At the Walt Disney Studios lot on Monday night, industry guests, press and Marvel Studios creators gathered for a special advance screening of two episodes from What If…? Season 2, streaming on Disney+ beginning December 22. The event also offered the first looks at a newly announced animated series inspired by Black Panther and other upcoming Marvel toons.
The What If…? screening, introduced by executive producer Brad Winderbaum, Head of Streaming, Television & Animation for Marvel Studios, was followed by a Q&A with filmmakers including director/executive producer Bryan Andrews, writer/EP AC Bradley and writer/producer Matthew Chauncey.
What If…? Season 2 continues the journey as The Watcher guides viewers through the vast multiverse, introducing brand new and familiar faces throughout the MCU. The series questions, revisits and twists classic Marvel Cinematic moments with an incredible voice cast that includes a host of stars who reprise their iconic roles.
Featuring fan-favorite characters this season like Nebula, Hela and Happy Hogan, episodes are directed by Bryan Andrews (eps 2-9) and Stephan Franck (ep 1) and written by AC Bradley (eps 3, 4, 5, 8), Matthew Chauncey (eps 1-3, 7, 9) and Ryan Little (eps 6, 8). The animated series is executive produced by Brad Winderbaum, Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Bryan Andrews and AC Bradley.
The advance episodes screened on the Disney Lot were:
- Episode 1: “What If… Nebula Joined the Nova Corps?” — In a world where Ronan deposes Thanos long before the events of “Infinity War,” Nebula is recruited to join the Nova Corps. Desperate to escape her father’s shadow, she sets out to prove her detective chops.
- Episode 3: “What If Happy Hogan Saved Christmas?” — When Justin Hammer lays siege to Avengers Tower during the annual holiday party, there’s only one person left on site to stop him—Happy Hogan. But in setting out to prove his hero chops, Iron Man’s errand boy may end up transforming himself in more ways than one.
What’s Next After What If…?
As a surprise for those in the room, Winderbaum shared a sizzle reel highlighting three of the studio’s upcoming animated series:
- Eyes of Wakanda was revealed for the first time. Logline: Throughout Wakandan history, brave warriors have been tasked to travel the world retrieving dangerous vibranium artifacts. This is their story.
- Previously announced X-Men ’97 and Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man (previously titled Spider-Man: Freshman Year) were also part of the lineup featured.
