“Marvel’s What If…?” has been a part of the Disney+ Marvel Cinematic Universe umbrella since very near the beginning. It was the fourth official Marvel Studios show to launch on the then-burgeoning streaming platform back in 2021, following up “WandaVision,” “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” and “Loki” Season 1. The animated anthology series’ third and final season premieres on December 22, 2024, mimicking the holiday release window for “What If…?” season 2 in 2023.
Through its run, “What If…?” has tried to strike a tricky balance between presenting true one-off alternate universe stories and tying into the larger “Multiverse Saga” of the MCU. There have been recurring characters and steady storylines, even while the episode to episode arcs remain relatively hypothetical and self-contained. In the end, it seems that the show’s connective tissue to the grand MCU plot may have been the reason for its end after three seasons, at least according to Marvel TV head Brad Winderbaum.
In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Winderbaum explained part of the reasoning for cancelling the animated series. “‘What If…?’ has always tied into the greater MCU and the Multiverse Saga,” Winderbaum explained. “And for reasons that will become clear in the next couple of years, this was the right time to culminate the series from a story perspective.” It’s also true that three seasons is a pretty decent run for anything animated in the modern streaming landscape — a longer run than any other Marvel Studios Disney+ shows have yet received.
What If…? may no longer be relevant to the MCU
According to Brad Winderbaum, there’s a compelling narrative reason why now is the right time to wrap up “What If…?” However, due to how muddled the MCU’s multiverse era has become, that reasoning isn’t immediately clear.
While much has happened in recent years regarding the various “branches” of the so-called “Sacred Timeline,” the multiverse itself isn’t going anywhere as a core narrative construct, or at least it doesn’t seem to be. Kang the Conqueror was pushed aside due to controversy surrounding actor Jonathan Majors, but Robert Downey Jr. will be playing Doctor Doom in the upcoming “Avengers: Doomsday.” It’s still hard to tell where exactly the franchise is going in overarching terms, but it also would make sense for Marvel Studios to start moving away from narratives about the multiverse explicitly and start using it more as a justification for telling different kinds of stories.
That said, there are surely other reasons at play for the show’s cancellation. Animation isn’t cheap, and Disney hasn’t hidden the fact that the many “Star Wars” and Marvel streaming series released over the last several years have been incredibly expensive — often without the commensurate payday. “What If…?” has been a pretty steady hit with critics and fans, but it also hasn’t earned the sky-high praise of other recent Disney+ fare like “X-Men ’97” or “Agatha All Along.”
There could be other reasons why Marvel’s What If…? has been cancelled
While Marvel is always keeping the overarching story of the MCU in mind, there are tons of factors that go into any show being renewed or cancelled. If “What If…?” had received significant attention or been a huge cash cow for Disney+, I’m sure the studio would have found a narrative reason to keep it going. But even a company as enormous as Disney has limited resources, and the animated wing of Marvel specifically has started going in different directions lately.
The massive success of “X-Men ’97” likely made some folks at Marvel Studios rethink future TV projects. The show has no connection to the MCU whatsoever, and for fans who simply couldn’t keep up with all the streaming series that have come out in recent years, that was kind of a selling point. In the same interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Winderbaum described another upcoming animated project, “Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man,” as “just a fun ride,” emphasizing its relatively independent status, which is similar to that of “X-Men.”
“Eyes of Wakanda,” one more upcoming animated series, will likely be more directly tied into the larger MCU, but its angling, which Winderbaum described as “a story about conquest and national identity,” makes it somewhat distinct thematically, at least in theory. By its very nature, “What If…?” is a less focused show, making it potentially less of a fit with Marvel’s upcoming animated slate.
Once again, the third and final season of Marvel’s “What If…?” will premiere December 22, 2024, on Disney+.
