What If…? / Marvel Zombies (August 11, 2021 – October 31, 2029)
The “What If…?” series explores the multiverse by asking what if something changed about the movies and series released up to this point? The first season focuses on only the Infinity Saga films but Seasons 2 & 3 also feature characters and events from the introduced in the Multiverse Saga up to this point. Though animated, the series plays off the continuity of the live action films and features more than 60 actors returning to voice their characters. And although the tales being told seem to be random, eventually a story arc emerges. Here the episodes are placed in chronological order by the time & setting of each story until the storylines merge and start a continuing arc across various timelines. Each universe listed will have its own page as well.
“Marvel Zombies” is a spin-off of the “What If…?” series and continues to explore Earth-89521, which was introduced in S01E05 “What If… Zombies!?”; the series began in September 2025 and will continue through late 2029.
What If…? S02E07 What If… Hela Found the Ten Rings? (HERE)
Earth-TRN1092
Set on an ancient Unknown Earth (referred to by fans as Earth-TRN1092) , before the existence of either Thor or Loki, this first story mixes elements from “I Am Groot”, “Thor: Ragnarok” & “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings”.
Returning Characters Include:
Jeffrey Wright as Uatu / The Watcher
Cate Blanchett as Hela, &
Idris Elba as Heimdall, with
Jeff Bergman as Odin,
Liv Zamora as Young Hela, &
Feodor Chin as Xu Wenwu.
S03E02 What If… Agatha Went to Hollywood? (HERE)
Earth-TRN1492
Set in 1940s or 1950s Hollywood, this story combines elements from “Captain America: The First Avenger” / “Agent Carter” / “Avengers: Endgame”, “WandaVision” & “Eternals”.
Returning Characters Include:
Dominic Cooper as Howard Stark,
James D’Arcy as Edwin Jarvis (Agent Carter, Avengers: Endgame),
Kathryn Hahn as Agatha Harkness (WandaVision),
Kumail Nanjiani as Kingo (Eternals),
& David Kaye as Arishem (Eternals).
Non-Speaking Roles Include:
S. Dunsdon
Tiamut the Communicator
Jemiah the Analyzer
Nezarr the Calculator
Ziran the Tester
Mentioned: Thena, Makkari, Gilgamesh, Ajak, Ikaris (indirectly) & Sprite (indirectly).
S02E02 What If… Peter Quill Attacked Earth’s Mightiest Heroes?
Earth-TRN1089 / Unknown Earth
Set in 1988, this story combines elements of various MCU franchise films including entries in the Captain America, Captain Marvel, Thor, Guardians of the Galaxy, Ant-Man & Black Panther films.
Returning Characters Include:
Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter
Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes / The Winter Soldier
John Slattery as Howard Stark,
Chris Hemsworth as Thor,
Gene Farber as Vasily Karpov,
Kurt Russell as Ego,
Michael Douglas as Hank Pym / Ant-Man,
Atandwa Kani as King T’Chaka / Black Panther, &
Laurence Fishburn as Bill Foster / Goliath, with
Keri Tombazian as Mar-Vell / Wendy Lawson,
Mace Montgomery Miskel as young Peter Quill, &
Madeleine McGraw as young Hope van Dyne.
S01E02 What If… T’Challa Became a Star-Lord?
Set in 1988 / 2008 on Earth-21818, this episode combines elements from several Marvel film cycles.
Featuring Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa,*
Some of the Returning Characters Include:
Djimon Hounsou as Korath the Pursuer,
Josh Brolin as Thanos,
Benicio del Toro as Taneleer Tivan / The Collector,
Ophelia Lovibond as Carina,
Karen Gillan as Nebula,
Sean Gunn as Kraglin Obfonteri,
Chris Sullivan as Taserface,
Seth Green as Howard the Duck,
Michael Rooker as Yondu Udonta,
Kurt Russell as Ego,
John Kani as T’Chaka,
Danai Gurira as Okoye,
Carrie Coon as Proxima Midnight,
Tom Vaughan-Lawlor as Ebony Maw.
*Chadwick Boseman’s work on this series marked his final performances as T’Challa / Black Panther as he sadly died on August 28, 2020 (aged 43) of colorectal cancer, just under a year before this episode was released. Notably, he posthumously won a Primetime Emmy Award for his performance, and the creators of this episode were so pleased with it that they had initially hoped to do a spin-off series about Star-Lord T’Challa before Boseman’s untimely death. The actor returns in a few more episodes of this series and the writers have found ways to include his Black Panther character without the character speaking.
S01E06 What If… Killmonger Rescued Tony Stark?
Earth-32938
Set in 2008.
The story tells an alternate universe version of the Iron Man story, featuring elements of the original film along with those from “The Incredible Hulk” & “Black Panther”.
Returning Characters Include:
Michael B. Jordan as N’Jadaka / Erik “Killmonger” Stevens,
Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan,
Paul Bettany as J.A.R.V.I.S.,
Leslie Bibb as Christine Everhart,
Andy Serkis as Ulysses Klaue
Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa / Black Panther,
Angela Bassett as Ramonda,
Danai Gurira as Okoye,
With Mick Wingert as Tony Stark, Beth Hoyt as Pepper Potts & Kiff VandenHeuvel as Obadiah Stane, Mike McGill as Thaddeus Ross, & Ozioma Akagha as Young Shuri.
S01E03 What If… the World Lost Its Mightiest Heroes?
Earth-51825
Set in 2010.
The story tells an alternate version of “Fury’s Big Week”, aka the overlapping week between “Iron Man 2”, “Thor” & “The Incredible Hulk” featuring the introduction of Hawkeye and Black Widow, essentially forming what will become known as The Avengers. But things don’t go quite as planned here.
Returning characters include:
Jeffrey Wright as Uatu / The Watcher,
Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury,
Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton / Hawkeye,
Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner / Hulk,
Tom Hiddleston as Loki,
Clark Gregg as Phil Coulson,
Jaimie Alexander as Sif,
Frank Grillo as Brock Rumlow
and Michael Douglas as Hank Pym / Yellowjacket.
With Lake Bell as Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow, Mick Wingert as Tony Stark / Iron Man, Mike McGill as General Thaddeus Ross, Stephanie Panisello as Betty Ross, Alexandra Daniels as Carol Danvers / Captain Marvel, & Unknown Actor as Agent Jack Rollins + several non-speaking cameos.
S01E01 What If… Captain Carter Were the First Avenger?
Earth-82111
Set in 1940s / 2012.
A remix of “Captain America: The First Avenger”, “Marvel One Shot: Agent Carter” & “The Avengers”, the story is a variant version of the Captain Carter from “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness”, but this version has a very different outcome.
Returning Characters Include:
Jeffrey Wright as Uatu / The Watcher,
Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter / Captain Carter,
Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes,
Dominic Cooper as Howard Stark,
Stanley Tucci as Abraham Erskine,
Toby Jones as Arnim Zola,
Bradley Whitford as John Flynn,
Ross Marquand as Johann Schmidt / Red Skull,
Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury,
& Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton/Hawkeye.
With Josh Keaton as Steve Rogers / The HYDRA Stomper and non-speaking cameos by Chester Phillips, Heinz Kruger, Gabe Jones, Jacques Dernier, Jim Morita, James Montgomery Falsworth & the Tower Keeper.
S03E03 What If… The Red Guardian Stopped The Winter Soldier?
Earth-TRN1493 / Unknown Universe
Set in 1991 / 2012.
Delving into the backstory of “Captain America: Civil War” & “Black Widow” the story asks what would have happened if David Harbour’s Alexei Shostakov / Red Guardian had stopped Sebastian Stan’s Bucky Barnes / Winter Soldier from completing his all important mission from the “Civil War” flashbacks in 1991.
Returning characters include:
Jeffrey Wright as Uatu / The Watcher,
David Harbour as Alexei Shostakov / Red Guardian,
Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes / Winter Soldier,
Laurence Fishburne as Bill Foster / Goliath (from “Ant-Man & the Wasp”), &
Gene Farber as Vasily Karpov (“Captain America: Civil War”).
With Piotr Michael as Dreykov (“Black Widow”),
& Kiff VandenHeuvel as Obadiah Stane / “Rook” (“Iron Man”).
Non-speaking cameos include Howard Stark, Maria Stark, Tony Stark / Iron Man, Bruce Banner / Hulk, Clint Barton / Hawkeye, Thor Odinson, Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow & Steve Rogers / Captain America.
S02E01 What If… Nebula Joined the Nova Corps?
Earth-625
Set in 2014.
Returning Characters include:
Jeffrey Wright as Uatu / The Watcher,
Karen Gillan as Corpsman Nebula,
Jude Law as Yon-Rogg,
Michael Rooker as Yondu,
Seth Green as Howard the Duck,
Taika Waititi as Korg,
& Peter Serafinowicz as Denarian Garthan Saal.
With Julianne Grossman as Nova Prime Irani Rael & Fred Tatasciore as Groot & Drax the Destroyer. Non-Speaking cameos include: Ronan the Accuser, Miek & Thanos.
S02E03 What If… Happy Hogan Saved Christmas?
Earth-TRN1090 / Unknown-Earth
Christmas 2014.
Returning Characters Include:
Jeffrey Wright as Uatu / The Watcher,
Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan / Freak,
Kat Dennings as Darcy Lewis,
Cobie Smulders as Director Maria Hill,
Sam Rockwell as Justin Hammer,
Chris Hemsworth as Thor,
Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner / Hulk,
& Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton / Hawkeye.
With Mick Wingert as Tony Stark / Iron Man, Lake Bell as Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow & Josh Keaton as Steve Rogers / Captain America.
S01E04 What If… Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands?
Earth-91233
2016.
Returning Characters:
Jeffrey Wright as Uatu / The Watcher,
Benedict Cumberbatch as Dr. Stephen Strange,
Rachel McAdams as Christine Palmer,
Benedict Wong as Wong,
Tilda Swinton as the Ancient One,
and Leslie Bibb as Christine Everhart.
Non-Speaking Roles:
Nicodemus West, Dormammu
S01E05 What If… Zombies?! (Part 1)
Earth-89521
2018.
The premise is that when Hank Pym saved Janet from the Quantum Realm (in “Ant-Man & the Wasp”) she had an infection that caused a zombie apocalypse. The main story is set during the events of “Avengers: Infinity War” when Hulk is sent to Earth only instead of finding Doctor Strange and Wong he finds zombies. It’s so cool! And very dark. And it was so successful they ordered a “Marvel Zombies” spin-off.
This episode and the 4 part Marvel Zombies, which continues the story, features the following returning actors:
Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes / Winter Soldier,
Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan,
Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner / Hulk,
Paul Rudd as Scott Lang / Ant-Man,
Emily VanCamp as Sharon Carter,
Jeffrey Wright as Uatu / The Watcher,
Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff / Red Queen,
Kerry Condon as F.R.I.D.A.Y.,
Paul Bettany as Vision,
Evangeline Lilly as Hope van Dyne / Wasp,
David Dastmalchian as Kurt Goreshter,
Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa / Black Panther,
Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova,
David HArbour as Aslexei Shostakov / Red Guardian
Danai Gurira (and Kenna Ramsey) as Okoye,
Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie,
Randall Park as Jimmy Woo,
Tom Vaughan-Lawlor as Ebony Maw,
Simu Liu as Xu Shang-Chi,
Awkwafina as Katy,
Wyatt Russell as John Walker,
Adam Hugill as Rintrah,
Daniel Swain as London Master,
Sheila Atim as Sara,
Hailee Steinfeld as Kate Bishop / Hawkeye,
F. Murray Abraham as Khonshu,
Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams / Ironheart
Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan / Ms. Marvel,
Zenobia Shroff as Muneeba Khan.
with
Josh Keaton as Steve Rogers / Captain America,
Greg Furman as Thor,
Rama Vallury as Helmut Zemo,
Hudson Thames as Peter Parker / Spider-Man,
Kari Wahlgren as Melina Vostokoff,
Feodor Chin as Xu Wenwu, &
Todd Williams as Eric Brooks / Blade Knight.
Returning Non-Speaking Characters:
Carol Danvers / Captain Marvel,
Tony Stark / Iron Man,
Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow,
Clint Barton / Hawkeye,
Emil Blonsky / Abomination,
Thanos,
Sam Wilson / Falcon,
Rocket Raccoon,
Groot,
Hank Pym / Ant-Man I,
Janet van Dyne / Wasp I,
Stephen Strange / Doctor Strange,
Wong,
Ava Starr / Ghost,
Cull Obsidian,
Death Dealer,
Ikaris &
Namor.
Marvel Zombies Season 1 (Earth-89521)
Continues the story of Earth-89521 from What If…? S01E05 “What If… Zombies?!”, beginning in 2023 and slowly filling in what happened after the original story, which was set in 2018. Kamala Khan / Ms. Marvel is a central character.
There will be 3 2-part Marvel Zombies Halloween Specials released over the next 3 years (“The Winter Soldier” in 2027, “The Fist of Khonshu” in 2028 & “The Last Guardian” in 2029), which may carry the story forward, but will also likely fill in some gaps in the story, or shift where this story fits in.
S03E01 What If… The Hulk Fought the Mech Avengers? (HERE)
The story is set in an alternate 2024 after a brief 2014 prologue, featuring:
Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes,
Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau (from “Captain Marvel” / “WandaVision”),
Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner /Hulk / Mega-Hulk,
Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson / Captain America,
Jeffrey Wright as The Watcher,
David Harbour as Alexei Shostakov,
Simu Liu as Shang-Chi, &
Oscar Isaac as Moon Knight, with
Kari Wahlgren as Melina Vostokoff,
Brittany Adebumola as Nakia.
The remaining 13 episodes of “What If…?”, from all 3 seasons of the series, form a near continuous final arc spread across a wide array of different times and realities, bringing back various elements of previous episodes and providing closure for several of the characters we’ve met up to this point. These adventures foreshadow several other multiverse stories as the series begins to take on a more significant quality – which hits a bit harder when seen at this point in time, and frankly, in this more cohesive viewing order. I think a lot of people that saw the full series as it was released, vs. how it takes place, missed a lot of the nuance of this final arc and how the episodes flowed together in such an interesting way, with the events revealed in “Avengers: Endgame Encore” giving them even more significance.
Earth-TRN1092 (S02E07 “What If… Hela Found the Ten Rings?”)
Earth-82111 (S01E01 “What If… Captain Carter Were The First Avenger?”)
Earth-21818 (S01E02 “What If… T’Challa Became a Star-Lord?”)
Earth-32938 (S01E06 “What If… Killmonger Rescued Tony Stark?”)
Earth-51825 (S01E03 “What If… The World Lost Its Mightiest Heroes?”)
Earth-625 (S02E01 “What If… Nebula Joined the Nova Corps?”)
Earth-TRN1090 (S02E03 “What If… Happy Hogan Saved Christmas?”)
Earth-91233 (S01E04 “What If… Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands?”)
Earth-89521 (S01E05 “What If… Zombies!?”)
Ready? Here’s how I recommend watching the final episodes of this multiversal series:
01 S01E07
What If… Thor Were an Only Child?
(Part 1) (HERE)
02 S01E08
What If… Ultron Won?
(Part 2) (HERE)
03 S01E09
What If… the Watcher Broke His Oath?
(Part 3)* (HERE)
04 S02E04
What If… Iron Man Crashed into the Grandmaster?
(Part 4)* (HERE)
05 S03E04
What If… Howard The Duck Got Hitched?
(Part 5) (HERE)
06 S02E05
What If… Captain Carter Fought the Hydra Stomper?
(Part 6) (HERE)
07 S02E06
What If… Kahhori Reshaped the World?
(Part 7) (HERE)
08 S02E08
What If… the Avengers Assembled in 1602?
(Part 8) (HERE)
09 S02E09
What If… Strange Supreme Intervened?
(Part 9) (HERE)
10 S03E05
What If… The Emergence Destroyed the Earth?
(Part 10) (HERE)
11 S03E06
What If… 1872?
(Part 11) (HERE)
12 S03E07
What If… The Watcher Disappeared?
(Part 12) (HERE)
13 S03E08
What If… What If…?
(Part 13 – Series Finale) (HERE)
*There are credit scenes in S01E09 and S02E04.
Marvel Studios: Assembled S01E05 (October 27, 2021)
The Making of What If…? can be found HERE.
This installment goes behind the scenes of the making of What If…? Season 1 with creator A. C. Bradley, director Bryan Andrews, animator Stephan Franck, the producers, and actor Jeffrey Wright. Discussion includes the idea of What If…?, the creation, the animating of the show, and the casting.
In spite of the returning talent, the “What If…?” series might seem self-contained, but a credit scene in “Avengers: Endgame Encore” reveals ties to at least 7 episodes of “What If…?”, namely:
S01E01 What If… Captain Carter Were the First Avenger?
S01E09 What If… the Watcher Broke His Oath?
S02E05 What If… Captain Carter Fought the Hydra Stomper?
S02E08 What If… the Avengers Assembled in 1602?
S02E09 What If… Strange Supreme Intervened?
S03E07 What If… The Watcher Disappeared?
S03E08 What If… What If…?
Back to The Multiverse Saga: Part 2: Endgame is the Beginning
Back to the Marvel Cinematic Multiverse main page