Marvel’s What If…? has such a stacked guest cast that we’re guaranteed a huge number of MCU A-listers every week. However, with the incredibly busy schedules of the studio’s movie stars, it proved impossible to get everyone on board the animated series’ nine-part debut season. So far, for instance, the likes of Iron Man, Black Widow and Star-Lord have been voiced by actors other than Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson and Chris Pratt respectively.
In episode 5, “What If… Zombies?!”, another major casting replacement occurs. Spider-Man has a prominent role in the episode, but fans will likely notice that Tom Holland isn’t listed among the names in the opening credits. So who took over the part for the Avengers: Endgame star? As can be seen in the full cast breakdown in the closing credits, Peter Parker is voiced by Hudson Thames.
Thames was previously most known for his various guest and supporting roles on a range of popular TV shows, like Mad Men and Criminal Minds. He’s also set to play one of the leads on CBS’ upcoming sitcom, Ghosts. It’s unknown if Thames will return later this season for more appearances as the webhead, though it seems like there’s a high chance of that. Fans have reacted positively to his performance so far, praising both his impression of Holland and the emotion he brought to the character.
While Holland didn’t feature in it, Episode 5 included a ton of other major stars, such as Mark Ruffalo (Hulk), Evangeline Lilly (Wasp), Paul Rudd (Ant-Man), Okoye (Danai Gurira), Emily VanCamp (Sharon Carter), Sebastian Stan (Bucky Barnes), Paul Bettany (Vision) and Chadwick Boseman (Black Panther), whose delivery of some moving lines gave the episode its most tear-jerking moment.
Tom Holland is due to return as his most beloved character in this December’s Spider-Man: No Way Home. In the meantime, What If…? continues next Wednesday on Disney Plus.
