Marvel Studios shocked the MCU fandom by confirming that one more new MCU project will debut on Disney+ before the end of 2024.
Marvel Studios has enjoyed an impressive year of releases in 2024 thus far, highlighted by the record-breaking efforts of Deadpool & Wolverine in theaters. On top of that, Echo made its debut on both Disney+ and Hulu as fans await the mysterious final two episodes of Agatha All Along.
While plenty of movies and TV shows are still set to debut in the Multiverse Saga, 2024 was expected to end with Agatha All Along. However, the studio behind the MCU decided to change things up and surprise viewers with one more exciting story this year.
What If... The MCU Released One More Show In 2024?
Marvel Studios released a new hype video placed ahead of Episode 1 of Agatha All Along on Disney+, including the confirmed projects being released before the end of 2024 and into 2025.
That video revealed that What If...? Season 3 will be the final MCU project to arrive this year, as Marvel Studios gave it a December 22, 2024 release date. Also included was a small bit of footage from the new season.
The footage provided the first look at Simu Liu's Shang-Chi donning a cowboy hat and what appears to be a bandana made from the same material as his red suit seen in 2021's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. He is also listed in the subtitles as "Shang-Chi Cowboy."
Fans also get a look at a massive mech suit for Sam Wilson holding a pose in the snow during battle. Anthony Mackie's Captain America was previously confirmed to play a role in What If...? Season 3 in the first look at the show's new season on social media in February, with this footage showing him in full.
Seemingly opposite Captain America is an army of Dark Elves, originally seen in 2013's Thor: The Dark World.
A third snow-based scene shows what appears to be Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury standing at the end of the Bifrost seen mostly in the MCU's Thor films. Next to him are an unidentified character holding a gun (potentially Clark Gregg's Phil Coulson) and two Skrulls.
Along with the December 22 release date, Marvel confirmed that episodes of What If...? Season 3 will be released daily — the same strategy used for Season 2.
What Will Happen in What If...? Season 3?
Predicting specific stories that will come to fruition in What If...? is about as easy as picking out a needle from a multiversal haystack. However, this footage along with other news releases teases even more wild adventures in these new episodes.
Multiple MCU characters were previously excluded from What If...?'s first two seasons because they had not appeared in live-action MCU projects at that time. That opens the door for most of the MCU's newcomers from Phase 4 and Phase 5 to join the fray, as indicated by Shang-Chi's place in this footage.
This is further confirmed by footage released at D23 2024 that confirmed Oscar Isaac's Moon Knight for a role in Season 3 ahead of his live-action return.
On top of that, the new season's first trailer (which arrived shortly after Season 2's debut) teased an episode featuring the Red Guardian and the Winter Soldier on some kind of odd road trip. Other Black Widow characters like Rachel Weisz's Melina Vostokoff are also expected to appear.
Although this footage only showed a total of four seconds of action, it's enough to build up hype for what Marvel Studios has in store for What If...?'s new episodes. What If...? will also become the first MCU Disney+ show to last for at least three seasons, hopefully kicking off a trend for future entries in the franchise.
What If...? Season 3 will debut on Disney+ on December 22. The first two seasons are currently available to watch on Disney's streaming service.
