The Marvel Cinematic Universe‘s small screen expansion is largely unfolding in the realm of live-action, but there’s a couple of significant animated projects on the way. What If…? is coming to Disney Plus later this summer, while Guardians of the Galaxy breakout star Baby Groot is also getting his own short-form episodic spinoff.
The former is based on the long-running comic book series of the same name, and sees Jeffrey Wright’s Watcher imagining alternate realities where even the smallest of changes could have seismic effects on the multiverse. Iron Man, Doctor Strange, and Captain Marvel may have been recast for the show, but the list of notable MCU names reprising their roles is nothing short of mind-boggling.
Chadwick Boseman, Hayley Atwell, Josh Brolin, Dominic Cooper, Michael Douglas, Taika Waititi, Stanley Tucci, Sebastian Stan, Mark Ruffalo, Paul Rudd, Michael Rooker, Jeremy Renner, Jeff Goldblum, Natalie Portman, Samuel L. Jackson, Tom Hiddleston, Chris Hemsworth and Karen Gillan are just a selection of franchise alumni to be heading into the animated MCU. Following on from the recent release of a new full-length trailer, Marvel Studios’ production and development executive Dana Vasquez-Eberhardt revealed that there’s more more to come in the future.
“Get ready for the first of many amazing animation series. Thrilled to be working with these talented crew.”
Of course, not every animated MCU project is going to come boasting the sheer volume of A-list stars that are coming attached to What If…?, but if additional shows look to either continue or spin off from established brands, then there’s already plenty of base talent in place. You could easily imagine something along the lines of an irreverent Howard the Duck adaptation on Disney Plus if the plan is to continue churning out content, without impacting the overall narrative of Phase Four in the long run.
Published: Jul 10, 2021 04:35 pm