What If…? premiered its seventh episode this Wednesday, which put the focus on a party-loving variant of Thor. Chris Hemsworth returned to voice the God of Thunder, with the cast also including a ton of other major names from the MCU, several of whom only provide one or two lines in the whole half-hour. One A-lister who didn’t return for episode 7, however, was Brie Larson, despite her character Captain Marvel featuring in a big way.
When the God of Thunder hosts one of his galactically famous parties on Earth, S.H.I.E.L.D. believes him to be an alien hostile so Acting Director Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders)—who’s temporarily taken over from Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) after Korg (Taika Waititi) accidentally knocked him unconscious—summons Carol Danvers to the planet. This results in an epic, fan-pleasing battle between Captain Marvel and Thor. Although the pair eventually end up on good terms when Carol helps him cover up his party-going activities to his mother Frigga (Josette Eames) when she also arrives at Midgard.
So who plays Captain Danvers instead of Larson? Actress Alexandra Daniels (Salem, The Redeemer) takes over the role from the Oscar-winning star. Daniels previously voiced the heroine in a much smaller capacity in What If…? episode 3, but this is our first time hearing her give an extended portrayal of the character. As with (most of) the rest of the animated series’ recasts, Daniels is spot-on casting, and it would be easy to assume it was Larson’s voice if her name wasn’t conspicuously absent from the opening credits.
Episode 7 also featured the talents of Natalie Portman (Jane Foster), Kat Dennings (Darcy Lewis), Jeff Goldblum (Grandmaster), Clark Gregg (Phil Coulson), Frank Grillo (Brock Rumlow), Karen Gillan (Nebula), Jamie Alexander (Sif), Rachel House (Topaz), Clancy Brown (Surtur) and Seth Green (Howard the Duck). That has to make it one of the most star-studded episodes of this season, regardless of Larson’s lack of involvement.
What If…? has just two episodes left to go. Catch them over the next couple of Wednesdays on Disney Plus.
