Marvel has found a new means of getting out stories that might have been buried or stories that might have gone unnoticed for the greater good. At the same time generating new characters that could be later utilized in the MCU timeline for pivotal points. It makes one wonder what if some other franchises used this medium too. Here are a few other movie franchises that could use an animated show like What If…? to explore more about their characters.
Fast and Furious
Why not? The Fast and the Furious franchise has been shown to be massively successful with the box office numbers. The characters and the storylines have now become essential moments in cinematic history. And, they are no less than the characters from Marvel or DC except for the fact that they are invincible. In the tenth movie of the franchise, F9 went to a whole new level as two of the characters ended up going to space in a car. As unbelievable as it may sound the there are events in this franchise that can blow minds.
A What If…?– like animated series adaptation for the show can deal with so much more than there is. Again, why not?
X-Men
X-Men has dealt with time travel before and they have nailed those storylines on a very epic scale. The X-Men: Days of Future Past dealt with the time travel concept wherein they mentioned how time is a stream. You can throw rocks on it to affect the flow but that would not make much difference as the stream will carry the stone along. But the ending defines that history can be altered. So, an animated series showing the idea of alternate universes in the X-Men world can actually be a brilliant move for the franchise and repair its recent failures.
Back to the Future
Even Scott Lang believes in Back to the Future or he did before the events of Endgame. Back to the Future redefined how time travel would be utilized for the plot of a movie for every movie since then. The idea of how Nexus events creating a branch from the original timeline was something that was originally shown in Back to the Future 3.
Star Wars
Star Wars has never used time travel or anything like that directly in its plot. The World Between World was mentioned in an episode of the Rebels, which could be a means of time travel. Star Wars could utilize a What If…?- like series that could explore the various fan fiction and other literature. At one point, George Lucas had taken into consideration making Luke Skywalker submit to the dark side. The mere idea of that makes us think how much different the entire Star Wars world would have become. And that’s only one case.
DCEU
The DC extended universe has been experiencing its highs and lows over time. The concept of time travel and parallel universes has been explored in the movies. In Zack Snyder’s Justice League, we saw Flash run at the speed of life and save the entire world. Plus, DC has brilliant storylines that could be explored if the idea of Nexus events is brought in. Storylines from the comic books, like Superman being brought up by Darkseid himself could be explored.
Star Trek
The Star Trek movies have fared very well and have even referenced and used time travel as an essential plot point. This universe has always had brilliant characters that have a lot of stuff left to explore. An animated series exploring all the could have been ideas and storylines could be very entertaining.
James Bond
James Bond is one of the longest-running franchises that has overcome the disparities over time and still remained a stronghold when it comes to spy thrillers. Earlier movies often didn’t handle the material with much seriousness and had an effect that doesn’t make much sense today. But the recent development of the character is a very strong persona that’s always adapting to the world. The idea of adapting some of the storylines that have never been touched or somehow not gathered interest could be a great move for the franchise. I would personally love to see an episode entirely about Quartermaster.
Harry Potter
Almost everyone has gone through the Harry Potter phase once or twice in their life. The movies and the literature has had a massive fan following. The vast number of characters are so memorable that often there are more fans of certain characters over the protagonist himself. The plots are so beautifully created with so much detail that one is often left to wonder- “What If…?”
Tolkien world
With an upcoming series from Amazon Prime, one can clearly say there never can be enough of The Lord of the Rings and Hobbits. The wonderful, magnificent and fantastically built world of J R R Tolkien is the reason we have multiple franchises both in terms of literature and cinema. The way magic is explored in this world and at the same time having an underlying statement towards the ways of the world is unique. There is a lot of this world that can be put out using an animated show like What If…?
Planet of the Apes
Planet of the Apes gave us a beautiful cinematic universe and explored so much about the humanity that exists in the world around us. An animated series exploring the changes due to tiny choices would dive into much more about the humanity of the human characters.
Which other Movie Franchises do you think should get their own What If…? shows?
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