What If...? has been and gone and, judging by the reaction to the final season, there won't be many fans clamouring for Marvel Animation to continue exploring the Multiverse.
One of the biggest points of contention has been the show's shift from exploring alternate realities to essentially asking, "What if this character was that one instead?" A final montage as the series ends is exactly that - Thanos with Wolverine claws! - but there's one Vartiant, in particular, who has grabbed everyone's attention.
That's a version of Deadpool who appears to have countless weapons strapped to his back; the prevailing theory is that this could be the Merc with the Mouth from the Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe reality.
We don't anticipate the storyline ever being adapted by Marvel Studios (unfortunately) but what an episode this could've made. Still, who wants to see Deadpool taking out The Avengers one-by-one when there's a story to be told about Howard the Duck and Darcy Lewis having a baby?
Yeah, don't answer that.
"There are no updates to share just yet," Ryan Reynolds recently said of Deadpool's MCU future. "But I trust Kevin and [Marvel exec] Lou D’Esposito with my life. The character trait I love most about Deadpool is that he’s a fanboy. His enthusiasm and longing to be part of a team is really endearing to me. It’s his overarching wish-fulfillment story."
"But I don’t think he should ever be an Avenger or an X-Man," the actor admitted. "If he becomes either, we’re at the end. I think Deadpool works so well appearing with the X-Men and Avengers, but he always needs to stay an outsider."
The Deadpool & Wolverine star added, "I have some pitches and ideas, but none of them center on Deadpool. He is a great supporting or ensemble player. And I would always want Deadpool and Wolverine to be paired in some way."
You can take a closer look at What If...?'s take on Deadpool below.
"A disappointing end to one of the Multiverse Saga's best ideas," we said in our recent review, "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."
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.
All episodes of What If...? are now streaming on Disney+.