What if…? Season 3 doesn't have to be the end of the story

After only three short seasons in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, What if…? is coming to an end. The animated anthology debuted in 2021 and plunged into the craziness of the Marvel multiverse, but as the MCU prepares to What if…? Season 3 in 2024 seems to be coming to a screeching halt.

Away from the live-action adventures of the MCU, What if…? arrived as part of the ever-expanding Disney+ franchise. There are other animated forays into the form X-Men '97, Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Manand delay Marvel Zombies which acts as a What if…? spin-off. However, when it comes to this series that explores alternate timelines, there are only eight episodes left.

What if…? Season 3 is the end of the road

For now What if…?‎​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​real-вючный Бозменный fan-favorites such as fan favorites Benedict Cumberbatch, Hayley Atwell, Elizabeth Olsen and the late Chadwick Boseman have all reprized their roles in the live-action games. What if…? season 3 follows another crop of Multiverse stories, overseen by Watu Geoffrey Wright, aka the Watcher.

The main points What if…? season 3 includes the return of White Vision with WandaVisionthe long-awaited re-introduction of Moon Knight and X-Men: The Animated SeriesAlison Seeley-Smith reprises her role from X-Men '97 like Bura. Storm wielding Mjölnir was the highlight of the season 3 trailer. And with Disney's acquisition of 20th Century Fox in 2019, the arrival of the X-Men in the MCU marks a new era for the franchise.

Just like What if…? season 2 introduced Kahori as a brand new character that is expected to carry over to the live-action games, Natasha Lyonne will make her MCU debut in season 3 as a new creature called Byrdie. Watu Wright is also rumored to play a major role in the franchise's future, while stand-up captain Carter seems like an easy fit for Avengers: Secret Wars“a supposed recreation of Battleworld. This was after Hayley Atwell played a version of the character in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

What if…? largely told its own stories that played out over the course of the season and culminated in a massive multi-versal team-up. Until now, there was no need to worry about the Earth-616 main canon of the MCU. Still, as the series draws to a close, many are waiting What if…? to go out with a bang and set up a future live action project for the MCU. With two Avengers movies on the horizon, it makes sense to start planting those seeds now.

Is the MCU losing its “What if…” potential? Season 4

Even if Seeley-Smith is unlikely to fill the role of Storm for the upcoming X-Men reboot, her role in What if…? reminds fans of the potential of future seasons What if…? could spend. It's like Deadpool and Wolverine included Channing Tatum's Gambit and Wesley Snipes' Blade, What if…? season 4 could have allowed any number of familiar faces to lend their vocals to classic roles. Imagine a Ghost Rider episode with Nicolas Cage, Ben Affleck voicing the animated Daredevil, or a Spider-Man-centric episode that does a good job of Drew Goddard's Sinister Six that never happened.

More importantly, the upcoming Fantastic Four and X-Men debuts include a variety of characters that would be perfect for them What if…? history. Eventually, the living versions of Charles Xavier become the Juggernaut (What if…? #13) and Dazzler, who is the herald of Galactus (What if…? #33) are unlikely to ever play out in the mainline MCU. Also, the potential of Wolverine fighting Conan the Barbarian (What if…? #16), Punisher becomes Venom (What if…? #44), and the Thing becomes a mutated Hulk-like (What if…? #37) are just a few of the stories audiences are missing out on.

It is not clear exactly why What if…? ends, but it seems like it was always planned as a three-part story that could spin off into other projects. This has already been demonstrated Marvel Zombies spin-off from Season 1's What If… Zombies?! Speaking to The Official Marvel Podcast in July 2024, executive producer Brad Winderbaum said that Season 3 “feels like the conclusion of a trilogy”:

Although the Watchers were briefly teased Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2The live-action MCU has yet to reach its full potential. As the franchise introduces more space entities, e.g Thor: Love and Thunder made with Eternity and Agatha all together in the case of Death, the Watchers (and Uatu in particular) seem poised to play their part.

What if…? season 3 brings together an alternate Avengers lineup with Sam Wilson, Shang-Chi, and Monica Rambeau, which is convenient since they're all potential recruits for the MCU's supposed New Avengers. Even if What if…? ends in the traditional sense, one can continue to explore some of his ideas in such spin-offs as Marvel Zombies. Entertaining ideas that are too “wild” for live action, What if…? at least served as a training ground for unusual concepts. There's already been one Christmas episode, so maybe it's worth watching again What if…? for the occasional special.

Just as disappointing What if…?While this may be the end, it's important to remember that this is the only Disney+ series to receive a three-season order. Most Marvel series were limited to one season, and even the critically acclaimed ones Loki it doesn't look like he's coming back for a third season. In addition, p Secret wars plan to destroy the Multiverse and end the current Multiverse Saga before heading into the Muntant Saga, rumored to make sense What if…? ends. Although it's a shame that fans never got to see Wolverine become Lord of the Vampires (What if…? #24), even the Watcher doesn't know what the future holds What if…? contains