At the end of Loki, Marvel fans were probably all feeling just like the God of Mischief and Sylvie.
After travelling into the void, enchanting Alioth and finally meeting He Who Remains, the decision to kill Kang the Conqueror is set to have cataclysmic consequences for the future because the sacred timeline is now fractured.
Make no mistake about it, we're now in the era of the multiverse and with Spider-Man: No Way Home, Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness and Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania all set to deal with alternate timelines, Phase 4 of the MCU is about to go in some very interesting directions.
Well, doesn't now seem like the perfect time for Marvel's new animated show What If...? to be released then?
Flipping the script on the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the new show reimagines famous events from the films in unexpected ways.
Creating a multiverse of infinite possibilities, What If… ? features fan-favourite characters, including Peggy Carter, T’Challa, Doctor Strange, Killmonger, Thor and more.
Speaking at a press conference that the Irish Mirror attended, the show's executive producer Brad Winderbaum said that the timing of What If's release isn't by sheer luck.
"It's no coincidence that the show picks up right after Loki. Spoiler alert, but the multiverse has now erupted in every possible direction. What If...? gives us the chance to explore that and I think you can tell that in this next saga the multiverse is going to be crucial," he said.
With three Marvel films all set to deal in alternate universes, reintroduce beloved characters and reveal some very unexpected ones, the next few years are going to be very exciting for comic-book fans and What If...? will fit in with the established Marvel canon.
"Without going into great detail, I can tell you that What If..? as a project and story that exists in the MCU is as important as any other. It's woven into that same tapestry and those fun threads have a lot of potential," said Winderbaum
Speaking with the Irish Mirror, the show's director Bryan Andrews was coy when asked how the events in the show could potentially impact the future of Marvel's other cinematic and TV features.
"Well, you have to wait and find out! There's stuff that we're not necessarily allowed to talk about but Marvel has things in mind. You'll just have to wait and see how they play out, no spoilers! As usual, it's going to be worth the wait. Marvel has a way of always delivering something that makes you go like, 'Oh man...what!'
"Even for us, we still get that surprise factor because sometimes we don't get to know exactly what they're working on, we get little tidbits because we have to, but then other stuff they keep a secret. It's going to be great," he said.
Inspired by Marvel Comics’ What If…? anthology series, the new animated series introduces new scenarios based on characters from the vast world of the MCU, which launched in 2008 with Iron Man.
13 years later, fans are still hooked by the world's most beloved saga and speaking with the Irish Mirror, AC Bradley (Head Writer of What If...?) says that while she's conscious of the superb cliffhanger that Loki ended on, she's very confident that her show is still very much its own thing and was devised before we were introduced to the world of Loki and the TVA.
"Animation is a medium of patience. It takes so long for the final product to be made and we actually started writing these episodes back in 2018. So we were ahead of the curve on Loki. My job was to keep the multiverse rules simple and flexible. Luckily, that's also where I like to live. The more rules a writer creates for themself, the more corners they end up painting themself into as the show goes on. We kept the rules very flexible.
"For the show, the notion was 'one choice and one change can create a whole new universe' For The Watcher, he's not picking these universes based on any rules. He's picking the story that he connects to and that he wants to see. I always joke that The Watcher starts off not liking humanity, but the more he watches these heroes battle, dig deep and show their courage, the more he understands them and connects with them. Everything was driven by character and not the rules of the multiverse. I'll let the Loki people do the hard work!," she said.
Central to What If..? is The Watcher (voiced by Jeffrey Wright), a cosmic entity that observes these alternate storylines and narrates the events.
At the end of Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol 2, viewers got a very brief glimpse at this cosmic observer and while he's only featured in animated form during What If...?, Wright isn't completely against the idea of playing the famous character in a feature-length film.
"Well, What If...? is very much about the idea that all things are possible. So, that's a reasonable question and the answer to it is, well, what if? I'll leave it at that!" he said.
What If...? premieres on Disney + on Wednesday August 11 with new episodes released each week.
