While What If’s season one finale lastly introduced into the fold one in all its most promising characters, a variant of Gamora recognized for slaying Thanos, there was one thing reasonably inquisitive about how the character arrived. As planned-out upfront as Marvel initiatives are typically, there was no method that What If’s artistic crew might have seen how the state of affairs with its Gamora variant coming, however as they proceed engaged on the present’s second season, they’re already planning to make issues proper.

What If’s season one finale, “What If… the Watcher Broke His Oath?”, follows the Watcher as he reaches throughout the multiverse to pluck the completely different heroic variants he must cease an virtually omnipotent model of Ultron from murdering everybody in a number of realities. Most of the variants the Watcher picks to change into his Guardians of the Multiverse, like Star-Lord T’Challa, Captain Peggy Carter, and Party Thor have been characters who’d had their very own highlight episodes a lot earlier within the season. But the Thanos-slaying Gamora, hailing from a actuality the place she’d change into good mates with Tony Stark, who the Watcher chooses solely makes her first look within the finale, and the story doesn’t spend all that a lot time delving into her backstory. It’d be an inexpensive sufficient rationalization if What If’s creators finally determined that giving the Gamora variant extra display screen time was much less necessary than coping with the meat of its main crossover occasion. But in s current interview with Variety, head author AC Bradley and govt producer Bryan Andrews defined that the elements that went into their resolution have been considerably extra sophisticated. Initially, Bradley defined, What If’s first season was meant to function 10 episodes, one in all which might have centered on the lifetime of the Stark variant launched within the finale, and the way he got here to be shut with Gamora.

“However, due to the COVID pandemic, one of our animation houses was hit incredibly hard, and the episode needed to be pushed into Season 2, because it would not be finished in time,” Bradley stated. “Given everything that we’ve all went through over the past two years, pushing an episode of television is absolutely nothing in comparison.”

Like Gamora, Chadwick Boseman’s Star-Lord T’Challa performs a small, however necessary position within the Guardians of the Multiverse’s struggle in opposition to Ultron, and his contribution very a lot appears like a reminder of how foolish and enjoyable his highlight episode was. According to Andrews, even earlier than “What If… T’Challa Became a Star-Lord” grew to become one of many first season’s strongest episodes, plans have been coming into form for a full-on animated spin-off in regards to the variant. “I don’t know if [Boseman] knew this, but there was planning to have Star Lord T’Challa spin-off into his own show with that universe and crew,” Andrews stated. “We were all very excited. We know he would have loved it, too. And then, you know, he passed, and so all that’s in limbo. So, who knows? Maybe one day.”

Looking ahead, the What If crew undoubtedly plans to inform extra tales impressed by more moderen occasions all through the MCU, and each Andrews and Bradley hinted that upcoming season(s) will highlight characters from different Disney+ reveals. Though the thought of a correct animated episode of WandaVision sounds unbelievable, the pair didn’t verify particularly which of the newer reveals What If may take a crack at. It’s necessary to bear in mind, Andrews identified, that many of those reveals are being produced concurrently, making it tough for them to be in dialog with each other.

“[Marvel Studios chief] Kevin [Feige] was like, ‘No no no! No touching! Don’t touch that! Not yet!’”Andrews stated about sure tales. “Maybe one day, maybe, if these things continue, we can play with some of that stuff. But we definitely get to play with some other parts of the MCU, for sure. There’s fertile ground.”

What If’s first season is now streaming on Disney+.

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