Marvel Reveals Best Look Yet at MCU's Watcher and Elseworlds Thor With Official Merch

By Richard Nebens Updated:
Watcher, Party Thor, Chris Hemsworth, What If...?

Marvel Studios is already proving itself to be taking bold steps forward in Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe thanks to its efforts on Disney+, a path that will continue this week with Tom Hiddleston's Loki series. The next one on the docket is this August's What If...?, which will be the MCU's first step into the world of animation through the lens of the Infinity Saga.

The biggest characters from Phases 1-3 will get their shine in alternate reality stories like Natasha Romanoff tackling a post-Ultron scenario and Tony Stark finding himself stuck on Sakaar, all after things open up with Peggy Carter becoming Captain Britain. Looking over all of these events will be Jeffrey Wrights Watcher, who will play an integral role in showing Marvel fans everything that could have been through each episode.

The Watcher is also the centerpiece in the latest round of promotional material, along with one of Marvel's original Avengers.

THE WATCHER AND PARTY THOR HIGHLIGHTED

Walmart has listed two different coin purses on their website featuring promotional images of heroes from Marvel Studios' What If...?, which will premiere on Disney+ in Summer 2021.

Watcher 1
Walmart

One coin purse features fans' best look yet at Jeffrey Wright's Watcher with his hands raised in front of him and his name shown off in big dark letters and cosmic glow.

Watcher 2
Walmart

The full image features the What If...? lead character floating in the air, giving an overall look at his blue costume with a curious hexagon-symbolized chest plate.

Party Thor
Walmart

Another coin purse features Chris Hemsworth's Party Thor flying into action with his mighty hammer Mjolnir. Sleeves are also absent from this suit, which were first seen on the God of Thunder's costume during 2012's The Avengers.

MORE EXCITING MCU IMAGES

While these two images don't reveal a ton of information, they're possibly the clearest looks fans have seen yet of these animated characters in their full costumes. The Watcher in particular looks magnificent, taken nearly straight out of the comics with his glowing white eyes and his one-sleeved flowing blue robes.

Fans will be interested about if and when Jeffrey Wright's character actually finds himself getting involved with the What If...? scenarios that he's narrating. Described as the MCU's version of Rod Serling from The Twilight Zone, reports have teased that he becomes enamored with what's happening before throwing himself into these alternate reality plotlines.

As for Chris Hemsworth's God of Thunder, he's set for a wild ride as Party Thor with the decision to throw a massive intergalactic celebration of some kind on Earth. The events leading up to this are still unknown, but it will be exciting to find out what kind of chaos he brings while still in his early arrogant phase.

While no release date is set for What If...? yet, fans are looking forward to more looks like these coming to light over the next couple of months. This series will likely come fairly quickly after Loki finishes its six-episode run, and the promotional tour is sure to pick up during that time as well.

What If...? is confirmed to debut on Disney+ in August 2021.

- In This Article: What If...? (Season 2)
Release Date
December 22, 2023
Platform
Actors
Jeffrey Wright
- About The Author: Richard Nebens
Richard Nebens joined The Direct in March 2020, now serving as the site's Senior Writer and also working as an assistant editor and content creator. He started his journalism career as a hobby in 2019 and is passionate about sharing news and stories from the entertainment industry, especially comic book movies, comedy, and sci-fi. Richard looks to expand his knowledge about movies and TV every day, and he is eager to stay locked into the latest releases and breaking news at every opportunity.