Marvel's WHAT IF...? Writer Reveals Why Sam Wilson's CAPTAIN AMERICA Was Off Limits

Marvel's WHAT IF...? Writer Reveals Why Sam Wilson's CAPTAIN AMERICA Was Off Limits

Many Sam Wilson fans are disappointed that season 2 of the animated series features Captain Carter very prominently while Captain America hand-picked successor has been absent.

By MarkJulian - Jan 08, 2024 10:01 AM EST
Filed Under: What If
Source: Toonado.com

While most Marvel fans were thrilled with season 2 of the What If...? animated anthology series, supporters of Anthony Mackie's Sam Wilson were disappointed that he did not feature.

After all, Wilson is expected to play a significant part in the MCU in the future, as Steve Rogers entrusted the shield and mantle to him in the last moments of Avengers: Endgame.

In response to those fans, AC Bradley, the show's head writer, said that it all came down to timing and the fact that the season 1 and season 2 episodes were written at a time when it was unclear how The Falcon and the Winter Solider would pan out.

"We also couldn't do Sam Wilson's Captain America because, we didn't know when that would be coming out," AC Bradley told the Phase Zero podcast.

"Again, we were writing Season 2 as The Falcon and The Winter Soldier paused shooting and the scripts were being re-written because of other things. We don't know when anything is airing. So, we couldn't touch it because we're not allowed to introduce… It makes sense, you let the character live in live-action first and then go play in the multiverse."

A perfectly reasonable explanation- characters have to make their big screen debut before being featured in a What If...? episode. While Sam Wilson suited up in the Disney+ MCU series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, he's yet to make his big screen debut.

If you recall, season 1 and season 2 of What If...? were written as one big batch of episodes that were later split into two seasons.  While the second season just premiered in December, these episodes were written back in 2019/2020. 

A third season of Marvel's What If...? is confirmed to be on the way but Bradley recently announced that she's leaving Marvel to pursue other ventures.

However, based on her explanation of how things work, it's likely that Sam Wilson will make his animated debut in What If...? during its third season as Captain America: Brave New World is set to hit theaters on February 14, 2025.

Based on 22 reviews, the second season of What If....? presently has an 86% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 7.7/10.

According to the site's critical consensus, "What If...? may not add much to the larger MCU narrative, but surprising takes on beloved characters and some of the best action sequences in the entire franchise make for engaging viewing."

Are you excited for more What If...? episodes in the upcoming season 3? Let us know in the comments section below.

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Vigor
Vigor - 1/8/2024, 10:38 AM
I just want them to introduce the phase 4 and phase 5 characters for season 3 of what if. It'll really make the season feel different instead of just a continuation of whatever capt Carter is up to
SonOfAGif
SonOfAGif - 1/8/2024, 10:56 AM
@Vigor - "What if Miss Minutes met Ultron"
"What if Asgard invaded Talokan"
"What if Mordo helped Mysterio"
Vigor
Vigor - 1/8/2024, 10:59 AM
@SonOfAGif - mordo teaming with mysterio. That would be fun
mountainman
mountainman - 1/8/2024, 11:00 AM
@Vigor - Yes Captain Carter is fun, but I wasn’t coming into this show expecting this over arching story about her. I’d prefer more one offs and fewer crossovers.
Vigor
Vigor - 1/8/2024, 11:04 AM
@mountainman - I hear ya
soberchimera
soberchimera - 1/8/2024, 11:05 AM
@Vigor - Pretty sure the Spider-Man characters are off-limits.
marvel72
marvel72 - 1/8/2024, 11:06 AM
@SonOfAGif - What If? Phase 4 and 5 were as good as Phase 1-3.
mountainman
mountainman - 1/8/2024, 11:06 AM
@Vigor - What did you think of the finale? I found it to be an interesting premise, but executed poorly. Also a little lame that evil Strange was the bad guy. Let’s bring in some new blood here. Infinity Ultron (and Infinity Killmonger) was so cool in the first season finale.
SonOfAGif
SonOfAGif - 1/8/2024, 11:08 AM
@marvel72 - What If...? You acted like an adult and not a child catching a tantrum on a message board?
Vigor
Vigor - 1/8/2024, 11:13 AM
@mountainman - I actually enjoyed it from a pure visceral standpoint. I had to turn off my brain haha. It reminded me of the imaginative action figurine battles I'd have as a kid. Just give my toys all the powers and bash them into each other. But I agree things are getting stale. I'm glad they wrapped up Supreme strange but even seeing all those villains freed and fighting each other doesn't excite quite the way it should

It's about time we see new blood. They have the rights to the fox xmen. How sick would it have been to see idk, apocalypse as one of the being strange captured. Or see Wanda vs Phoenix. Things get boring when they become too familiar. And they're showing thanos losing a bit too much for him to be exciting to see anymore

My opinion
MotherFuckerJon
MotherFuckerJon - 1/8/2024, 11:17 AM
@Vigor - I knew Season 1 was worked on during the pandemic I didn't know S2 had been ready amd waiting for that long. At this rate we won't get phase 4/5 characters amd stories until 2027
marvel72
marvel72 - 1/8/2024, 11:30 AM
@SonOfAGif -

marvel72
marvel72 - 1/8/2024, 11:32 AM
@SonOfAGif - But I'm not anything related to Marvel so that What If? Wouldn't work.
mountainman
mountainman - 1/8/2024, 11:33 AM
@Vigor - Yup. It’s not as if MCU fans who don’t know the comics at all are watching What If looking for more MCU continuity. It should have access to anything from Marvel lore. It’s the multiverse. It doesn’t have to all be connected to the movies.
HashTagSwagg
HashTagSwagg - 1/8/2024, 10:44 AM
People actually still watching this shit?
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