Credit: Marvel StudiosTwo years ago, Marvel dropped the first season of what would be a direct sequel or spin-off to their hit Loki series starring Tom Hiddleston. Now, once again following the latest bout of Loki, What If…? Season 2 will explode with Multiversal moments, and the superhero studio just addressed its unprecedented development.
On December 22, Marvel Studios will begin airing the sophomore season of its What If…? animated TV series. What If…? proved to be far more than what it first seemed when it landed on The Walt Disney Company’s Disney+ streaming service in the summer of 2021, bringing the Multiverse to the mainstream right after Loki Season 1 unveiled its scope. In this way, What If…? proved to be directly linked to Loki in the way Loki introduced and explored the idea of the Sacred Timeline and such, establishing its status as a spin-off to the popular Michael Waldron-created series.
At one point, it seemed unlikely that What If…? Season 2 would even get a 2023 debut. It was meant to debut in “Early 2023,” but was eventually changed to “Coming Soon,” and there it remained for months and months. But, in a surprise turn of events, Marvel Studios revealed that What If…? would be making its 2023 debut after all, and it would do so in an unprecedented way.
Beginning December 22, the nine episodes in What If…? Season 2 will be released daily, meaning the last episode will drop on December 30, 2023. At the recent launch of What If…? Season 2, Marvel Studios director Bryan Andrews, who helmed the first season, spoke about the daily episode release structure, how producers Brad Winderbaum and Dana Vasquez-Eberherdt planned the festive event, and confirmed its surprising nature.
“Well, I mean, you know, Brad [Winderbaum] and Dana [Vasquez-Eberhardt] were off somewhere concocting the magical-ness of how to release these things,” Andrews said at the What If…? Season 2 Q & A (via The Direct). “We were busy just like, ‘We’re working. When is it coming out? We don’t know. We don’t know. And so somehow they stumbled upon this, or was [it] their grandpa? I don’t know how they did it.”
Related: Chris Pratt Replaced as Peter Quill in MCU, More Details Released
Andrews went on to highlight the positive response the series has garnered thus far and how the daily release feels perfect for the holidays — “it’s like every day you get a brand new gift.” Andrews is tapped to return to direct episodes of the second season. A.C. Bradley, the creator of the series, is also serving as head writer.
So far, fans can see by the trailer what sorts of stories to expect. From what if Nebula joined the Nova Corps to what if Happy Hogan saved Christmas to Cate Blanchett’s return as the villainous Hela, What If…? looks once again to be more important to the Multiverse Saga than perhaps any other project, aside from Loki.
Related: Marvel Confirms the Next Full Avengers Team in the MCU
What If…? Season 1 introduced many new elements to Kevin Feige’s Marvel Cinematic Universe, chiefly Uatu, The Watcher, played by Jeffrey Wright. Not allowed to interfere with events in the Multiverse, The Watcher brought many new characters into focus, and some have even since transitioned into the live-action world. Hayley Atwell’s Captain Carter debuted in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022), for example, after first being introduced in the first episode of What If…?
When looking at the Multiverse Saga as a whole, no project has shined a light on the machinations of the Multiverse as Loki and What If…? have, which is why the second season of the latter dropping right after Loki Season 2 feels important to the greater mythos of this Multiversal era.
Loki Season 3?
While there seem to be no more Loki seasons on the way, at least in the way fans have grown accustomed to, Tom Hiddleston’s beloved God of Mischief will likely appear at some point in the future as the franchise hurtles towards Avengers: The Kang Dynasty (2026) and Avengers: Secret Wars (2027).
The emotional end of the second season showed Loki alone after becoming the new He Who Remains (previously Jonathan Majors) and saving the Temporal Loom from imploding and causing immense and irreversible destruction. In doing so, his friends Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) and Mobius (Owen Wilson) — and the rest of the gang — were free to explore their branched timelines, living unrestricted from the policing of the Time Variance Authority (TVA), and, as Wilson’s Mobius said in the finale, “let time pass.”
Are you looking forward to What If…? Season 2 on Disney+? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!