In line with the trend of the MCU, something new is always around the corner with every new phase of the franchise. The hottest show that we are waiting for right now is What If…? in the MCU which starts streaming on August 11. While the What If…? comics have been generally accepted as non-canon in the comic mythos. There is new information that reveals that The Watcher can change the MCU.
The anthology animated style of What IF…? may make fans think that the show is separate from MCU canon due to its magnificent variances. But AC Bradley, What IF…?’s head writer had this to say while talking to IGN
“The events of What If…? are canon. It’s part of the MCU multiverse. The multiverse is here. It is real, and it is absolutely fantastic, people.”
There is also information on how the watcher will interact with the main MCU.In an interview with Inverse executive producer of What If…? Brad Winderbaum had this to say
“The Watcher always appears when things get really important and scary,” Winderbaum tells Inverse. “Whenever he appears in the comics or just in the background and characters notice them, they’re like, ‘Now we know this is like really serious.’”
Winderbaum Adds:
“One of the running jokes of the Watcher is that he doesn’t intervene. That’s his whole bag. He just observes; he’s taken an oath. He has certain reasons for it.”
“As comic fans know, he inevitably does intervene,” Winderbaum says. “I don’t want to talk about the specifics. I can say the Watcher is very much a three-dimensional character and that he might be an all-powerful deity, but his heart is very human.”
The Analysis
Uatu the watcher is a very ominous character in the marvel multiverse and comic universe. He has taken us to all these different universes over the years that we have forgotten what it’s like to not have him around. Although, he is a new character for the moviegoers, for the comic fans he is as old as the comics themselves. What IF…? is a writing trope that is used to explore and experiment with new ideas that range from mildly amusing to absolutely absurd. Some of the most intriguing comic stories belong to this genre of comics.
With the new information from the head writer and the executive producer that has been iterated above it has become clear that the MCU’s version of What IF…? will be different. First of all, this show going to be the official MCU canon according to the head writer. The animated Disney+ anthology will not just be a fun experiment but actually tie directly into MCU lore just like Loki. The focus of Phase 4 is the multiverse and it seems that the people at Marvel Studios want to take that idea to its logical extreme with the introduction of convoluted timelines.
Now, let’s talk about The Watcher Uatu. Fans of MCU may recognize the character from an after-credits scene featuring Stan Lee where it is revealed that he works for the watchers. It is a common premise in the comics that the Watchers cannot interfere. They only exist to observe, acting as eyes of the universe. However, the common denominator between all multiverse What If…? stories in the comics is that Uatu does end up interfering more than once. As the executive producer says, the watcher may be a cosmic being but his heart is all too human.
The implications
Since now we know that the events of What If…? will be canon and that the Watcher will in fact interact with the MCU, it means that there is a great possibility that we will see Kang trying to mess up things in the multiverse in the show. It is highly probable that it is Kang’s meddling that forces Uatu to break his oath of observation starting a cataclysmic Butterfly effect that will end up creating more chaos than necessary.
That is how these things usually go and why should an animated show be any different. We believe that the entire premise of the show is pretty interesting, including T’challa as Star-Lord. What do you think about the revelations from the show’s crew? Do they excite you or do they make you wish that the show was completely separate from the MCU? Maybe the latter may have given the writers more freedom. But considering the fact that the writers independently arrived at the plot of Guardians of the Galaxy 3 may be keeping them in check is a good thing. What is your opinion? Let us know in the comments below and keep watching this space for everything Marvel.
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