The second season of What If…? was officially announced on Disney+ Day, on November 12, 202. Our last official update on season 2 of the series was from San Diego Comic Con, on July 23, 2022. At SDCC, it was revealed that the season 2 would arrive in “early 2023”, and that a third season was already in development. Marvel Studios offered no further comment on the series, and we’re still waiting for one.
As we passed into 2023, release schedules and teaser videos were revealed by Marvel Studios and Disney Plus, but season 2 of What If…? was nowhere to be found on the list. More recently, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Loki Season 2 and Secret Invasion were the only “sure bets” to release on Disney+ this year.
We are closing into mid-2023, and only Uatu might know where the season is. Twitter scooper @CanWeGetToast said that the season was “pushed to 2024”, and it is very likely to be true, given the circumstances and background. Merchandise for the second season did surface on the internet, but it is often an unreliable measure of release proximity.
According to industry insider Daniel Richtman, Marvel Studios’ What If…? will be ending with its third season.
Why Season 3?
The series was originally intended to be an “annual release”, as Executive Producer Brad Winderbaum told Collider.
“As you know with animation, it takes a long time to produce. We were fortunate enough to get the green light on a second season early enough to have a chance to release it next year. We’ll see what happens. Obviously, I don’t want to predict the future with this new world we live in, but our intention is to make it an annual release.”
Brad Winderbaum
Winderbaum never mentioned that the series would be perennial, or that it would never end. Even so, it seems that season 3 would be an earlier conclusion to the series than expected. Although Marvel hasn’t given us any information on the series since last year, we do have a theory.
Last year, Insider KC Walsh shared that the animation department at Marvel Studios was fearing layoffs, and that they didn’t “know what their future holds”. They went on to say that some shows were “in trouble”. Although we don’t know the authencity of these claims, this might have been responsible in the delays with Season 2, and consequently, the conclusion after season 3.
Source: Patreon
