What If...?'s third and final season received a mixed response from fans and didn't exactly conclude the animated series in a way that left people wanting more.
Interestingly, we did get a last-minute sequence showcasing all manner of Variants that failed to make the cut. Among them were a Maestro-like Hulk, Thanos-erine (the Mad Titan x Wolverine), an Ironheart Punisher, a samurai Ghost Rider, and six-armed Spider-Man.
The latter two are highlighted in newly released concept art shared by Joey Vazquez on X.
Spider-Man is complicated given the character's ties to Sony Pictures (it still feels like a miracle that we even got to see Peter Parker in What If...? season 1's "Marvel Zombies" episode). Why didn't this badass Ghost Rider make the cut? After all, we know the rights to the anti-hero returned to Marvel Studios several years ago.
It's probably because Marvel Studios wants to put its own spin on the Spirit of Vengeance first...and that may happen as soon as Avengers: Doomsday if recent rumours are to be believed.
Awkwardly, Mahershala Ali's Blade will suit up as Moon Knight in the Marvel Zombies spin-off long before making his live-action debut as the Daywalker due to the Blade movie's continued delays.
Take a closer look at Spider-Man and Ghost Rider below.
Vazquez also shared his designs for that fun opening sequence from the premiere featuring Saturday morning cartoon versions of Earth's Mightiest Heroes. He's also revealed his early takes on the monstrous Mega-Hulk.
The series features an impressive voice cast that includes a host of stars who reprise their iconic MCU roles. Season 3 features fan-favourite characters like Captain America/Sam Wilson, The Winter Soldier/Bucky Barnes, Hulk/Bruce Banner, The Red Guardian, Captain Peggy Carter, Agatha Harkness, Shang-Chi, Storm the Goddess of Thunder, and numerous others.
Episodes of What If...? season 3 are directed by Bryan Andrews and Stephan Franck and are written by Matthew Chauncey, Ryan Little, and A.C. Bradley.
Executive producers are Brad Winderbaum, Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Dana Vasquez-Eberhardt, and Bryan Andrews, with co-executive producer Matthew Chauncey, and producers Danielle Costa, Carrie Wassenaar, and Alex Scharf.
"A disappointing end to one of the Multiverse Saga's best ideas," we said in our review last year, "What If...? season 3 has its moments but fails to take full advantage of its premise, resulting in a silly, superfluous, and shallow final batch of episodes."
All episodes of What If...? are now streaming on Disney+.