A Season 2 What If...? Episode Will Focus On This Former MCU Favorite
The first ever animated MCU series, "What If...?" on Disney+ is already taking on major moments from the film franchise's past. We've seen Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) reimagined as super soldier Captain Carter, we saw T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman) join the Ravagers and become Starlord, the entire "Avengers" timeline was altered when Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) wipes out the team before they can even assemble, and we watched Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) end an entire reality in the name of love.
Thus far, "What If...?" has been largely content to deal with stories and films further back in the MCU catalog, but we already know that the show is getting a second season and we'd suspected that would mean more resent Marvel tales would get retold sooner rather than later. While we've still got episodes left in the first season involving Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Erik Killmonger (Michael B Jordan), the Marvel Zombies, and an Ultron/Vision fusion called "Infinite Ultron," we just heard about one season two story that will raise more than a few eyebrows — and that story will be about Black Widow. Yes, the original, Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) version.
What would a "What If...?" episode about the Black Widow movie look like?
We've already seen one appearance from Natasha Romanoff (Lake Bell) in the episode "What If... the World Lost Its Mightiest Heroes?" The story focuses on Romanoff after she is framed for the untimely demise of Tony Stark (Mick Wingert). While we're certain we'll see Black Widow appear again in "What If...?" we also know that, in the main MCU, she is dead after the events of "Avengers: Endgame." We also know that original Widow Scarlett Johansson is in the midst of a very public lawsuit after her solo movie "Black Widow" was simultaneously released on Disney+ and in theaters.
So imagine our surprise when we heard "What If...?" is dipping its toe directly into that contentious moment of the MCU. In an interview with The Direct, production designer Paul Lasaine was asked about what we might see in the coming season of "What If...?"
"There's an episode that is based on one of the movies that literally just came out with the woman with the red hair," he replied. A Marvel movie starring a woman with red hair that just came out can genuinely only mean "Black Widow" as it is (until the release of "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" on September 3) the most recent MCU film.
The big question is — what will be the story for an episode surrounding "Black Widow?" Will this be a version of events where the undercover "family" that consisted of Romanoff (Johansson), Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Alexei (David Harbour) and Melina (Rachel Weisz)? More importantly, will the legal battle between Johansson and Disney impact this story in any way?
We'll find out as "What If..." continues to air new episodes on Wednesdays.