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What If…?, the first animated series within the MCU, is set to conclude its three-season run by the end of 2024. Despite the opening monologue for each episode that The Watcher (Jeffrey Wright) narrates about infinite possibilities, it appears the multiverse only contains about 26 alternate timelines worth of stories.What If…?will end close to the end of Phase 5 of the MCU’s Multiverse Saga, as the franchise begins winding down the multiverse stories withAvengers: DoomsdayandAvengers: Secret Wars.Just two years ago, Marvel Studios was going all in on the multiverse, but now it appears that ship has sailed.
Part of this seems to be due to the fallout of Kang the Conqueror actor Jonathan Majors, who was arrested and later found guilty of domestic abuse charges.Marvel Studios then fired himfrom the role of Kang the Conqueror. Originally poised to be the big bad of the MCU’s Multiverse Phase, Kang has since been replaced with the far more recognizable Doctor Doom, played by MCU legend Robert Downey Jr. Kang’s storyline seemingly has been wrapped up with bothAnt-Man and the Wasp: QuantumaniaandLokiSeason 2, yet ifWhat If…?continued it could have provided the chance to give Kang’s story a proper conclusion.
What If…?
The Issue with Kang in the MCU
The obvious issue with bringing Kang the Conqueror intoWhat If…?is actor Jonathan Majors.What If…?employs a style of animation that closely tries to match the faces of the actors who play the character in live-action, which puts the creators ofWhat If…?in a creative pickle. They likely would need permission to use Major’s likeness, even if they got a voice actor to replace him. Even if they didn’t have likeness rights, the issue is having Major’s face on screen would undoubtedly feel in bad taste, given the nature of his crimes.
The easiest way around this problem would be for Marvel Animation to introduce aseparate version of Kang, a variant that didn’t look like Jonathan Majors. WhileAnt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’s post-credit scene implied all versions of Kang are played by Jonathan Majors, an episode ofWhat If…?could establish that a few different versions have different faces and were just hidden in the crowd shot. They could also opt to keep Kang’s face under his signature mask, which would allow the artist some artistic liberties with how Kang’s face looks to avoid any Jonathan Major resemblance.
However, this all hinges on the idea thatWhat If…?will continue, and the series is already set to conclude. Yet that isn’t to say that Marvel won’t revisit the concept ofWhat If…?down the road or do another animated spin-off series to explore Kang’s origins.As Marvel invests heavily in animation, this might be the best avenue to explore Kang the Conqueror.
Kang Is the Ultimate Character for ‘What If…?’
With Kang the Conqueror being a multiversal villain, he is the ultimate character forWhat If…?. A version of him could appear in any reality of the Marvel Multiverse. There are multiple Kang storiesthatWhat If…?could have explored in the multiverse, including ones with different variants, like Rama-Tut or the Silver Centurion, or how theConqueror would have faced other Marvel villainslike Ultron, Ego the Living Planet, or even Thanos himself.
What If…?also could have explored the true origins of He Who Remains or Kang the Conqueror and even confirmed or denied the fan theory that they are the same character at different points in their timeline.The Kang shown inAnt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumaniawas already established to have conquered various timelines and killed many different MCU hero variants, which would have made for a compelling episode ofWhat If…?that could have led directly to him being stranded in the Quantum Realm before meeting Janet Van Dyne. It appears at one point thatAvengers: The Kang Dynastywould have exploredthe origin of the villain, which is now off the table for fans. Yet an animated episode ofWhat If…?, or an animated miniseries like the upcomingMarvel Zombiescentered on Kang the Conqueror, could have told an abridged version of the tale.
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Marvel Studios could also experiment with their first animated feature film, be it for theaters or Disney+. It could be aWhat If…?style story of whatAvengers: The Kang Dynastywas going to be before the plans were scrapped. An animated movie centered on Kang the Conqueror would allow Marvel Studios to give Kang the big epic film they seemingly wanted but had to scrap following the Jonathan Majors controversy. It would make for a great alternate reality tale and allow fans to see the concept of a story that never materialized. Fans would get a glimpse into a multiverse that never happened, both in terms of it being an alternateAvengersmovie and a glimpse at what the MCU’s grand epic almost was.
Marvel Has Two Potential Kang Replacements in Waiting
While most of the focus on Kang tends to center around star Jonathan Majors and on whetherMarvel Studios should have recast the specific role,two distinct variants of Kang the Conqueror would make for great adaptation, animation, or live-action that don’t require looking like Jonathan Majors since they are variants of other already established Marvel heroes.
In the original Ultimate Marvel Universe, Kang the Conqueror is revealed to be the version ofSue Storm/The Invisible Woman of the Fantastic Fourfrom the future. WithDeadpool & Wolverinekilling off Chris Evan’s Human Torch from the 2000s Fantastic Four films, an animatedWhat If…?episode or spin-off could show the animated version of Sue Storm from those films becoming the iconic villain and beginning her war across the multiverse, providing a conclusion for those 2000s films while also tying intoDeadpool & Wolverine.Jessica Alba has expressed interest in returningto play the character, so it feels like a win-win for everyone. This role could also be played in live-action, with Jessica Alba’s Sue Storm Kang teaming up with Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom to create a team of multiversal supervillain variants.
There is alsoKamala Kang, a variant of Kamala Khan/Ms Marvel who appeared in the 2018 comic seriesInfinity Wars. Kamala Kang allows for both aWhat If…?story on Kang the Conqueror and Ms. Marvel. It would enable Iman Vellani to play a more sinister evil version of her character. If Marvel wanted to go in a different route with Kamala Kang, they could explore her as the one good Kang variant and put her into conflict with the various other Kangs across the multiverse. With Iman Vellani being one of the breakout stars of the MCU’s Phase 4, allowing her to pull double duty as both Kamala Khan and a Kang the Conqueror variant seems like a smart call.
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Marvel’s decision to move on from bothWhat If…?as a long-running series and the character of Kang the Conqueror certainly is disappointing.What If…?barely scratched the surface of what stories it could tell, and withPhases 4 and 5 introducing new characterslike Namor, Werewolf by Night, and Man-Thing, this concept could have gone on for years. Meanwhile, Kang the Conqueror was a fascinating villain whose reputation was tarnished by the actor attached and the disappointing movieAnt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
The only hope is that Marvel Studios will eventually revisitWhat If…?and Kang the Conqueror. In a world whereDaredevil: Born Againwill pick up from Daredevil after it was canceled andTim Blake Nelson returning to the MCUas The Leader 17 years after his tease inThe Incredible Hulk, it doesn’t seem out of the realm of possibility that Kang the Conqueror can return, just with a different face.Season 3 ofWhat If…?is coming toDisney+on December 22.
