'Marvel's What If...?' Adds More Veteran MCU Actors To Its List
With the first episode of What If...? having made its debut, MCU fans are expectantly waiting for their next dose of comic book inspired, super hero action. The animated, alternate reality stories from the MCU are a look into events that could have greatly changed the fate of Earth-199999, also known as the Sacred Timeline. Considering the events of WandaVision and Loki, alternate events, multiple timelines, and variants have never been more important in the MCU.
As the Multiverse of Madness gets set to kick off, What If...? will be a victory lap of sorts for Kevin Feige and his crew through the first few phases. With the success of the preceding Disney+ shows, and the non-canon nature of this animated romp through reality, expectations have been relatively low for What If...? Which isn't to say that Marvel fans aren't excited or that it won't become a much discussed and dissected entry in the universe. Rather that the cast and crew behind it can feel free to really stretch their creative legs, try wild and crazy things. And if they don't work for the audience, we move on to the next episode and see if that catches our fancy with little to no impact on Phase 4 or the greater MCU. A fun, action-packed, summer blockbuster type streaming show.
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With that being said, the folks at Marvel Studios aren't sparing any expense, as they have aggressively attempted to assemble the Avengers in the recording booth. While it would be just as easy to find someone to do their best Chris Hemsworth impression to voice Thor (James Arnold Taylor, who voiced Obi-Wan in Star Wars animation), Marvel decided to pay the Australian god of thunder himself to step into the booth and voice his live-action character.
In addition to Hemsworth, Benedict Cumberbatch and Don Cheadle have both recently been revealed to be reprising their MCU roles. With Cumberbatch as Stephen Strange, seemingly dueling an evil incarnation of himself, judging by the promos, and Cheadle once again stepping into the armor of James Rhodes aka War Machine. With Dr. Strange set to take a crucial role in the MCU as the Sorcerer Supreme, combating the forces of the multiverse, it seems par for the course that Cumberbatch would take the role into animation. More Rhodey in the MCU is always a welcome (and far overdue) addition, and with the retirement of Robert Downey Jr. from the MCU, Cheadle will be a welcome fresh face behind the "iron mask." With Armor Wars drawing ever nearer, it seems that Cheadle's MCU stock has nowhere to go but up.
As the MCU retires some of its foundational heroes such as Iron Man and Captain America, new heroes must rise to take their place. At this point, the clear forerunners are Strange, Wanda Maximoff (the recently crowned Scarlet Witch), and the young kid from Queens, Peter Parker, or his made-up name, Spider-Man. Unfortunately, neither Elizabeth Olsen nor Tom Holland have as of yet been added to the cast list. If there is one thing that Disney is very good at, however, it's keeping stars' involvement under wraps until the last moment. (Looking at you, Mark Hamill.)
Even without these crucial characters' involvement, What If...? boasts a star studded cast of MCU favorites coming back to lend their voices and personalities to their live-action characters. Those already announced to be involved in the project include; Benedict Wong, Hayley Atwell, Josh Brolin, Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffalo, Paul Rudd, Michael B. Jordan, Jeff Goldblum, Paul Bettany, Sebastian Stan, Tom Hiddleston, and Samuel L. Jackson.
It's hard to pin down exactly who or what variant of their original characters these Marvel heavy hitters will be playing as there have already been some series plot changes revealed, as is the case with T'Challa. Sadly, this will be the final role for Chadwick Boseman after his untimely passing a year ago. Once again playing the crown prince of Wakanda, Boseman lends his voice to a T'Challa with a very different destiny from the live-action Black Panther. What If...? will ask the question "What if T'Challa was Star Lord?" and will send the young boy into the stars in the care of Yondu.
With variables like this around every animated corner of the show, there are countless possibilities for audiences to behold through the eyes of The Watcher.
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Source(s): CBR