Ahead of the eagerly-awaited series premiere of What If...? this Wednesday, we sat down with director Bryan Andrews and writer A.C. Bradley to get some much-needed intel on arguably the most inventive Marvel Studios production yet.
With the animated series being delayed several months due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, many details about the show, including character names and costume designs, were leaked months in advance due to a variety of marketing materials becoming available for consumers.
However, after speaking with Andrews and Bradley, it sounds like some of those names we've seen reported may actually be somewhat misleading, since it was Disney consumer products that were responsible for some of those early product names without ever having seen the completed episodes the character variants feature in.
Asking specifically about "Zombie Hunter Spider-Man," who is not voiced by Tom Holland, they told us that his episode is kind of different than what fans may be expecting, and this variant may be more Kraven the Hunter than a Zombie Hunter...
BRYAN ANDREWS (Director): I just think it’s hilarious that somehow it was coined as Zombie Hunter Spider-Man. *laughs*
A.C. BRADLEY (Writer): "I think that was consumer products who did that."
ANDREWS: "It’s hilarious, it really makes it feel like the episode is going to be a little bit different that what it is..."
BRADLEY: "A little bit more Kraven the Hunter…"
ANDREWS: "Yeah! It’s crazy, no I think it’s awesome and people should wait to see the episode. I think that consumer products might be - now people’s imaginations are going so wild and I don’t want them to be disappointed when we do something that’s different than what they’re imagining the episode is going, but I can’t wait for them to see it because that’s just one aspect of that episode, there’s so many other things going on in that episode that is just as worthy of people’s nerd buzz. So, I can’t wait for them to see it."
Outside of "Zombie Hunter Spidey," some of the other character names that were revealed through early marketing leaks were "Party Thor," "Doctor Strange Supreme," "Post-Apocalyptic Black Widow," "King Killmonger," and "Warlord Gamora," amongst others.
While some of these names may very well be indicative of what we'll see in their respective episodes, based on this new information, it would probably be wise to be prepared for the unexpected.