Following the Disney+ release of What If...?'s second season, Season 3 is already well into development at Marvel Studios.
The series will continue to follow Jeffrey Wright's Watcher as he peaks into realities across the Multiverse to view the adventures of various heroic and villainous Variants, putting a unique spin on existing MCU stories.
When Will What If...? Season 3 Release?
The gap between the first two seasons of What If...? ended up being two years and three months after various delays, and fans will certainly be holding out hope for a shorter wait to catch Season 3 on Disney+.
Fortunately, as Marvel Studios has already released the first clip from an upcoming episode and development on Season 3 was announced to be happening as far back as July 2022, production may be rather far along.
Disney published its release calendar for 2024 projects which includes six Marvel Studios projects. Of those half-dozen, three are animated Disney+ series - X-Men '97, Eyes of Wakanda, and Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man.
While these release schedules are always up in the air, the presence of three Disney+ animated series along with the live-action Echo and Agatha: Darkhold Diaries makes it hard to imagine room for What If...? Season 3.
At the time of releasing the first clip from Season 3, Marvel Studios described the return of What If...? as "Coming Soon."
While that may be unlikely to come in 2024 due to a packed animation calendar, it ought to fit into the 2025 MCU roster.
As the franchise goes all-in on animation with three series in 2024 alone, the ball may keep rolling into 2025 with What If...? Season 3 somewhere early in the year.
Only time will tell what format Marvel Studios opts to drop the series in this time around, be that weekly episodes like most Disney+ series, a binge release akin to Echo, or daily episodes just like Season 2.
The series will likely continue to run for nine episodes, just as has been the case for both the first two seasons, despite original plans for an even 10.
Who Will Appear in What If...? Season 3?
As usual, Jeffrey Wright is expected to continue serving as the narrator of What If...? into Season 3, better known as the cosmic entity of Uatu the Watcher.
The first clip from Season 3 revealed an episode that will unite the Winter Soldier and Red Guardian from Black Widow, with Ant-Man and the Wasp's Bill Foster also featuring in the footage.
Just like in past seasons, Sebastian Stan and Lawrence Fishburne will likely once again lend their voice to Bucky Barnes and Bill Foster, but it remains uncertain whether David Harbour will reprise Red Guardian for the animated series.
The clip also included a character called Ranger Morales hunting the two super soldiers with Foster, but the actress behind her has yet to be confirmed.
Although details on the remaining episodes from Season 3 remain scarce, it seems likely there will be plenty more of Hayley Atwell's Captain Carter who has been the face of What If...? so far, appearing in five episodes to date.
Going into Season 3, What If...? ought to continue to boast a massive cast of major MCU players including Benedict Cumerbatch's Doctor Strange, Chris Hemsworth's Thor, Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury, and too many more to count.
Other voice actors will also continue to fill some heroic roles in place of their usual live-action performers including Lake Bell as Black Widow, Hudson Thames as Spider-Man, Mick Wingert as Iron Man, and Josh Keaton as Steve Rogers.
As more time has passed since Phases 4 and 5, What If...? could utilize more recent stories, characters, and concepts for Season 3 such as Ms. Marvel, Shang-Chi, She-Hulk, Moon Knight, Daredevil, and the Eternals.
Perhaps it may even be time for a Kang Variant to play into things, dependent, of course, on how quickly Marvel Studios can find its replacement for Jonathan Majors following his recent firing.
Marvel Studios also just introduced the Native American Kahhori, played by Devery Jacobs, as its first original superhero in Season 2. After starring in two episodes in the latest season, it's easy to see her showing up again.
What Stories Will What If...? Season 3 Include?
Only one episode has been officially revealed for What If...? Season 3 so far, with a clip confirming a tale featuring Black Widow's Red Guardian and the Winter Soldier on a mission in the U.S. at some point in the past.
As MCU fans will know, both super soldiers were working for the Russians during this time, which will likely prompt some form of Cold War-era espionage mission where they are being hunted by Lawrence Fishburne's Bill Foster.
Both the first two seasons of What If...? included a Captain Carter episode adapting a Captain America movie - The First Avenger and The Winter Soldier. As such, it wouldn't be surprising to see a third in Season 3 that would present a unique take on Civil War in this more feminist Marvel world.
Captain Carter's Season 2 sequel left off with Peggy and Black Widow on the hunt for Steve Rogers' Hydra Stomper, just as Captain America was for Bucky Barnes after The Winter Soldier. Peggy will no doubt be ready to revisit this mission after her Multiversal detour in the season's final two episodes.
"What If... Captain Carter Fought the Hydra Stomper" confirmed Iron Man, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Wasp, and Thor to be the Avengers who fended off Loki's invasion of New York, any of which could play into this new Civil War.
Marvel Studios Head of Streaming, Television, and Animation Brad Winderbaum previously teased how Jeffrey Wright's Watcher will evolve into Season 3, noting how it will go "deeper" into his character and fans will "get to know his humanity a lot more" this time around:
"The fact that we have 'What If…?' going into a third season, it means that we can go a little bit deeper with these characters, especially the Watcher. It’s a Multiverse story, they’re standalone stories, but there is a serialized aspect to it because there’s this narrator who…he loves the subjects of these stories, he’s the ultimate fanboy. He’s watching, like we all watch, and he loves these characters like we do. So we can dig in a little deeper into what makes him tick in the second season, and then into the third season, we kind of get to know his humanity a lot more."
As What If...? dives more closely into its narrator and his "humanity," one has to wonder if that will lead to the Watcher becoming more involved and interfering in Multiversal scenarios, just as he once did in Season 1.
Director Bryan Andrew has also promised the animated anthology show will "just go even wackier" in Season 3 and will include some "crazy stuff." This ought to address one major fan complaint with some past episodes of What If...? playing it a little too safe with certain stories.
Part of the change in storytelling in What If...? Season 3 will come due to the exit of head writer A.C. Bradley, who will be replaced on the show after Season 2.
Just as was the case in both the first two seasons, Season 3 ought to culminate in another crossover of some Variants featured across the nine episodes to take on a larger threat endangering the whole Multiverse.
Does What If...? Season 3 Have a Trailer?
Alongside the Season 2 finale of What If...?, Marvel Studios released "A Look Into The Future" of the series with a clip from an upcoming Season 3 episode.
Marvel Studios didn't release the first full trailer for What If...? Season 2 until just over a month before the premiere. As such, fans will probably be waiting a while before they see any more footage from Season 3.
The first What If...? Season 3 clip can be seen below:
Will What If...? Season 3 Be the Final Season?
As of now, Marvel Studios has only confirmed the renewal of What If...? up until Season 3, with no word on if a fourth season is being planned. But it seems likely the show doesn't have too much of a lifespan remaining.
The very essence of What If...? as an anthology series exploring the Multiverse means the show largely works in the confines of the Multiverse Saga, which is currently scheduled to end in May 2027 with Avengers: Secret Wars.
Assuming What If...? Season 3 arrives sometime in 2025, that ought to leave room for perhaps one more season before this saga closes out. Then again, recent setbacks to the next Avengers movies could extend this saga beyond 2027.
In theory, Marvel Studios could opt to carry on What If...? for as long as it wishes, as the concept lends itself to endless possibilities. But it seems likely the show will only continue for as long as the MCU has its focus on the Multiverse.
The first two seasons of What If...? are streaming now on Disney+.
