The show that started it all for Marvel Studios Animation has come to an end. Marvel’s What If…? spent three seasons exploring the multiverse, telling alternate versions of tales from the MCU and introducing variants of fan-favorite characters. The recently released third season was announced as the show’s last, concluding an era that helped launch the entire animation division of Marvel Studios.
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Brad Winderbaum, What If…? executive producer and head of TV, animation, and streaming for Marvel Studios, recently spoke to ComicBook about the show’s surprising ending. He explained that bringing What If…? to a close was equal parts satisfying and heartbreaking, for more reasons than just what you see on the screen.
“I feel like the ending makes me feel very happy and very sad at the same time. It’s extremely satisfying. And it’s heartbreaking,” Winderbaum told us. “It’s heartbreaking just for the characters, but also from the behind-the-scenes perspective. You know, this is the show that launched it all. There’d be no Marvel Studios Animation without What If. There’d be no X-Men ’97 without What If. There’d be no Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man without What If. There’d be no I Am Groot, certainly no Marvel Zombies.
“So it’s definitely a heavy weight to see it ride off into the sunset. And the story itself, it’s a beautiful culmination to these characters, for these characters, especially the Watcher.”
Is Marvel’s What If…? Really Over?
While Season 3 has been billed as the conclusion of the series, and definitely wraps up the larger story of the Watcher, there is plenty of room to do more with the What If…? format as the MCU continues to grow.
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Series director Bryan Andrews recently told ComicBook that he believes this ending is only temporary, and that What If…? will likely be back at some point.
“None of this is official, but something in my gut tells me it might just be more of a pause for the time being, because it just feels like there’s other things we can tell,” Andrews explained. “And when it comes to ending a thing that’s like this, it’s throughout the couple of seasons we’ve had this growing relationship or this side story. We’ve had these little one-off adventures and there’s a little bit of tie-ins along the way with The Watcher and what he’s dealing with. So that overarching aspect we finally culminate that aspect of the story that you can trace across all three seasons. So in that sense, there’s an ending for that idea. But that doesn’t mean the entire premise is now over.”
All three seasons of Marvel’s What If…? are streaming on Disney+.
