Marvel Studios has quietly confirmed the next Avengers roster in its Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise, and there are both familiar and new faces joining the roster. Fans will even get to see the team very, very soon…
Credit: Marvel Studios
The Marvel Cinematic Universe’s time in the spotlight is over. No longer are fans crowding movie theaters on release days. And midnight openings, what are those? Since Marvel Phase Four began two years ago in the midst of the pandemic, Kevin Feige’s MCU has slowly deteriorated in reputation, reliability, and quality, at least in the eyes of the masses.
Phase Four and Phase Five have been the most inconsistent eras in Marvel’s history, with only a handful of movies and TV shows being lauded as hits. This year alone, only one movie and one show has done anything in the way of swaying the fandom back to loving the comic book behemoth.
Credit: Marvel Studios
Following the successful second season of Tom Hiddleston’s Loki, which also just topped a major U.S. ranking, Marvel’s animated series What If…? will get a shot at coaxing the masses back to the MCU.
Over two years since the first season dropped onto Disney+, What If…? will return to the streaming service for another nine-episode series. Based on the Marvel Comics event of the same name, What If…? reveals what would have happened if certain pivotal moments in the MCU had happened differently. It was created by A.C. Bradley and directed by Bryan Andrews. Jeffrey Wright narrates it all as Uatu, AKA The Watcher.
Credit: Marvel Studios
The first season, for example, played with the idea of Agent Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) taking the super-soldier serum instead of Steve Rogers (Chris Evans in live-action; Josh Keaton in What If…?) to become Captain Carter, as well as introducing Doctor Strange Supreme (Benedict Cumberbatch) and the Guardians of the Multiverse — a mash-up of both the Guardians of the Galaxy and the Avengers.
And speaking of Avengers, the new poster for What If…?, as shared by The Direct, includes the new roster of Avengers heading to the small screen sometime this December. Standing in the iconic group pose from Joss Whedon’s billion-dollar crossover smash, The Avengers (2012), the line-up can be seen to include Captain Carter (Atwell), Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr. in live-action; Mick Wingert in What If…?), Wasp (Evangeline Lilly), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson in live-action; Lake Bell in What If…?).
Background Image Credit: Marvel Studios
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This team-up is not a far cry from the original roster established in the early live-action MCU. In fact, only the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and Captain America (Chris Evans) are not included. Cap’s absence is less surprising than the Green Goliath’s due to Captain Carter being What If..?‘s main patriotic hero.
There is no confirmed information on which characters will be taking part in each new “what if?” storyline. However, an episode guide has been revealed by multiple outlets, and the trailer for the TV show includes a plethora of characters, including Cate Blanchett’s Hela and the return of Atandwa Kani as a young T’Chaka, AKA Black Panther.
Credit: Marvel Studios
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What If…? Season 2 will follow a unique release schedule with Marvel Studios dropping each episode of the animated series onto Disney+ for nine consecutive nights, beginning December 22 and finishing on December 30. Will Marvel leave 2023 with a bang or a dud? Only time will tell.
As for 2024, Marvel Studios will release both Echo and Agatha: Darkhold Diaries. The former will debut all episodes on January 10, while the latter is slated for “late 2024.” On the movie slate, Ryan Reynold’s Deadpool 3 (2024) will be released in 2024, opening in July.
Will you be tuning into What If…? Season 2 later this month? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!
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