Season 2 of Marvel Studios’ What If…? has nearly a dozen confirmed stars playing voiceover roles for the MCU’s biggest names on Disney+.
What If…? became the MCU’s first fully-animated series with its debut on Disney+ in 2021, revisiting the Infinity Saga with small details changed for a number of the franchise’s top heroes. Impressively, Marvel Studios even brought back more than 50 of the MCU’s top actors to play the roles they embodied on the big screen as they got to take their Marvel characters down new paths.
At San Diego Comic-Con 2022, fans got an exclusive first look at the new season, which confirmed 25 Marvel characters that will take the spotlight in the animated realm in 2023.
Now, it’s time to take a look at the actors that have been confirmed to play some of those roles.
Jeffrey Wright – The Watcher
After playing the leading role in Season 1, Jeffrey Wright’s Watcher will be back to play the frontman once again for What If…? Season 2. His key role was to serve as the narrator and guide for the entire journey of the MCU’s newly revamped heroes and villains, although he also jumped into action himself in the final two episodes against Infinity Ultron.
Season 2 will see the Watcher becoming “the ultimate fanboy” as he watches more stories evolve throughout the Multiverse, although fans are certainly expecting him to be plenty involved with the excitement himself.
Hayley Atwell – Captain Carter
Hayley Atwell played the show’s leading hero in Season 1 as her Peggy Carter became Captain Carter, one of the core names leading the Guardians of the Multiverse. Although she only appeared in two episodes, she mostly lived through Captain America’s origin story before teaming up with the Guardians to take down Infinity Ultron.
The last fans saw Carter was in Episode 9’s post-credits scene. She had taken on a new mission in the present day with a scene reminiscent of the opening moments from Captain America: The Winter Soldier, teasing exciting new possibilities on the way.
Josh Keaton – Captain America
Taking over the role from Chris Evans, Josh Keaton took on the responsibility of playing Steve Rogers in three episodes of What If…?, and he’s set for a comeback in Season 2 as well. He took on a new role as a skinner Steve in Episode 1 as he donned the Hydra Stomper armor, and he was also utilized in smaller roles in two later episodes before he reprises the role once more next year.
Lake Bell – Black Widow
Lake Bell replaced Scarlett Johansson in the animated series as Black Widow, playing an important role in three of Season 1’s nine episodes. She staved off death for some time in Episode 3, fought through an Ultron-ruled world alongside Hawkeye in Episode 8, and teamed up with the Guardians to close off the season in style.
She even had an emotional moment at the end of Episode 9 when Nick Fury took her to a universe that had lost its Black Widow, allowing her a second chance at redemption as a hero.
Rachel Weisz – Melina Vostokoff
Rachel Weisz first joined the MCU as Melina Vostokoff in 2021’s Black Widow, playing a role as Natasha Romanoff’s mother figure while also serving as the lead scientist for the Red Room.
During Season 1’s run last year, production designer Paul Lasaine confirmed that Season 2 would feature a Black Widow-inspired episode, which is most likely where Melina will make her animated debut. How she fits into the story from there is a mystery, although it’s confirmed that Weisz will be back to reprise her role.
Elizabeth Olsen – Scarlet Witch
Although the Scarlet Witch made a couple of appearances in Season 1, all fans saw was the zombified version of her that wreaked havoc in her own universe and eventually across the Multiverse.
Next season, Elizabeth Olsen will actually get to play her MCU hero/villain as a fully-fledged character, although there are no signs pointing to how she’ll be included in the story. Both WandaVision and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness are available from Phase 4, as are her past starring roles from the Infinity Saga.
Mick Wingert – Iron Man
Mick Wingert took on the enormous challenge of filling Robert Downey Jr.’s shoes as Iron Man in What If…?, making a starring appearance in Episode 6 along with three other smaller-duty roles the rest of the season. Unfortunately, all but one of these ended up with Tony meeting an untimely death – a trend that fans are hoping won’t continue in Season 2.
At some point next year, Marvel will include the episode where Tony winds up in Thor’s place on Sakaar as Gamora hunts him down – an episode that was cut from Season 1 due to COVID-related issues.
Cynthia McWilliams – Gamora
Gamora will get a much better run in Season 2 than she did in Season 1, where she only truly made an appearance in Episode 9 alongside the rest of the Guardians of the Multiverse. Unfortunately, her appearance caused a great deal of confusion amongst fans since she joined the team without any set-up whatsoever in previous episodes.
Thankfully, that will be amended thanks to her upcoming episode alongside Tony Stark, although it’s unknown how much she’ll be involved with the rest of the season as Cynthia McWilliams plays her on Disney+.
Taika Waititi – Korg
Taika Waititi only made a small appearance in Episode 7 of What If…?, with Korg finding his way to Earth during Thor’s massive party in Las Vegas as he got a few moments to shine. He’ll likely play a bigger role when Tony and Gamora end up in Sakaar, although it’s unclear if his role will be similar to the one he played in Thor: Ragnarok.
Jeff Goldblum – Grandmaster
Jeff Goldblum’s role as the Grandmaster was only a limited one in Episode 7 of What If…?, becoming the DJ in Vegas during Thor’s celebration on Earth. While it’s unknown if his role will be bigger in Season 2, Jeff Goldblum will be back in the recording booth to bring his unique brand of comedy and fun back to Disney+.
Cate Blanchett – Hela
The only sign of Cate Blanchett’s Hela in Season 1 came during Episode 2 when the Collector showed off her helmet to T’Challa’s version of Star-Lord. But now, Blanchett will add her own talents to the show as the Goddess of Death takes on an alternate universe storyline all to herself.
Now, as the show approaches its release date next year, fans wait to find out who else will join this massive cast as the animated story for Marvel continues to expand.
This summer, Season 2 of What If…? was confirmed to premiere on Disney+ sometime in early 2023, although that release window is now in doubt.
source: thedirect.com
