This has not received a lot of coverage in the mainstream entertainment media, but the animated Marvel series What If…? will be coming to an end with its upcoming third season. Marvel Studios Head of TV, Streaming, and Animation Brad Winderbaum recently told ComicBook.com that the third season could be the next Marvel animated series to arrive on Disney+ (with X-Men 97 having just wrapped up its first season), and that it will represent “the culmination of a trilogy”. He went on to say the following about the upcoming season:
We’re actually close to completing that one, and it really feels like you’ve gone through this amazing emotional experience with Uatu, in a way that’s… What’s great about The Watcher is that he presents himself as uncaring, and cold, and just an observer, but he cares more than everybody [and] anybody. That is on full display in that third season.
The first season of that show premiered in Summer 2021 and the second season arrived in December 2023. It has not made it into the Nielsen Streaming Rankings across its two seasons, but it has received good marks from critics and viewers, currently holding a 91% average Fresh Rating and 79% Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes. A spin-off animated series Marvel Zombies is currently in the works, and since What If…? is an anthology, it could return for a fourth season and possibly more at some point down the road.
The release date for the third year of What If…? has not been announced yet, and I am going to assume it will arrive in the 2024-25 season, so it does not impact the current Cancellation/Renewal Score. That stands at 25 renewed sci fi and fantasy entries (40% of shows tracked) vs. 14 cancelled and ending (22%). You can see the breakdown of the numbers and the full list of shows for the current and prior seasons at our Cancellation Watch Page.
What If…? is an alternate history anthology series that presents “what if” scenarios involving the heroes and villains of the Marvel Universe, all monitored by the mysterious Watcher. The upcoming season will include Sam Wilson / Captain America, Monica Rambeau, Bill Foster / Goliath, Bucky Barnes / Winter Soldier, Alexi Shostakov / Red Guardian, and more. The voice cast includes Jeffrey Wright, Haley Atwell, Anthony Mackie, Teyonah Parris, Laurence Fishburne, Sebastian Stan, and David Harbour.
We are at the end of the broadcast network regular season and I expect more announcements to come over the next week or so. You can see the status of all this season’s shows at this link. And be sure to follow this site and the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site for updates and breaking news.
Be sure to follow the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site for breaking news and updates. And for the latest news and discussions on sci fi and fantasy television, follow r/SciFiTV
Follow our Sci Fi TV Schedule for all the currently airing and upcoming sci fi and fantasy television shows, and you can see the premieres for all the upcoming genre entries at this link.
