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Is Marvel’s What If..? Canon to the MCU?


Credit: Marvel Studios

One of the most exciting Marvel shows released by Disney is What If..?, an animated series featuring our beloved characters from the MCU but not in the way we all knew them before as some had swapped roles or in situations wherein things were not like the ones we already watched. This brings the question of whether it is canon.

It will elevate the storytelling game of Marvel, to say the least, as it would be offering twists and turns on the what-ifs-and-could-have-beens of the characters we already know of and even their origins. Arriving on Disney+ every week, What If..? will give a refreshing take on every hero and villain that we used to watch in films, only now, they have been animated.

The show is nine episodes, one count shy from the original plan of having ten, and each of them will run for 30 minutes, more or less, depending on the episode and the story told. It would not follow the usual format as well since for What If..?, the storyteller would be Uatu the Watcher and if you're ready to see something different, then this Marvel show is definitely for you.

Related: Marvel Studios Seemingly Hints that Agent Carter Series is Not MCU Canon

Is Marvel's What If..? Canon to the MCU?

Is Marvel’s What If..? Canon to the MCU?
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Credit: Marvel Studios

While the characters that would be appearing on the show are familiar characters, the stories to be told by Uatu would be alternate realities within the MCU. This means that the events may come from the previous shows and films but it would have a different scenario. It would not change what has already been done as it would be a whole new perspective shown to us.

It has been confirmed by the creator of the show, Bradley, in a chat with IGN that Marvel's What If..? will be canon to the MCU, however, it forms part from the branched timelines that spawned in the previous releases.

Based on the comic series from 1997 until 2018, What If..? would provide the answers to various questions like "what if a different person got the super-soldier serum?" or "what if Yondu kidnapped the wrong kid and not Peter Quill?" It would also deal with events that happened in the MCU but with a different outcome like "what if Loki won the battle in New York?" or "what if Doctor Strange never got the bargain with Dormammu?"

It has been confirmed that What If..? will be having a second season as well when the executive producer of the show, Brad Winderbaum, shared that the one episode cut off from season one would form part of Season 2. He also said that the arc of Peggy becoming Captain Carter would span until the rest of the seasons, seemingly teasing that there would be more than two.

All things considered; it would definitely be a show worth watching.

Marvel's What If..? premiered on August 11, 2021 at 3 AM exclusively on Disney+.

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