Multiple scrapped ideas for What If...? episodes have been slowly trickling out in interviews. One of the more disturbing was an episode about Spider-Man turning into a literal spider. An idea deemed "too dark," likely due to Peter Parker not being cured by its end, like the cartoon adaptation.
Several more ideas were discarded, but only because Marvel Studios had them first, as head writer A.C. Bradley explained in a recent interview.
She originally pitched an episode that was "half the plot of Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3" and even managed to pitch "old-man Steve and Professor Hulk," which were all rejected for obvious reasons. Bradley had also pushed the idea of Jane Foster as Thor, which was an actual comic issue of "What If...?" but was also rejected due to Thor: Love and Thunder.
So, it's unsurprising to see that another idea for What If...? was scrapped due to Marvel Studios already covering it in the shows and films.
WHAT IF LOKI WAS WORTHY?
In an interview with Vanity Fair, director Bryan Andrews talked about the storylines that never made the cut for What If...? due to one restriction imposed upon them, which was to avoid focusing on characters who already had their own Disney+ shows.
Meaning that Wanda, Vision, Falcon, Bucky, and Loki couldn't be the focus of an episode. However, Andrews didn't know this when he originally pitched his original concept art of a worthy Loki to Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige.
In this pitch, Loki was worthy of Mjolnir and that the episode could explore the "many aspects" of Loki's life that could explain this life-changing difference:
“We had Loki with Thor's hammer, like Loki was worthy. At first it seems superficial, but how do you get to that point without changing who he is? You're given a thousand questions to answer. It's like, oh, did he stay a Frost Giant? Was Odin not a dick and taught him better? You know what I mean? There are so many aspects of that life you can explore."
Unfortunately, according to Andrews, “They didn't want us to go there because basically they were doing that in the Loki series.”
GOOD TO AVOID REPETITION
It's hilarious to see how another idea for a What If...? episode was yet again shut down because it was something that the shows or films were already planning. Aside from just avoiding repetition of concepts like a heroic Loki, it's nice that characters who already have shows on Disney+ won't be the focus of an episode.
It makes sense since it'd essentially be double-dipping for those characters, and it gives a chance for others to have a chance in the limelight, like Killmonger or Spider-Man. However, recent films likely weren't taken into consideration for this "restriction," since Black Widow will seemingly be the star of a post-apocalyptic episode where Ultron won.
What If...? is currently streaming on Disney+ with new episodes releasing weekly on Wednesdays.
