Marvel Studios officially confirmed the upcoming release schedule for Season 2 of What If...? on Disney+.
More than two years after What If...? Season 1 arrived in August 2021 - and after facing numerous delays to its release - Season 2 will finally make its debut as the last MCU project of 2023.
The new season will also mark a historic moment in MCU history as Marvel Studios will divert from its weekly Disney+ episode release strategy, instead bringing one episode per night to the streamer from December 22 to December 30.
When Will What If...? Season 2 Episodes Release?
What If...? Season 2 will bring its first episode to Disney+ on Friday, December 22, followed by nightly releases for the next eight nights until the season comes to a close on Saturday, December 30.
Additionally, Marvel Studios shared an official promotional image showing Jeffrey Wright's Watcher donning a Santa hat, which is seen behind the dates and titles for all nine episodes.
Those nine episode titles are as follows:
- Episode 1 - "What If… Nebula Joined the Nova Corps?:" Friday, December 22
- Episode 2 - "What If… Peter Quill Attacked Earth’s Mightiest Heroes?" Saturday, December 23
- Episode 3 - "What If… Happy Hogan Saved Christmas?:" Sunday, December 24
- Episode 4 - "What If... Iron Man Crashed Into the Grandmaster?:" Monday, December 25
- Episode 5 - "What If… Captain Carter Fought the Hydra Stomper?:" Tuesday, December 26
- Episode 6 - "What If... Kahhori Reshaped the World?:" Wednesday, December 27
- Episode 7 - "What If... Hela Found the Ten Rings?:" Thursday, December 28
- Episode 8 - "What If… The Avengers Assembled in 1602?:" Friday, December 29
- Episode 9 - "What If... Strange Supreme Intervened?" Saturday, December 30
Disney's press release seems to indicate that new episodes of What If...? Season 2 will be released at 6:00 p.m. PT/9:00 p.m. ET, utilizing the same release schedule as Loki Season 2 and Star Wars' Ahsoka show.
Also included in the release were plot summaries for Episode 1 and Episode 3.
Episode 1, titled What If… Nebula Joined the Nova Corps?," explores a reality in which Ronan the Accuser eliminates Thanos as a threat a long time before the events of Avengers: Infinity War. Nebula is also recruited to the Nova Corps, showing off her skills as a detective to get out of her father's shadow.
Premiering on Christmas Eve, Episode 3, titled "What If… Happy Hogan Saved Christmas?," features the return of Sam Rockwell's Justin Hammer as the Iron Man 2 villain attacks Avengers Tower during the annual holiday party. Standing in his way is Jon Favreau's Happy Hogan, who engages in some Die Hard-style shenanigans while trying to prove himself as a capable hero.
Here's What to Expect In What If...? Season 2
Considering the changes made for What If...? Season 2's release schedule and all the delays that preceded this season, fans are hoping that this next set of episodes will be worth the wait.
Critics already shared positive reactions to the first couple of episodes, praising the new season as "even stronger than the first" while also teasing "fun surprises" along with "unexpected characters."
Nearly two dozen classic MCU heroes are already confirmed to appear on screen in these next nine episodes, adding more than a handful of new animated faces that weren't seen or heard in Season 1.
This will even include the MCU's first-ever original hero, the Native American warrior Kahhori, with fans anxious to see how she and the MCU's veterans will tackle this new Multiversal challenge.
