There will be more animated Marvel projects beyond What If…?
With multiple films and TV series in the works, Marvel Studios has a lot on its plate. And now the company is adding an animation branch that will produce more content along the lines of its upcoming series What If…?
Marvel is able to juggle so many projects in part because of support from Disney — shows like WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Loki have all had success on Disney+, with What If…? premiering soon.
Victoria Alonso, executive VP of film production at Marvel Studios, told Variety that she’s excited about all the doors the streamer has opened. In particular, she’s looking forward to delving deeper into animation. Although she didn’t reveal her full plans, she did confirm that there’s more to look forward to. “We’re going to have our animation branch and mini studio, and there will be more to come from that as well. We’re super excited about animation, which is my first love.”
What can fans expect from an animated branch of Marvel Studios?
Without any concrete information about Marvel’s plans, it’s difficult to guess what kind of animated series the studio could be cooking up.
Even details about What If…? remain under wraps. The show will visit different areas of the MCU multiverse, which was cracked wide open during the Loki finale. It’s unclear if it will tie into future films, but it certainly seems possible.
This could give Marvel Studios an opportunity to explore old characters whose actors have departed the MCU, delve more deeply into newer characters, and showcase different realities. It also raises the possibility of following non-human characters more easily. (The adventures of Alligator Loki and Frog Thor, anyone?)
The ability to explore more characters is something Alonso is particularly interested in. “When the chance of being a part of this streaming world came about, we were beyond excited because all of a sudden we could actually give the fans far more than 1/4 of a page or three cool moves,” she said.
It will likely be a while before any new animated projects from Marvel drop, but fans can look forward to What If…? in the meantime. The series premieres on Aug. 11, and it may offer some insight into what we can expect from the studio’s animated division. With any luck, it’ll be just as immersive as Marvel’s live-action projects.
Next. Kevin Feige on how Loki sets up the MCU multiverse. dark
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