Why Marvel's What If...? Season 2 Didn't Feature The X-Men

Throughout its first two seasons, Marvel's "What If...?" has told so many unusual stories and introduced enough creative variants of recognizable comic book heroes that one could be forgiven for thinking nothing was off limits for the show's writers and directors. However, fans would likely be surprised to learn that there are rules even the multiversal Disney+ anthology series has to follow. Indeed, not only was "What If...?" Season 2 not allowed to use Sam Wilson's Captain America, but it also couldn't feature any X-Men characters across its nine episodes.

In an interview with Comicbook.com, "What If...?" director and producer Bryan Andrews revealed that Marvel did not allow the show to use any X-Men heroes and villains in its second season. Apparently, the studio wants to introduce live-action versions of the X-Men before featuring them in any animated, Marvel Cinematic Universe-based titles. "They were pretty much off the table," Andrews said. "They're like, 'We've got to do it first in live-action and then you get to do it.'" The "What If...?" creative added, "We would've loved to have played with all kinds of toys. But there's limitations."

This explanation may come as a shock to certain Marvel fans. However, it's worth noting that the "What If...?" team was similarly told that they couldn't feature any variants of Sam Wilson's Captain America in its first two seasons because Marvel wanted to ensure that viewers met a live-action version of the character first.

At the time of writing, it's been five years since Disney finished acquiring 20th Century Fox, which also means that comic book readers have been waiting that long for the X-Men to come together in the MCU. Marvel Studios has, of course, kept its plans for the mutants extremely close to its chest, but it does seem like the studio is getting closer to finally bringing the X-Men and Avengers together onscreen.

In 2022, "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" brought back Patrick Stewart's Professor X for an extended cameo, and "Ms. Marvel" introduced the concept of superpowered mutants to the MCU. Over a year later, "The Marvels" delivered a mid-credits scene featuring Kelsey Grammer's iteration of Beast, another mention of Charles Xavier, and a door bearing the X-Men logo.

Now, Marvel is prepared to release both "X-Men '97" and "Deadpool 3" in 2024. The former is set to be a follow-up to "X-Men: The Animated Series" that picks up where its predecessor left off, while "Deadpool 3" will bring back both Ryan Reynolds' Wade Wilson and Hugh Jackman's Wolverine. Taking all that into account, it seems more likely than not that fans will know a whole lot more about Marvel's "X-Men" plans by the end of 2024 than they currently do.

As disappointing as it is to know that the X-Men can't show up on "What If...?" until they do in a live-action MCU project, fans can rest easy knowing that the Disney+ series still has plenty of stories it can tell. Case in point: "What If...?" Season 3 is already set to feature an unexpected villain team-up between the Winter Soldier and Red Guardian.