Work on Marvel Studios’ ‘What If…?’ Series Continues During Pandemic, Will Stream on Disney Plus
Animation may be one area immune from work shutdowns during the pandemic. That’s the case for Marvel Studios’ animated “What If….? ” streaming series for Disney+.
No on-site work is permitted, but the show’s head of animation, Stephan Franck, told Newsarama that creative efforts are continuing at home.
“From what I hear across town, animation has been able to keep the shows in production with everyone safely working from home. Kudos to the studios for pivoting so fast to remote work,” he says.
Fans are eager to know more about Franck’s Marvel project, but he can’t reveal much or “S.H.I.E.L.D. agents are going to come and take me away,” he adds. “What I can tell you is that the level of talent and passion on the team is off the charts.”
However, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige had announced Jeffrey Wright (“Angels in America”) would voice the Watcher as series narrator. Each episode gives a twist to an MCU film, with cast members voicing animated versions of their screen characters.
The first episode asks “What if Peggy Carter got the powers from the Super Soldier Serum and Steve Rogers remained his scrawny self, but was given a super-powered suit of armor designed by Howard Stark?”
“What If…?” is scheduled for a summer 2021 release. No schedule changes have been reported.
Disney+ already houses a wide variety of Marvel movies, shows and shorts. There are currently 18 MCU films available on Disney+, including the recently released “Avengers: Endgame” and “Captain Marvel.”