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THE WATCHER: The galaxy.
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To your eyes,
a hundred billion points of light.
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But where you see light,
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I see worlds
and the countless stories that fill them.
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What you call destiny is just an equation.
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The product of variables,
right place, right time,
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or in some instances,
the wrong place at the wrong time.
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What if one choice changed everything?
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What if every reality
came down to one single moment?
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Join me. Explore the multiverse
and ask the question,
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"What if...?"
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MAN: Perfect. Thank you.
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KEVIN FEIGE: We were looking at
how to grow, how to expand,
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how to evolve post Endgame
and into Phase Four.
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And we had tons of ideas
for features and for follow-ups
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to existing characters,
and introducing new characters.
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But it was Disney Plus
and the idea of Disney Plus
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that really allowed us
to do things we hadn't done before.
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We had to think what ideas
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are worth doing in animation
that we couldn't do anywhere else.
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And it was Brad Winderbaum
who came into my office and said,
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"What about doing a What If...?"
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"We have so many fans now,
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"we have so many people that have watched
our movies multiple times,
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"everybody knows how things happen,
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"how Iron Man became Iron Man,
how Cap became Cap,"
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that the What If...? series from comics
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was always such a great way
of putting a spin on it.
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What If...? as a concept
and as a comic book
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is something that would
always come up in conversation.
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Uh, I can think back
to the earliest retreats.
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We would think about What If...?
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Just in terms
of not necessarily adapting it,
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but how many great stories
came out of the comic book.
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And how so many of those stories
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actually became canon
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within the main continuity
of the Marvel Comics universe.
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Speaking from my own personal experience,
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and this is something
that other people have said as well,
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What If...? was a bit of a gateway
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to different comics
you won't normally pick up.
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You know, I loved Ghost Rider growing up,
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and I think
the first Ghost Rider I picked up
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was the "What if Danny Ketch's sister
became Ghost Rider instead of him?"
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Then I was like, "This is awesome!"
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And then I'd read all that Danny Ketch,
Ghost Rider run. You know?
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And I think a lot of people
had a similar experience of What If...?
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It introduced you to characters
you wouldn't normally read.
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In kind of abstracting them,
it made them new.
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So there was a lower barrier of entry.
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You didn't feel like you needed to read
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the 60 comics leading
up to that one storyline.
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It was its own unique thing
that you could experience as a newcomer.
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I remember when I was a kid,
getting some of the comics
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and whether it's like,
you know, Conan in New York...
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with Howard the Duck,
or, you know, crazy stuff.
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It was almost like
it was Marvel's Twilight Zone of the time.
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And I think its heyday was really
in the '70s, a little bit in the '80s.
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It still has gone on, but those
were the ones to really remember.
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I think it was a testing ground
for certain stories,
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certain possible ways they can possibly go
with various characters,
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you know, trying it out, you know,
safely in this little one-off comic.
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And then if it struck a chord,
they can run with it.
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So, for example, like,
"What if the Hulk was smart?"
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and that eventually
became a whole storyline of its own with,
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like, Smart Hulk and all this business.
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And that's happened with, actually,
quite a few of the What If...? titles.
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So, um, there is a lineage there,
but for our show,
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we're not borrowing anything
that was pre-done in the comic.
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We just came up with new stuff,
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since it's born directly
out of the MCU specifically.
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So we're not just riffing
on the comic characters per se,
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we're riffing on the Marvel movie
cinematic version of those characters.
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Whoa.
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I got visual on the intruder.
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He's a Caucasian male, mid-20s with...
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really great hair.
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Excuse me?
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WINDERBAUM:
We had been working with Bryan Andrews
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for many years at Marvel Studios.
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He had boarded
some of our most iconic action sequences.
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I worked with him on Ant-Man 1
when he designed
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Scott Lang's first descent into
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the quantum realm
at the end of that movie.
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And he had taken a big hand most recently
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as part of the story room
that cracked the finale of Endgame,
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which was a combination of storyboard
artists and Chris and Steve, the writers.
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And frankly,
when I pitched What If...? to Kevin,
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and things were happening so fast,
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I just called Bryan, who I knew, and said,
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"Hey, dude,
do you wanna work on this together?"
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(CHUCKLES)
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And his response was,
"Well, yeah, man, of course."
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ANDREWS: You know, my brothers and I
grew up loving all kinds of animation,
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but we also grew up loving Marvel.
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I mean, we had
How To Draw The Marvel Way, you know?
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We were huge fans of the paintings
of Frank Frazetta and the rest of it.
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But it's all in that
same kind of action-y, adventure,
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you know, bigger-than-life mythos stuff,
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and the Marvel comics
were definitely an inspiration, you know.
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Certain artists
would rise above others in our minds,
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whether it's, like, you know,
Kirby, or... (INHALES) or whoever else.
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It's like there're certain
artists that just captured
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your imagination in those drawings,
in those panels.
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And, um, to think that
so many years later,
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working in
the live action stuff, it's like,
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"Oh, I used to draw all those characters
when I was a kid."
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But here I am, working on it now
for the Cinematic Universe,
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which is already kind of, like,
"Well, that's an amazing dream."
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But then, now also
doing it in an animated show
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that's revisiting those characters,
and it's, like, that's like, "Wait, what?"
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It's pretty amazing.
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WINDERBAUM: One of the interesting things
that happened
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in the development process
of What If...? is
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how many ideas just come up,
and we're still coming up with them.
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You almost can't stop thinking about it.
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WONG: What are you doing?
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Tinkering with time can weaken
the very fabric of the universe.
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WINDERBAUM: The key to the stories
that were chosen
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is that they were all
character-based stories,
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and they all drove at the human heart.
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Which is why we hired
Ashley Bradley as our EP
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and head writer of the show.
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If you look at her work
on Trollhunters and 3Below,
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you see a writer who,
no matter what the big,
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crazy sci-fi circumstance is,
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is always trying to find
the core of the character
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and creates conflicts that really
challenge who those characters are.
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And that's something
we always try to do in the movies,
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and each episode of What If...?
Is gonna try to do.
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(GRUNTS)
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For a minute, I really thought
it was you and me against the world.
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We're not fighting the same battles, Tony.
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The first few weeks, it was basically
me and the other executive producers
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which is Brad Winderbaum
and Bryan Andrews. And it was... camp.
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It was two weeks of
"What stories do we want to tell?"
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There's obvious ones.
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"What if Thor was never banished?"
"What if Ultron won?"
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ULTRON: I'm going to bring about
peace in our time...
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BRADLEY: And once we got those out of our
system, we started then playing more with
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"What if Yondu kidnapped
the wrong kid instead of Peter Quill?"
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What happens next?
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Whatcha doing out there
all by yourself anyway?
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Exploring the world.
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Sounds fun.
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But why stop at one world, huh?
When we can show you all of them?
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WINDERBAUM:
Once you realize what the show can be,
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it's almost impossible not to ideate.
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You just... Your brain just starts
to explore every corner of the universe.
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That's something that made
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the whole development process
of this series so euphoric,
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was that you get in a room with people,
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and it was just idea,
idea, idea, idea, idea,
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'cause almost every event
could be reconceived
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and remixed into
its own What If...? story.
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And we realized very quickly that
you could come up with a cool idea like,
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"Oh, what if Peggy Carter
got into the Project Rebirth chamber
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"and became a Super Soldier
instead of Steve Rogers?"
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But that was only the beginning.
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It wasn't just "what if,"
it was also "then what?"
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So every pitch that we came up with,
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every idea that we conceived of
had two parts.
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It had the "what if," which was
essentially the inciting incident,
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and it had the, "then what,"
which is the actual story.
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What in heavens?
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And as we developed
the stories in the series,
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the "then whats" became the real emotional
bedrock of the stories we were telling.
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You're my hero, Steve.
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I mean, you're a hero.
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(CHUCKLES)
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Hmm.
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You're my hero, too.
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The heart of the characters
always has to remain the same.
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If T'Challa is in Wakanda or chilling
with the Ravagers in outer space,
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he is always the once and future king.
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Should we be bowing?
I feel like we should we bowing.
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I mean, unless we should be kneeling.
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- Neither is necessary.
- Please.
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BRADLEY: It doesn't matter
where in the world Tony Stark is,
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Pepper Potts is his North Star.
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Lot of people come around looking to get
their moment in the sun with Tony Stark,
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and it's my job to sniff out exactly
what it is they want with him.
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And what do you smell?
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Nothing. And that's the problem.
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BRADLEY: Steve Rogers, whether
he's in his Captain America uniform,
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whether he's Skinny Steve or not,
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he will go to the ends of the earth
to do what he believes is right.
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Hey, I need a hand! Come on,
help me get him out of here!
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No. You gotta get me in the suit.
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That's where we always kind of start with.
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Like, we go in different directions,
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but we stay true to the characters
as much as possible.
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THE WATCHER:
I believe that in this universe,
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as in every other, hope never dies.
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FEIGE: One of the things
we're exploring in Phase Four,
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which we've talked about,
is the Multiverse.
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And What If...? as almost every episode
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is narrated by the character, the Watcher,
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a very important character in the comics
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that we've never really
seen much of in the MCU.
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Briefly, we saw some Watchers,
there's a little cameo with Stan Lee
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in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
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Anyway, before I was
so rudely interrupted...
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We know the way it worked
in the movies we watched.
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He's showing us
other ways it could have gone.
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THE WATCHER:
In a multiverse of infinite possibility,
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is your destiny determined by your nature
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or by the nature of your world?
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We knew that we were gonna do the Watcher.
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The Watcher is a big part of What If...?
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We needed this guide to help us
navigate these vast new realities.
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And the voice we all heard in our head
was Jeffrey Wright from day one.
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I am the Watcher.
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Where humans see chaos,
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I see the crucible that would transform
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this collection of individuals
into a team of heroes.
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WRIGHT: The Watcher kind of serves
as a Rod Serling to The Twilight Zone.
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Kind of narrating the events,
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but also a sometimes-passive-
sometimes-not participant.
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Oh, you're so close.
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The answer is right there.
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WRIGHT: The Watcher is a celestial,
extraterrestrial being.
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And I think he was introduced,
if I'm not mistaken,
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in a Fantastic Four comic in 1963
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where we discover him on the moon,
and he's introduced on the cover
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as "The Most Dramatic Being."
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Humanity, so eager,
so willing to face the impossible,
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yet blind to the bigger picture.
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The language is very cool,
and it kind of sp...
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You know, it speaks to a certain tone.
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He's obviously
got to have a kind of strength
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and a kind of, you know,
gravitas and power and all that stuff.
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Time.
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Space.
235
00:12:43,220 --> 00:12:44,346
Reality.
236
00:12:45,014 --> 00:12:47,099
It's more than a linear path.
237
00:12:47,183 --> 00:12:50,186
It's a prism of endless possibilities.
238
00:12:50,269 --> 00:12:55,983
I like the idea of doing animation,
um, of using the voice really as,
239
00:12:56,066 --> 00:12:59,528
you know, from my perspective,
as, you know, the whole character.
240
00:12:59,612 --> 00:13:02,823
I'd really just pretty much
do what I do with any script though,
241
00:13:02,907 --> 00:13:06,118
in anything, is just try
to find the music that's on the page
242
00:13:06,202 --> 00:13:08,537
and figure out if I can play it, you know?
243
00:13:09,205 --> 00:13:10,206
I am the Watcher.
244
00:13:10,915 --> 00:13:14,668
I am your guide
through these vast new realities.
245
00:13:14,752 --> 00:13:17,838
Follow me and ponder the question...
246
00:13:18,714 --> 00:13:19,715
"What if?"
247
00:13:20,424 --> 00:13:25,721
It was a really organic and kind of,
you know, methodical process
248
00:13:25,805 --> 00:13:29,183
of talking it through at first
and trying to give some ideas about,
249
00:13:29,266 --> 00:13:33,103
you know, how I'd like a,
you know, a character like this to sound.
250
00:13:33,187 --> 00:13:37,900
I think often
when you have a character like this in,
251
00:13:37,983 --> 00:13:42,279
you know, in kind of the history of,
you know, shows and movies,
252
00:13:43,072 --> 00:13:44,824
we make these certain assumptions about
253
00:13:44,907 --> 00:13:47,243
what that character
should sound like, you know?
254
00:13:47,326 --> 00:13:50,120
Very often it's some, you know, old...
255
00:13:50,204 --> 00:13:53,624
You know, when we think
of power and wisdom and all of this,
256
00:13:53,707 --> 00:13:56,669
we think, well,
we go to the UK for some reason.
257
00:13:56,752 --> 00:13:58,128
We think of Brits.
258
00:13:58,212 --> 00:14:00,798
It's, like, well, you know, um...
(CLICKS TONGUE)
259
00:14:00,881 --> 00:14:03,884
I don't know
if the British necessarily have,
260
00:14:03,968 --> 00:14:06,136
like, the monopoly on all those things.
261
00:14:06,220 --> 00:14:10,140
So, how can we find
some other tones and rhythms and things
262
00:14:10,224 --> 00:14:15,521
that bring all of that, um,
that power to the character
263
00:14:15,604 --> 00:14:19,525
but are grounded in maybe some different
rhythms and some different notes?
264
00:14:19,608 --> 00:14:21,485
And that was a fun conversation to have.
265
00:14:21,569 --> 00:14:24,697
A genius battled
his demons both inside and out,
266
00:14:25,573 --> 00:14:28,826
while the world
met the monster hiding in the man.
267
00:14:29,660 --> 00:14:33,080
And a godly Prince fell to Earth.
268
00:14:33,163 --> 00:14:36,750
He's both the... the guardian,
269
00:14:36,834 --> 00:14:41,839
but also the observer
of what happens across the Multiverse.
270
00:14:41,922 --> 00:14:45,342
There's a running joke in the comic books.
He says he'll never interfere.
271
00:14:45,426 --> 00:14:48,470
Wait five pages,
and there he is in the middle of it.
272
00:14:51,223 --> 00:14:54,268
ANDREWS: And in the comics,
he got downright goofy at times
273
00:14:54,351 --> 00:14:55,895
and involved all the time.
274
00:14:55,978 --> 00:14:59,648
We're going to acknowledge those things,
but slowly over time.
275
00:14:59,732 --> 00:15:01,108
Maybe not the goofiness.
276
00:15:01,191 --> 00:15:02,818
But we want to play with the conceit
277
00:15:02,902 --> 00:15:05,821
that the being is mysterious
for the first initial episodes,
278
00:15:05,905 --> 00:15:10,367
and we start seeing more and more
of him as the episodes play out.
279
00:15:10,951 --> 00:15:14,371
Uh, so by the end
he's actually full-figured.
280
00:15:14,455 --> 00:15:17,666
We really see him. We really know like,
"Here's this alien being,"
281
00:15:17,750 --> 00:15:20,419
and he might actually
get involved for the...
282
00:15:20,502 --> 00:15:22,838
For him, what might be the first time.
283
00:15:22,922 --> 00:15:24,673
You want me to say it?
284
00:15:24,757 --> 00:15:27,426
Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.
I wanna hear you say it.
285
00:15:29,261 --> 00:15:30,804
Okay.
286
00:15:30,888 --> 00:15:32,765
I can't believe I'm about to say this.
287
00:15:33,724 --> 00:15:35,142
I see now.
288
00:15:36,310 --> 00:15:38,103
I need your help.
289
00:15:39,813 --> 00:15:42,149
WINDERBAUM:
The visual aesthetic and the storytelling
290
00:15:42,232 --> 00:15:43,943
really begin with Bryan Andrews.
291
00:15:44,026 --> 00:15:47,363
He is designing every frame of the show
292
00:15:47,446 --> 00:15:50,115
and working with a story team
of talented board artists
293
00:15:50,199 --> 00:15:55,454
to create the cinematic flow
of this series.
294
00:15:55,537 --> 00:15:58,290
And he's working
so closely with Ryan Meinerding
295
00:15:58,374 --> 00:16:02,044
to figure out
what these characters look like.
296
00:16:02,127 --> 00:16:03,379
BRADLEY: Ryan is amazing.
297
00:16:03,462 --> 00:16:05,631
He's been the head
of Marvel Visual Development,
298
00:16:05,714 --> 00:16:07,591
I think since Iron Man.
299
00:16:07,675 --> 00:16:11,345
He's brilliant, and we've been
so lucky that he's been wanting to,
300
00:16:11,428 --> 00:16:13,681
like, come and play in our sandbox.
301
00:16:13,764 --> 00:16:17,643
MEINERDING: I've always been a fan
of J.C. Leyendecker and Norman Rockwell
302
00:16:17,726 --> 00:16:20,062
and a lot of the older
American illustrators.
303
00:16:20,145 --> 00:16:22,439
And when Bryan and Brad pitched the notion
304
00:16:22,523 --> 00:16:24,817
of using that as a basis
for the style of the show.
305
00:16:25,401 --> 00:16:27,319
I mean, that's my bread and butter.
306
00:16:27,403 --> 00:16:30,239
I love that stuff. So, trying
to find a way to create visuals
307
00:16:30,322 --> 00:16:33,575
for this project that are gonna
turn that illustrative style
308
00:16:33,659 --> 00:16:35,953
into an animated style
using our characters
309
00:16:36,036 --> 00:16:37,746
is just, it's been really a lot of fun.
310
00:16:38,747 --> 00:16:39,999
It's a good look on you.
311
00:16:40,082 --> 00:16:42,459
Really? You think I could pull it off?
312
00:16:42,543 --> 00:16:44,044
Maybe you'll grow into it.
313
00:16:44,128 --> 00:16:47,506
I was trained that there's no difference
between animation and live action,
314
00:16:47,589 --> 00:16:50,467
even though clearly
there are things that are different.
315
00:16:50,551 --> 00:16:54,263
But, at its core,
it's just all visual storytelling.
316
00:16:54,346 --> 00:16:56,849
It's composition within the picture frame.
317
00:16:56,932 --> 00:17:00,352
It's... it's emotion. It's character.
318
00:17:00,436 --> 00:17:04,398
Uh, and those things exist regardless
of whether you're doing a stop-motion,
319
00:17:04,481 --> 00:17:06,442
a 2D animated thing,
3D animated, live ac...
320
00:17:06,525 --> 00:17:07,776
It doesn't matter.
321
00:17:07,860 --> 00:17:11,697
(SMACKS LIPS) And I've felt personally
that animation hasn't quite gone
322
00:17:11,780 --> 00:17:15,200
as cinematic here
in the States as it could.
323
00:17:15,284 --> 00:17:16,493
And Brad was in agreement,
324
00:17:16,577 --> 00:17:19,872
and we felt like, here's a way
that maybe if we play our cards right,
325
00:17:19,955 --> 00:17:22,166
if whatever we do,
whatever is in our brain,
326
00:17:22,249 --> 00:17:24,501
if we can get it out there onto the thing,
327
00:17:24,585 --> 00:17:26,003
maybe we could achieve that.
328
00:17:26,086 --> 00:17:29,131
Maybe we can, like,
move the bar a little bit,
329
00:17:29,214 --> 00:17:30,591
which would be awesome.
330
00:17:30,674 --> 00:17:33,969
Just for our own
personal love of the stuff.
331
00:17:34,053 --> 00:17:36,972
And so part of that style
we're chasing is something that is,
332
00:17:37,056 --> 00:17:39,433
you know, atmospheric and cinematic
333
00:17:39,516 --> 00:17:43,437
and something
that borrows from live action,
334
00:17:44,396 --> 00:17:48,484
photography, cinematic sense
and really apply it to animation.
335
00:17:48,567 --> 00:17:50,194
FURY: Looking for directions, sir?
336
00:17:50,277 --> 00:17:52,279
Because you seem to have lost your way.
337
00:17:52,362 --> 00:17:53,363
(CHUCKLES)
338
00:17:53,447 --> 00:17:56,617
You would do best to kneel before a God.
339
00:17:56,700 --> 00:17:58,869
We don't really do that here.
340
00:17:59,745 --> 00:18:02,498
The stories that they're doing
are so great and so concise
341
00:18:02,581 --> 00:18:07,127
that the direction that I'm getting is,
like, sort of like, this is the character.
342
00:18:07,211 --> 00:18:10,255
This is the, you know,
the costume they would be in,
343
00:18:10,339 --> 00:18:11,965
we wanna twist it in this way.
344
00:18:12,049 --> 00:18:15,260
We're able to do some work that
hopefully is gonna land pretty quickly.
345
00:18:15,344 --> 00:18:19,681
It's also not only about character design
in sort of a live action sense of,
346
00:18:19,765 --> 00:18:22,935
like, "How is this character different
than what we've seen before?"
347
00:18:23,018 --> 00:18:26,605
But also, since we're trying
to develop a new animation style,
348
00:18:26,688 --> 00:18:30,442
sort of, like, how can we turn these
characters into animated characters
349
00:18:30,526 --> 00:18:33,529
in a way that still represents
the character from the film
350
00:18:33,737 --> 00:18:37,574
but gives them a new life
in sort of an animated form?
351
00:18:38,867 --> 00:18:40,369
PEGGY: Steve Rogers sent me.
352
00:18:40,452 --> 00:18:42,329
The name's Captain Carter.
353
00:18:43,372 --> 00:18:45,249
WINDERBAUM:
Another big decision for the show
354
00:18:45,332 --> 00:18:49,753
was that we were gonna chase character
likeness as opposed to actor likeness.
355
00:18:49,837 --> 00:18:51,672
And it's a hard thing to define
356
00:18:51,755 --> 00:18:55,592
because the two things
are so intrinsically linked.
357
00:18:55,676 --> 00:18:59,596
But we wanted to capture the spirit
of the character in the same way
358
00:18:59,680 --> 00:19:02,808
that the actor would capture the spirit
of the character on screen.
359
00:19:02,891 --> 00:19:04,518
And knowing that you're never gonna...
360
00:19:04,601 --> 00:19:06,687
It's not a photorealistic medium.
361
00:19:06,770 --> 00:19:08,689
So the questions became, like,
362
00:19:08,772 --> 00:19:11,817
"Well, what is Doctor Strange?
What is Tony Stark?"
363
00:19:11,900 --> 00:19:16,864
How to depict them in terms of their
evolution as a character on screen?
364
00:19:16,947 --> 00:19:21,702
I'll say this for the new guy,
he certainly makes for good TV. Right?
365
00:19:21,785 --> 00:19:24,580
A lot of this stuff is fun
because you can do pencil sketches
366
00:19:24,663 --> 00:19:26,415
and have them be
relevant for the projects,
367
00:19:26,498 --> 00:19:32,462
so starting with Skinny Steve
and, um, a version of Captain Carter.
368
00:19:32,546 --> 00:19:33,881
Um...
369
00:19:33,964 --> 00:19:37,176
You know, just started trying
to find things that were interesting
370
00:19:37,259 --> 00:19:39,803
about the characters' faces
from the live action setting
371
00:19:39,887 --> 00:19:41,430
and try to simplify them.
372
00:19:41,513 --> 00:19:44,266
Um, you know, going forward from there
373
00:19:44,349 --> 00:19:48,478
into finding like a look for a dark Thor.
374
00:19:48,562 --> 00:19:50,480
Oh, do me, do me.
375
00:19:50,564 --> 00:19:52,649
(CHUCKLES) Yes, you do me.
376
00:19:52,733 --> 00:19:54,484
You do me and you too.
377
00:19:54,568 --> 00:19:56,612
Oh, you guys really get me.
378
00:19:56,695 --> 00:19:58,655
But yeah,
this is sort of the starting point,
379
00:19:58,739 --> 00:20:01,325
and I haven't sketched
all of them on paper.
380
00:20:01,408 --> 00:20:04,620
But I have done some of them.
And then transitioning into the computer,
381
00:20:04,703 --> 00:20:07,080
being able to color
and sort of refine them.
382
00:20:07,164 --> 00:20:08,373
(LAUGHS)
383
00:20:08,874 --> 00:20:11,126
(CHUCKLES) Oh, here we go. Here we go.
384
00:20:11,210 --> 00:20:12,211
Wha...
385
00:20:12,294 --> 00:20:14,254
ANDREWS: We definitely want to stand out.
386
00:20:14,338 --> 00:20:18,592
And there is a variety of animated product
being made these days,
387
00:20:18,675 --> 00:20:22,095
and a lot of it tends to be CG
and sometimes even,
388
00:20:22,888 --> 00:20:25,557
I guess they call it
two-and-a-half-D or 2D-3D,
389
00:20:25,641 --> 00:20:28,268
where it's like, it's 3D,
but it's made to look 2D.
390
00:20:28,352 --> 00:20:31,188
So you might have
your traditional backgrounds painted
391
00:20:31,271 --> 00:20:35,025
and the characters look as if
they're cel-painted on, but they're not.
392
00:20:35,108 --> 00:20:37,110
We're exploring a variety of techniques
393
00:20:37,194 --> 00:20:40,906
and whatever is going to help us achieve
the look we're going for, we'll use.
394
00:20:40,989 --> 00:20:45,661
But we wanna kind of hide it a bit
and make sure that it doesn't jump out.
395
00:20:45,744 --> 00:20:49,414
And, in our opinion, it felt like a lot of
the things that we were seeing,
396
00:20:49,498 --> 00:20:51,458
that stuff just jumps out, you know?
397
00:20:51,541 --> 00:20:53,543
And sometimes the 3D maybe isn't working.
398
00:20:53,627 --> 00:20:56,046
There's aspects that were pros and cons,
399
00:20:56,129 --> 00:20:59,383
so it seemed like the best way
to achieve what we wanted to achieve,
400
00:20:59,466 --> 00:21:03,136
which is to buckle down,
have some really hard discipline,
401
00:21:03,220 --> 00:21:05,097
just make something rad 2D,
402
00:21:05,180 --> 00:21:10,394
so that we would have the artistic freedom
to have it look as rich as we wanted.
403
00:21:10,477 --> 00:21:12,688
- (T'CHALLA GRUNTS)
- (THE COLLECTOR LAUGHS)
404
00:21:12,771 --> 00:21:14,231
Packs quite a wallop, does it not?
405
00:21:17,859 --> 00:21:20,213
WINDERBAUM: The earliest conversations
I had with Bryan Andrews
406
00:21:20,237 --> 00:21:21,280
were all about light.
407
00:21:21,363 --> 00:21:24,658
And quality of light
and how the light would kind of blow out
408
00:21:24,741 --> 00:21:26,618
and the atmosphere of the show itself.
409
00:21:26,702 --> 00:21:31,123
Bryan was searching
for this cinematic style,
410
00:21:31,206 --> 00:21:34,209
using bokeh lenses and anamorphic lenses
411
00:21:34,293 --> 00:21:36,795
or emulating them in an animated space
412
00:21:36,878 --> 00:21:39,339
to try to give the world of What If...?
413
00:21:39,423 --> 00:21:44,219
A real cinematic quality, um,
that we rarely see in animation.
414
00:21:44,303 --> 00:21:47,264
ANDREWS: Play with light and shadow,
play with... Play with focus.
415
00:21:47,347 --> 00:21:49,850
Play with the fact that's like,
even though it's animated
416
00:21:49,933 --> 00:21:52,144
and we didn't shoot it
with an anamorphic lens,
417
00:21:52,227 --> 00:21:54,563
maybe we're making it look like we did,
418
00:21:54,646 --> 00:21:57,274
because that has a voice
and that has a language.
419
00:21:58,400 --> 00:22:00,819
We've grown up
watching movies shot a certain way,
420
00:22:00,902 --> 00:22:02,821
and now it's become second nature.
421
00:22:02,904 --> 00:22:06,241
So now when we see things
that are speaking that language,
422
00:22:06,325 --> 00:22:09,286
without even realizing it,
we'll start relating to that.
423
00:22:09,369 --> 00:22:11,621
- Charge!
- (ALL SHOUTING)
424
00:22:11,705 --> 00:22:13,874
ANDREWS: Cinematic storytelling
is becoming a thing
425
00:22:13,957 --> 00:22:17,753
where you don't have to just go to a movie
to see cinematic storytelling.
426
00:22:17,836 --> 00:22:21,798
We're actually seeing it on the streaming
screen and the small screen,
427
00:22:21,882 --> 00:22:24,968
and there's so many shows
out now that are just borrowing
428
00:22:25,052 --> 00:22:26,803
the cinematic language.
429
00:22:26,887 --> 00:22:30,932
So they are, even though
they're quote-unquote episodes of a show,
430
00:22:31,016 --> 00:22:34,478
they feel like, in a way,
mini movies when they do it right.
431
00:22:34,561 --> 00:22:36,063
(ALL GRUNTING)
432
00:22:41,026 --> 00:22:42,277
(INDISTINCT SHOUTING)
433
00:22:44,696 --> 00:22:46,198
Wakanda forever!
434
00:22:46,281 --> 00:22:49,993
It's pretty exciting when you,
you know, see it all come together,
435
00:22:50,077 --> 00:22:51,745
and the laying on works,
436
00:22:51,828 --> 00:22:54,247
and everything layers
together well in this
437
00:22:54,331 --> 00:23:00,212
really beautiful, kind of,
richly cinematic quality to the animation.
438
00:23:00,295 --> 00:23:04,257
And there're some wonderful
sound effects that are used too,
439
00:23:04,341 --> 00:23:06,134
at times with the voice.
440
00:23:06,218 --> 00:23:09,429
And to see it all come together,
these kinds of diverse perspectives,
441
00:23:09,513 --> 00:23:13,725
diverse range of heroism and villainy.
442
00:23:13,809 --> 00:23:17,229
I think it's gonna be, uh,
pretty exciting stuff.
443
00:23:17,312 --> 00:23:19,064
(THUNDERCLAP)
444
00:23:19,147 --> 00:23:21,650
THOR: You will listen to me.
445
00:23:21,733 --> 00:23:22,859
(CROWD GASPING)
446
00:23:23,151 --> 00:23:24,903
My mother is coming.
447
00:23:25,570 --> 00:23:26,571
ALL: Frigga?
448
00:23:26,655 --> 00:23:28,949
And she is not happy.
449
00:23:29,616 --> 00:23:33,370
Right off the bat,
there were some ideas that we had
450
00:23:33,453 --> 00:23:35,288
that became episodes in the show.
451
00:23:35,372 --> 00:23:41,002
Peggy Carter becoming Captain Carter
was a very, very early concept.
452
00:23:41,086 --> 00:23:45,924
Also, right on the heels of that,
in the "then what" half of the story was,
453
00:23:46,007 --> 00:23:47,759
well, then what happens to Steve Rogers?
454
00:23:47,843 --> 00:23:48,927
He stays skinny.
455
00:23:49,010 --> 00:23:50,804
She gets the Tesseract early.
456
00:23:50,887 --> 00:23:53,306
Howard Stark's there.
Maybe he builds an Iron Man suit.
457
00:23:53,390 --> 00:23:55,058
What powers it? Maybe the Tesseract.
458
00:23:55,142 --> 00:23:56,726
Suddenly, the HYDRA Stomper is born.
459
00:23:56,810 --> 00:23:57,811
Steve!
460
00:23:57,894 --> 00:23:59,646
ROGERS: Hey, Peggy! Now you owe me one.
461
00:23:59,729 --> 00:24:03,316
WINDERBAUM: And then we get to tell
that story of the tragic love affair,
462
00:24:03,400 --> 00:24:06,278
this dance that Peggy Carter
and Steve Rogers have through time,
463
00:24:06,361 --> 00:24:09,448
where they don't ever
get to fulfill their relationship
464
00:24:09,531 --> 00:24:12,159
without some event that gets in the way.
465
00:24:12,242 --> 00:24:13,702
You owe me a dance lesson.
466
00:24:13,785 --> 00:24:16,288
Yes, Saturday night.
467
00:24:19,541 --> 00:24:21,877
BRADLEY: Oh, it's a great story
because it is exploring
468
00:24:21,960 --> 00:24:23,962
the relationship between Steve and Peggy,
469
00:24:24,045 --> 00:24:26,381
with this time Peggy
being the Super Soldier.
470
00:24:26,465 --> 00:24:30,844
And it's also nice because
we get to have a female hero, superhero.
471
00:24:30,927 --> 00:24:34,306
And what does that look like in the 1940s?
472
00:24:34,389 --> 00:24:35,724
How is she treated?
473
00:24:35,807 --> 00:24:40,937
What's the battles that she has to fight
that are singular to her being a woman
474
00:24:41,021 --> 00:24:43,440
that Steve never had to deal with?
475
00:24:44,399 --> 00:24:46,359
Where have you been all my life?
476
00:24:46,443 --> 00:24:48,487
HYDRA GUARD: The Allies must be desperate,
477
00:24:48,570 --> 00:24:51,323
sending in a fragile
Fräulein to fight for them.
478
00:24:51,406 --> 00:24:52,491
"Fragile"?
479
00:24:52,574 --> 00:24:53,867
(GRUNTS)
480
00:24:55,202 --> 00:24:57,370
- (SWEARS IN GERMAN)
- Exactly.
481
00:24:59,289 --> 00:25:03,001
WINDERBAUM: Another idea that was super
early on was T'Challa as Star-Lord.
482
00:25:03,084 --> 00:25:05,337
We knew we wanted
to do something with T'Challa
483
00:25:05,420 --> 00:25:08,215
because Chadwick
was so amazing to work with,
484
00:25:08,298 --> 00:25:11,635
that it just felt like
he would embrace the idea
485
00:25:11,718 --> 00:25:13,386
and wanna do something fun.
486
00:25:13,470 --> 00:25:17,766
At a certain point, we realized
he was around the same age as Peter Quill.
487
00:25:18,433 --> 00:25:19,726
And that the Ravagers,
488
00:25:19,809 --> 00:25:22,896
who were a bunch of buffoons,
had accidentally gotten off course.
489
00:25:22,979 --> 00:25:24,272
Cool.
490
00:25:24,356 --> 00:25:26,942
WINDERBAUM: And what if they kidnapped
T'Challa instead?
491
00:25:27,025 --> 00:25:29,277
- Ravagers!
- ALL: Ravagers!
492
00:25:29,361 --> 00:25:32,072
It quickly became
one of our super favorites.
493
00:25:32,155 --> 00:25:35,534
Just the idea of, like,
if T'Challa was out there in the universe,
494
00:25:35,617 --> 00:25:40,247
how much can he actually change
just by him being awesome?
495
00:25:40,330 --> 00:25:42,666
And everyone just wanting
to be part of his awesome.
496
00:25:42,749 --> 00:25:45,377
Wait. You are the Star-Lord.
497
00:25:45,460 --> 00:25:47,629
You saved my home world
from a Kree invasion.
498
00:25:47,712 --> 00:25:48,880
All in a day's work.
499
00:25:48,964 --> 00:25:52,592
No, it took several days.
Six, in fact. Let us take a picture.
500
00:25:53,718 --> 00:25:57,639
BRADLEY: The reason we love T'Challa is
he's always a character of high morals,
501
00:25:57,722 --> 00:26:00,517
of knowing what's right,
of doing what's right,
502
00:26:00,600 --> 00:26:01,726
and he's always regal.
503
00:26:01,810 --> 00:26:04,062
He was a man born to be king,
504
00:26:04,145 --> 00:26:08,900
(CHUCKLING) even if he's with
the Ravagers, across the galaxy,
505
00:26:08,984 --> 00:26:11,695
he still has that presence
of a natural ruler.
506
00:26:11,778 --> 00:26:14,573
So his costume is a little bit cleaner,
507
00:26:14,656 --> 00:26:16,157
he's a little bit more poised.
508
00:26:16,241 --> 00:26:20,453
The Ravagers are less space pirates
and more space Robin Hoods.
509
00:26:20,537 --> 00:26:21,913
You know as well as I,
510
00:26:21,997 --> 00:26:25,542
no treasure is worth as much
as the good that can be done with it.
511
00:26:25,625 --> 00:26:28,128
YONDU: (CHUCKLES) That's my boy.
512
00:26:28,211 --> 00:26:31,006
WINDERBAUM: So you get Yondu,
but you get a slightly different Yondu.
513
00:26:31,089 --> 00:26:34,884
A Yondu that was influenced by T'Challa,
who had grown up in Wakanda.
514
00:26:35,552 --> 00:26:40,724
You get a Nebula who was changed
by her relationship with T'Challa,
515
00:26:40,807 --> 00:26:43,226
who she calls Cha-Cha,
which is very funny.
516
00:26:43,310 --> 00:26:46,479
Something Karen Gillan came up
with on the day during the record.
517
00:26:46,563 --> 00:26:49,441
And, most exciting, you've got Thanos.
518
00:26:49,524 --> 00:26:51,484
T'Challa here showed me there was more
519
00:26:51,568 --> 00:26:53,862
than one way to reallocate
the universe's resources.
520
00:26:53,945 --> 00:26:57,949
Sometimes the best weapon
in your arsenal is just a good argument.
521
00:26:58,033 --> 00:26:59,534
Aye, aye, Commander.
522
00:27:00,660 --> 00:27:04,581
FEIGE: Chadwick loved the idea of doing
the voice to T'Challa in the series.
523
00:27:04,664 --> 00:27:06,249
We sent him the scripts.
524
00:27:06,333 --> 00:27:07,792
He loved the voice of T'Challa.
525
00:27:07,876 --> 00:27:10,837
It was slightly different
than it was in the first film.
526
00:27:10,920 --> 00:27:15,550
He really was excited about evolving
and seeing where the character could go,
527
00:27:15,634 --> 00:27:20,472
and he loved the swagger that
the Star-Lord version of T'Challa had.
528
00:27:20,555 --> 00:27:25,352
And he came in numerous times
and did four episodes for us.
529
00:27:25,435 --> 00:27:30,023
YONDU: You may be the soul of this ship,
but I am still the Captain.
530
00:27:30,106 --> 00:27:33,401
We are Ravagers.
We do not back down from a fight.
531
00:27:33,485 --> 00:27:39,407
In watching this, the over-riding thing
for me was just hearing his voice,
532
00:27:40,241 --> 00:27:42,452
um, as that character again.
533
00:27:43,286 --> 00:27:46,665
Um, just the mysticism of the character,
534
00:27:46,748 --> 00:27:51,628
and really a kind of mysticism
that has become his life.
535
00:27:51,711 --> 00:27:54,547
It's a really...
It's a really wonderful blend.
536
00:27:54,631 --> 00:27:55,674
Nice to hear him again.
537
00:27:55,757 --> 00:27:58,718
I was the one who told you
I wanted to see the world.
538
00:27:58,802 --> 00:28:01,930
All you did was show me the universe.
539
00:28:13,858 --> 00:28:18,196
One of the first What If...? scenarios
we came up with early on is,
540
00:28:18,279 --> 00:28:20,198
what if Thor was never banished?
541
00:28:20,281 --> 00:28:21,491
What does that look like?
542
00:28:21,574 --> 00:28:24,160
And actually,
it was in my initial meetings with Marvel,
543
00:28:24,244 --> 00:28:27,205
they pitched that to me.
They're like, "We're trying to figure out,
544
00:28:27,288 --> 00:28:28,748
"what does an evil Thor look like?"
545
00:28:28,832 --> 00:28:32,001
And my response was,
"I don't think he looks evil.
546
00:28:32,085 --> 00:28:33,795
"I think he looks like a douchebag."
547
00:28:33,878 --> 00:28:35,338
You're Thor? (CHUCKLES)
548
00:28:35,422 --> 00:28:38,049
As in Thor, the Norse god of thunder?
549
00:28:38,133 --> 00:28:42,429
I don't know anything about horse gods,
but I do know how to bring the thunder.
550
00:28:42,512 --> 00:28:44,139
- Uh...
- (CHUCKLES) Huzzah!
551
00:28:44,222 --> 00:28:45,974
ALL: Huzzah! Thor! Thor! Thor! Thor!
552
00:28:46,057 --> 00:28:49,352
BRADLEY: He's just taking over planets,
throwing a party,
553
00:28:49,436 --> 00:28:52,147
trashing the place, not paying his bills.
554
00:28:52,230 --> 00:28:55,358
Just basically, everything is Saturday
night at 1:00 in the morning.
555
00:28:55,692 --> 00:28:56,693
Huh?
556
00:28:56,776 --> 00:28:57,861
Release the foam.
557
00:28:57,944 --> 00:28:59,112
(ALL CHEERING)
558
00:28:59,195 --> 00:29:01,948
BRADLEY:
They finally had to press the button.
559
00:29:02,031 --> 00:29:03,408
It's done.
560
00:29:03,491 --> 00:29:05,720
BRADLEY: And call in Captain Marvel
to clean up the mess.
561
00:29:05,744 --> 00:29:06,828
(GRUNTS)
562
00:29:06,911 --> 00:29:08,204
(PANTS)
563
00:29:08,288 --> 00:29:12,083
You know, there's a Midgardian word
for women like you.
564
00:29:13,835 --> 00:29:15,003
Party pooper.
565
00:29:15,086 --> 00:29:17,505
(SIGHS) Okay, this one's for Fury.
566
00:29:18,757 --> 00:29:20,175
- (THOR GRUNTS)
- (CROWD EXCLAIMS)
567
00:29:20,258 --> 00:29:23,970
ANDREWS: In these episodes, we want them
to hit different genres, in a way.
568
00:29:24,053 --> 00:29:26,473
And for the Doctor Strange one,
that was the one
569
00:29:26,556 --> 00:29:30,268
that we wanted to really lean into, like,
you know, the horror, the macabre.
570
00:29:30,351 --> 00:29:35,398
So bringing in aspects of, you know,
H.P. Lovecraft's sensibilities into that
571
00:29:35,482 --> 00:29:37,817
and really going there
with some of the magic
572
00:29:37,901 --> 00:29:40,987
and some of the, like,
monsters and the frightfulness.
573
00:29:41,070 --> 00:29:43,072
Those beings have what I need.
574
00:29:44,574 --> 00:29:46,701
O'BENGH: Is she worth the pain?
575
00:29:48,661 --> 00:29:52,248
A man does not suffer
like this for his own glory.
576
00:29:53,374 --> 00:29:55,126
Every moment of it.
577
00:29:55,210 --> 00:29:56,503
(ROARS)
578
00:29:56,586 --> 00:30:01,007
Doctor Strange basically
becomes obsessed with his own power
579
00:30:01,090 --> 00:30:02,509
and creating more and more of it.
580
00:30:02,592 --> 00:30:06,304
It's a mixture of, like,
Dorian Gray and Voldemort.
581
00:30:06,387 --> 00:30:10,892
And basically, he becomes
this H.P. Lovecraftian version of himself.
582
00:30:10,975 --> 00:30:13,478
The fun twist in the episode is,
583
00:30:13,561 --> 00:30:18,399
a version of Doctor Strange earlier in the
timeline is the one that has to stop him
584
00:30:18,483 --> 00:30:21,361
because the Lovecraftian Strange
is gonna destroy the world.
585
00:30:21,444 --> 00:30:22,779
You need to let go.
586
00:30:22,862 --> 00:30:26,616
(DISTORTED) I've gone too far
to turn back now.
587
00:30:26,699 --> 00:30:30,870
What If...? gives us
an opportunity to tell stories
588
00:30:30,954 --> 00:30:36,084
with a whole new idea of what the physical
reality of the universe is.
589
00:30:36,167 --> 00:30:41,673
That is something that's gonna be explored
in other ways moving forward in our films.
590
00:30:45,969 --> 00:30:48,096
You, you can stop this.
591
00:30:48,179 --> 00:30:49,597
You, more than anyone else,
592
00:30:49,681 --> 00:30:55,937
should understand that meddling with time
and events only leads to more destruction.
593
00:30:56,020 --> 00:30:58,356
No. No!
594
00:30:58,439 --> 00:31:02,026
It's kind of interesting
that for me that, you know,
595
00:31:02,110 --> 00:31:06,698
the Watcher is compelled in a new way
596
00:31:07,574 --> 00:31:11,369
by Doctor Strange's decisions.
597
00:31:11,619 --> 00:31:14,706
Uh, so I guess we kind of overlapped
in our interests there.
598
00:31:14,789 --> 00:31:20,587
But I just found it to be, um, uh...
really complex
599
00:31:20,670 --> 00:31:23,464
and moving and tragic
600
00:31:23,548 --> 00:31:27,010
and powerful bit of animation there.
601
00:31:27,093 --> 00:31:29,137
Yeah, that one got me. That one got me.
602
00:31:30,638 --> 00:31:34,267
THE WATCHER:
One life, one choice, one moment...
603
00:31:34,350 --> 00:31:37,687
- Christine.
- Can destroy the entire universe.
604
00:31:43,151 --> 00:31:47,614
FEIGE: What If...? also gave us
a way to do a big fan favorite
605
00:31:47,697 --> 00:31:50,491
that we've not done before,
which is Marvel Zombies.
606
00:31:50,575 --> 00:31:55,038
When Hank Pym went down
to the quantum realm to get Janet back,
607
00:31:55,121 --> 00:31:57,790
she had been infected
with this zombie virus.
608
00:31:57,874 --> 00:32:01,169
And when he brought her back,
he accidentally infected the world.
609
00:32:01,252 --> 00:32:03,212
- Holy... What the... Hank!
- FEIGE: And fans know
610
00:32:03,254 --> 00:32:05,798
that Marvel Zombies
is a great, great comic series
611
00:32:05,882 --> 00:32:09,510
where you get to see the zombified
versions of all of our heroes.
612
00:32:09,594 --> 00:32:14,098
WINDERBAUM: Marvel Zombies
can stand on its own as a story,
613
00:32:14,182 --> 00:32:17,852
but it was always a parallel universe.
614
00:32:17,936 --> 00:32:22,357
It was always its own
"what if" scenario, actually.
615
00:32:23,149 --> 00:32:26,069
It was a spinoff
of the ultimate run in the comics,
616
00:32:26,152 --> 00:32:29,447
and it always existed
in its own bespoke reality.
617
00:32:30,281 --> 00:32:33,576
So, we felt like we could use
the What If...? structure
618
00:32:33,660 --> 00:32:39,248
to sneak in our first foray
into the Marvel Zombies universe,
619
00:32:39,332 --> 00:32:41,668
based on the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
620
00:32:41,751 --> 00:32:43,127
(GRUNTING)
621
00:32:46,965 --> 00:32:48,091
Oh, no.
622
00:32:48,174 --> 00:32:50,259
Oh, I'm gonna vomit.
623
00:32:51,302 --> 00:32:54,305
WINDERBAUM: For fans
of the Marvel Zombies comic series,
624
00:32:54,389 --> 00:32:57,266
you'll see certain similarities
625
00:32:57,350 --> 00:33:01,062
and Easter eggs
that allude to the original run.
626
00:33:01,145 --> 00:33:03,690
The state in which they find
T'Challa being a big one,
627
00:33:03,773 --> 00:33:06,359
certain people's heads in jars.
628
00:33:06,442 --> 00:33:08,444
SCOTT: Ta-da! See for yourself.
629
00:33:08,528 --> 00:33:10,238
- Wait, who said that?
- Was that ghost?
630
00:33:10,321 --> 00:33:12,365
SCOTT: Oh, damn.
Hey, would somebody turn me around?
631
00:33:12,448 --> 00:33:13,741
We messed up my entrance.
632
00:33:13,825 --> 00:33:16,327
You know, I need to get
this thing motorized. Hey!
633
00:33:16,411 --> 00:33:17,662
(GROWLS)
634
00:33:17,996 --> 00:33:19,372
(GRUNTS)
635
00:33:19,455 --> 00:33:21,874
As we were developing
the Marvel Cinematic Universe
636
00:33:21,958 --> 00:33:25,461
and all the projects that went
into creating this big tapestry,
637
00:33:25,545 --> 00:33:31,050
it was a very, you know,
specific house of cards, in a way.
638
00:33:31,134 --> 00:33:36,222
In What If...?, we get to take
a baseball bat to that entire structure,
639
00:33:36,305 --> 00:33:38,558
and just shatter it into a million pieces
640
00:33:38,641 --> 00:33:42,770
and see what's left and rebuild in our own
641
00:33:42,854 --> 00:33:46,399
mutated, interesting, unexpected forms.
642
00:33:53,781 --> 00:33:55,366
THE WATCHER: We've seen this before,
643
00:33:55,450 --> 00:33:58,661
a universe
in the final days of destruction.
644
00:33:58,745 --> 00:34:01,748
But this particular story...
645
00:34:02,498 --> 00:34:05,043
This, this one breaks my heart.
646
00:34:05,126 --> 00:34:08,004
I think in some ways,
everything is surprising about the series,
647
00:34:08,087 --> 00:34:11,257
that's what's wonderful about
this concept, this What If...? concept.
648
00:34:11,340 --> 00:34:15,636
We have these known stories,
these known characters, these known arcs.
649
00:34:15,720 --> 00:34:19,682
Doesn't matter. Anything can be explored.
650
00:34:19,766 --> 00:34:23,269
And so in some ways,
surprise is the whole point.
651
00:34:23,978 --> 00:34:26,314
WINDERBAUM: In the story of season one,
652
00:34:26,397 --> 00:34:30,985
the Watcher makes it very clear to us
that he is not gonna get involved.
653
00:34:31,069 --> 00:34:32,695
THE WATCHER: He's on the wrong path.
654
00:34:32,779 --> 00:34:35,198
I could warn him, intervene,
655
00:34:35,281 --> 00:34:39,285
but the fate of his universe is not worth
risking the safety of all others.
656
00:34:39,368 --> 00:34:42,622
But it just so happens
that there is a story
657
00:34:42,705 --> 00:34:46,751
that culminates our first season
that requires the Watcher's intervention.
658
00:34:47,585 --> 00:34:52,590
We reimagine a world
where Ultron got the Vision's body
659
00:34:52,673 --> 00:34:56,719
as he meant to do
in Age of Ultron, the film.
660
00:34:56,803 --> 00:34:59,931
And when Thanos inevitably comes
661
00:35:00,014 --> 00:35:04,143
to get the Infinity Stone
from his forehead, he defeats Thanos.
662
00:35:04,227 --> 00:35:06,062
Fascinating.
663
00:35:07,647 --> 00:35:10,358
WINDERBAUM: And gets
all six Infinity Stones.
664
00:35:10,441 --> 00:35:14,904
Once he does that, he's able to wage war
against the entire cosmos
665
00:35:14,987 --> 00:35:19,784
and create an entire
universe devoid of all life.
666
00:35:19,867 --> 00:35:24,205
So devoid of life that he can actually
hear the voice of our narrator.
667
00:35:24,288 --> 00:35:26,999
THE WATCHER: Basking in
the boundless silence of his universe,
668
00:35:27,083 --> 00:35:31,003
Ultron ascended to a previously
unattainable level of consciousness.
669
00:35:31,087 --> 00:35:33,214
He became aware of another.
670
00:35:34,590 --> 00:35:37,343
He became aware of the...
671
00:35:37,844 --> 00:35:39,679
I see you.
672
00:35:39,804 --> 00:35:40,972
(GASPS)
673
00:35:41,055 --> 00:35:43,266
WINDERBAUM: And when
he's aware of the Watcher,
674
00:35:43,349 --> 00:35:48,479
he can break through the universal wall
and wage war on the Multiverse itself.
675
00:35:48,563 --> 00:35:52,150
Which forces the Watcher into a position
he's never been in before,
676
00:35:52,233 --> 00:35:56,821
which is to defend the very thing
that he's sworn an oath to only observe.
677
00:35:56,904 --> 00:36:00,616
And it just so happens,
the perfect cocktail of heroes
678
00:36:00,700 --> 00:36:04,453
that he needs to defeat
this Multiverse-destroying bad guy
679
00:36:04,537 --> 00:36:08,875
happen to be the same heroes whose stories
we've been watching all season long.
680
00:36:08,958 --> 00:36:10,918
And they become
the Guardians of the Multiverse.
681
00:36:11,002 --> 00:36:13,754
- To the Guardians of...
- THOR: Yeah.
682
00:36:13,838 --> 00:36:15,923
- ALL: The Multiverse.
- The Multiverse.
683
00:36:17,091 --> 00:36:20,720
The Multiverse. (ECHOES)
684
00:36:22,597 --> 00:36:26,350
I really believe that deepening
fictional mythologies
685
00:36:26,434 --> 00:36:30,271
is a way to appreciate them more,
is a way to understand them more,
686
00:36:30,354 --> 00:36:31,856
look at them in a different way.
687
00:36:31,939 --> 00:36:36,527
And they've got now two seasons
of What If...? ideas underway
688
00:36:36,611 --> 00:36:39,238
that's some of the best
storytelling we've ever had,
689
00:36:39,322 --> 00:36:42,408
and you may see spin into other mediums.
690
00:36:42,491 --> 00:36:45,411
But it's really
the most uniquely beautiful
691
00:36:45,494 --> 00:36:47,580
animated series I've seen in a long time.
692
00:36:52,251 --> 00:36:55,338
WINDERBAUM:
We set out to make season one,
693
00:36:56,339 --> 00:37:00,051
believing that it might be
our first and last season.
694
00:37:00,927 --> 00:37:06,515
So we wanted to tell a complete story
in those ten, now nine, episodes.
695
00:37:06,599 --> 00:37:09,018
When we got greenlit
for the second season,
696
00:37:10,019 --> 00:37:12,480
we had to really look at the characters
697
00:37:12,563 --> 00:37:16,108
and really justify
why we would keep telling
698
00:37:16,859 --> 00:37:18,819
stories in this fashion.
699
00:37:19,570 --> 00:37:23,199
Obviously, you could spin out
any number of What If...? stories.
700
00:37:23,282 --> 00:37:25,243
- (GROWLING)
- And it's exciting to do so.
701
00:37:25,326 --> 00:37:26,535
THE WASP: Bucky!
702
00:37:26,619 --> 00:37:29,413
But we were searching
for that central thread
703
00:37:29,497 --> 00:37:35,711
that could make it feel like
essential viewing for the MCU.
704
00:37:35,795 --> 00:37:41,550
And what emerged was the relationship
between Captain Carter and the Watcher,
705
00:37:42,468 --> 00:37:45,137
which is something that evolves,
706
00:37:45,221 --> 00:37:49,642
uh, in a grand fashion
in the second season of the show.
707
00:37:49,725 --> 00:37:52,019
You'd rather return to another time.
708
00:37:52,687 --> 00:37:54,647
Haven't I earned my happy ending?
709
00:37:55,856 --> 00:38:00,069
Trust me, that world, that time,
710
00:38:00,152 --> 00:38:01,988
needs Captain Carter.
711
00:38:03,114 --> 00:38:07,952
I love how richly invested
fans are in these stories
712
00:38:08,035 --> 00:38:11,205
and the characters and the films.
713
00:38:11,289 --> 00:38:14,292
One of the things about Marvel fans,
714
00:38:14,375 --> 00:38:19,714
I think, is that they have
Marvel universes in their heads as well.
715
00:38:19,797 --> 00:38:22,550
They have what exists on film,
what exists in the comics,
716
00:38:22,633 --> 00:38:24,552
but then in their heads,
they have these other,
717
00:38:24,635 --> 00:38:28,556
you know, imaginings
and stories that they tell too.
718
00:38:28,639 --> 00:38:32,560
And I think that's all a part
of the storytelling universe.
719
00:38:32,643 --> 00:38:37,023
And so the opportunity
for us to begin to explore
720
00:38:37,106 --> 00:38:40,526
these alternate realities in ways
that might touch on some ideas
721
00:38:40,609 --> 00:38:42,653
that fans have had, or don't,
722
00:38:42,737 --> 00:38:48,534
or surpass those expectations,
is gonna be really cool.
723
00:38:48,617 --> 00:38:50,953
And it also opens the door
724
00:38:51,787 --> 00:38:56,500
and a series of doors
to other endless possibilities.
725
00:39:00,629 --> 00:39:06,093
THE WATCHER: You, your stories,
they are everything to me.
726
00:39:11,557 --> 00:39:13,559
(INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC PLAYING)