What If...?

Taking inspiration from the comic books of the same name, each episode of this animated anthology series questions, revisits and twists classic Marvel Cinematic moments.

What If...? (2021-2024) is an American animated anthology series created for Disney+ and produced by Marvel Studios, a multiverse spin on the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Jeffrey Wright voices The Watcher, the cosmic observer who narrates each episode and steps in when a single decisive change sends a familiar hero down a different path. Howard Stark (voice by Dominic Cooper) and Dr. Erskine (voice by Stanley Tucci) appear in the historical-style episodes, while Josh Brolin voices Thanos in the stories where his power reshapes the cosmos. The engine of each episode is a what-if question that rewrites a classic MCU moment, from a World War II super soldier experiment to a cosmic showdown, and the fun comes from watching familiar beats bend into unfamiliar shapes. The show runs for three seasons with twenty-six episodes, each self-contained, so viewers can dip in at any point. Its tone is playful and action-forward, with flashes of grief and dread when the alternate outcomes turn dark. Its sense of scale spans the whole multiverse, and its narration gives the stories a wry, mythic register. Fans of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Batman: The Animated Series and Black Mirror will find related pleasures in its branching realities and anthology structure.

Audiences find the premise of reimagining Marvel Cinematic Universe moments inventive and the animation impressive, though the quality of the episodes is uneven and tends to fade in later seasons.

• Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Versemultiverse alternate timeline premise, superhero animation, anthology episodes revisiting familiar stories
• Batman: The Animated Seriesanthology structure of self-contained stories, speculative what-if premise, animated superhero tone
• Black Mirroranthology format with a narrator figure observing branching realities, cosmic superhero tone
• Rick and Mortymultiverse variants of familiar characters, playful alternate-reality superhero tone

Release Date

2021-08-11

Episode runtime

36 min

Rating

7.3 / 10 (4747)

What is What If...? about?

An animated anthology in which The Watcher narrates Marvel Cinematic moments rewritten by a single decisive change.

What is What If...? like to watch?

Ember's analysis rates the pacing of What If...? as brisk, its intensity as mild and its storytelling as layered.

Is What If...? violent?

Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in What If...? as moderate.

What did critics think of What If...??

Audiences find the premise of reimagining Marvel Cinematic Universe moments inventive and the animation impressive, though the quality of the episodes is uneven and tends to fade in later seasons.

Which shows are like What If...??

Shows with a similar feel include Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Batman: The Animated Series, Black Mirror, and Rick and Morty.

How long is What If...??

What If...?: 3 seasons, 26 episodes.

Is What If...? still running?

No, What If...? has ended.

Where can I watch What If...??

In United States, What If...? streams on Disney Plus.