Credit: Marvel StudiosThe Marvel Cinematic Universe just got a whole lot more interesting. After a sluggish year, where sequels to billion-dollar movies fail to break out of orbit, Kevin Feige’s superhero studio is giving fans one new story every single day right through to just about the new year.
With a daily dose of What If…? springing up on Disney+, viewers are pulled back into the Multiverse, and with that comes a host of familiar faces thrust into exciting new scenarios. However, while audiences may be expecting familiar voices to accompany those faces in these alternative classic cinematic moments, that hasn’t always been the case.
Sure, many live-action actors are lending their vocal talents to their respective characters in the hit animated series. But, for a handful, newcomers have stepped in to bring them to life. What If…? Season 2’s latest episode, December 23’s “What If… Peter Quill Attacked the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes?” revealed that multiple more characters have been recast.
Guardians of the Galaxy Characters Replaced for What If…? Project
For the titular Peter Quill, who is a young boy here, it’s not Chris Pratt (sure, he’s older, but the man is on a voice acting train of late), but Mace Montgomery Miskel. The change to Peter Quill marks the third time in just two episodes that Marvel has recast a Guardians of the Galaxy character.
The first episode, “What if…Nebula joined the Nova Corps?” featured both Groot and Irani Rael, AKA Nova Prime, voiced by new actors. Julianne Grossman took on Glenn Close’s character, who first appeared in James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), while Fred Tatasciore played Groot, originally brought to life by Vin Diesel in the live-action MCU. Interestingly, the latter also played Drax the Destroyer in the first season of What If…? — a character first established in the MCU by former professional wrestler Dave Bautista. These replacements mean that in just 24 hours, three Guardians of the Galaxy franchise actors have been confirmed to have been replaced for this specific project.
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Of course, there is no confirmed explanation behind the recast actors. We can assume that Chris Pratt was simply too old for the part of young Quill, but as for the others, it could be anything from scheduling to contractual obligations; we just don’t know. Or, unless it’s like what happened to Dave Bautista with Season 1, where the actor claims he just wasn’t asked.
The live-action Marvel Universe had its final outing for the current team earlier this year, with James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023) giving an emotional send-off to Peter Quill/Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldaña), Nebula (Karen Gillan), Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper), Drax (Dave Bautista), and Mantis (Pom Klementieff). The third Guardians film also saw the MCU debut of Will Poulter as Adam Warlock and Chukwudi Iwuji as the High Evolutionary.
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What If…? Season 2 continues daily through December 30. Like the first season of the animated Marvel series, there are nine episodes, with the remainder of the series featuring episodes titled “What If… Happy Hogan Saved Christmas?” “What If… Iron Man Crashed Into the Grandmaster?” “What If… Captain Carter Fought the Hydra Stomper?” “What If… Kahhori Reshaped the World?” “What If… Hela Found the Ten Rings?” “What If… the Avengers Assembled in 1602?” and “What If… Strange Supreme Intervened?”
Are you enjoying What If…? Season 2 so far? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!
The amount of What If…? Season 2 episodes available on Disney+ was correct at the time of publication.