiverse Continues, Now with More Success
The series will once again be narrated by Jeffrey Wright as the Watcher, and will no doubt once again unleash the possibilities of the MCU multiverse. The series has been a big part of the franchise’s Multiverse Saga, which most recently saw both Deadpool and Wolverine join the MCU. Since the first season of the Disney+ series, Loki, the multiverse has been a focal point of the franchise, with the likes of Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness tackling the ramifications of such madness on the big screen. Meanwhile, Loki has found himself neck-deep in multiversal shenanigans throughout both seasons on Disney+.
But it’s this year’s Deadpool & Wolverine that has truly made the multiverse a success thanks to the titular duo and a whole host of crowd-pleasing cameos. While currently unconfirmed, both Deadpool and Wolverine are expected to play a part in, Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, which will bring the Multiverse Saga to an end.