What If...? has reached its midpoint, but it's clear that there's still a lot to unravel about the show's overarching narrative.
Marvel Studios' first animated venture is utilizing the multiverse to create more story opportunities for both the franchise's heroes and villains, giving them different roles compared to their live-action counterparts.
The first batch of episodes featured Peggy Carter's transformation into a super-soldier while the late Chadwick Boseman's T'Challa journeyed into space to become the new Star-Lord of the galaxy. What If...? also took a dark turn by unveiling the debut of an evil Doctor Strange and a horde of Marvel zombies.
Now, as the show progresses into its second half, a sneak peek of what's to come has been revealed.
What If...? Still Has Tons of Surprises
Marvel Studios officially released the mid-season trailer for What If...?, showcasing a fresh look at major MCU moments such as Tony Stark's snap from Avengers: Endgame and the return of the Grandmaster from Thor: Ragnarok.
One of the new shots that was featured in the trailer includes Pepper Potts' teaming up with Shuri and the Dora Milaje:
Captain Marvel can also be seen smiling at the camera, likely before leading the charge against Loki's forces that were showcased in the third episode:
Taika Waititi's Korg is playfully dancing while wearing a binkie in his mouth, a scene likely set in Sakaar:
As a preview for the next episode, Michael B. Jordan's Killmonger is ready to take over Wakanda alongside a horde of Stark Industries robots in this official still from the trailer:
The full trailer can be seen below:
Will The Watcher Interfere?
Yondu's line from the trailer where he said "why stop at one hero when we can show you all of them?" is clearly a repurposed one from T'Challa's Star-Lord episode, but snippets of footage appear to suggest that the multiversal characters that were introduced will fight side by side against a common threat.
This is due to the fact that Doctor Strange Supreme can be seen standing side by side with Party Thor as well as Captain Carter, Gamora, and Black Widow teaming up against an unknown enemy.
At this stage of the series, the current batch of episodes is still standalone in nature, but it's clear that a crossover will happen at some point. Despite that, how the heroes will be able to cross from one universe to another is unknown, but there's a strong chance that Jeffrey Wright's The Watcher will be the key to making it happen.
Throughout the narrative, The Watcher can be seen observing the events that happened in the universe featured, but he chooses to stay put and not interfere. However, Doctor Strange's episode showed that the cosmic being almost interfered, and this could be a sign of things to come for the show.
Meanwhile, it remains to be seen how major MCU moments like Tony Stark's snap from Avengers: Endgame and the inclusion of Thor Ragnarok's Grandmaster will be utilized in What If...?, but the trailer seems to suggest that they will be pivotal to the series' overarching storyline.
Still, the trailer showed Stark wielding the Infinity Stones in presumably the same Avengers headquarters that was featured in Endgame, and this could simply be a reference to the events that transpired in the prime universe.
In addition, cliffhanger moments such as Ego's visit to Earth and Party Thor's mention of zombies in the trailer could hint that these plot threads will be addressed during the latter point of the first season. It will be interesting to find out if What If...? decides to conclude these storylines or if the writers will continue them in the show's already-confirmed second season.
The alternate universe shenanigans continue when Marvel's What If...? returns for its sixth episode on Disney+ on Wednesday, September 15, 2021.
