Marvel Reveals Replacement Actors for Scarlett Johansson & Robert Downey Jr. In New What If Episode

By Russ Milheim Updated:
MCU, What If...?, Black Widow, Iron Man, Scarlett Johansson, Robert Downey Jr.

So far, fans have had three Disney+ shows—all of which have done massive things. WandaVision brought back Vision and juiced-up Wanda, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier gave Sam Wilson his much deserved promotion, and Loki blew open the multiverse.

Thanks to that newly introduced multiverse, fans are currently enjoying Marvel Studios' first animated venture: What If...?. The show has aired three episodes so far with audiences getting to meet both Captain Carter and T'Challa Star-Lord as well as learning what would have happened if the world lost The Avengers before they were formed.

It's an insane show that has unlimited creativity in exploring alternate events in the MCU. With such an expansive cast, though, it looks to have proved difficult to get all of them back.

Some, like Samuel L. Jackson and Hayley Atwell, returned to voice their respective characters. But others, such as Steve Rogers, didn't get the same outcome

The third episode of the show features both Natasha Romanoff and Tony Stark, and both Robert Downey Jr. and Scarlett Johansson don't return to lend their performances.

Thanks to the credits of the installment, fans now officially know who will be providing voices for those characters in the series.

DOWNEY AND JOHANSSON REPLACEMENTS FOR WHAT IF...?

What If, Marvel, MCU, credits
What If...?

Thanks to the opening credits of What If...?'s recent episode, "What If... The World Lost It's Mightiest Heroes?," the new voice actors replacing Tony Stark and Natasha Romanoff were revealed. 

Lake Bell, known for her work as Poison Ivy in Harley Quinn, was the one responsible for bringing Black Widow to life. For Stark, it was Mick Winger lending his voice—a lesser-known actor who is currently voicing Po in Kung Fu Panda: The Paws of Destiny.

mick-wingert-lake-bell
Marvel

Winger posted on his Instagram a few weeks ago prior to the official reveal. In his post, alongside pictures of Tony Stark from Episodes 3 and 6 of What If...?, included a caption saying that he is "so honored to... [be] a real part of the MCU:"

"It's official! I am so honored to announce that I am a real part of the MCU. Thank you to Marvel Studios and Disney Studios for making a dream come true. My episodes drop on Disney+ in a couple of weeks."

WHAT IF... THE AVENGERS WERE REPLACED?

The show maintains a strange balancing act when it comes to mixing returning talent and new talent. Thankfully, so far, it seems to have worked well with only a few exceptions.

It is a little sad that the show wasn't able to procure all the original talents, though it does make sense. With big names such as Robert Downey Jr. or Scarlett Johansson, their contributions aren't cheap; Marvel probably saved a good chunk of change by not bringing them back.

With three installments already released, fans have another six weeks of fun alternate timeline shenanigans. After all, there's still the Doctor Strange-centric story, Killmonger meeting Tony, and Ultron winning—things are bound to get even crazier.

What If...? streams new episodes every Wednesday exclusively on Disney+. 

- In This Article: What If...? (Season 2)
Release Date
December 22, 2023
Platform
Actors
Jeffrey Wright
- About The Author: Russ Milheim
Russ Milheim is the Industry Relations Coordinator at The Direct. On top of utilizing his expertise on the many corners of today’s entertainment to cover the latest news and theories, he establishes and maintains communication and relations between the outlet and the many studio and talent representatives.