And if…? Season 3 shouldn't be the end of the story

After only three short seasons in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, And if…? nearing the end. The animated anthology debuted in 2021 and dived into the craziness of the Marvel Multiverse, but as the MCU prepares for And if…? season 3 in 2024, things seem to come to an abrupt halt.

Away from the live-action adventures of the MCU, And if…? arrived as part of Disney+'s ever-expanding franchise roster. There are other animated outputs in the form of X-Men '97, Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Manand the delayed ones Marvel Zombies serving as a And if…? spin off. However, when it comes to this series that explores alternate timelines, there are only eight episodes left.

And if…? Season 3 is the end of the road

while And if…?Its multiverse nature told its own stories away from the main MCU canon, with fan favorites like Benedict Cumberbatch, Chris Hemsworth, Hayley Atwell, Elizabeth Olsen and the late Chadwick Boseman reprising their live-action roles. And if…? Season 3 tells another set of Multiverse stories overseen by Jeffrey Wright's Uatu, aka The Watcher.

Highlights of And if…? season 3 includes the return of White Vision from WandaVisionthe long-awaited reintroduction of Moon Knight and X-Men: The Animated SeriesAlison Sealy-Smith reprized her role from X-Men '97 like Storm. Storm wielding Mjölnir was a highlight of the Season 3 trailer. And with Disney acquiring 20th Century Fox in 2019, the X-Men's arrival in the MCU marks a new era for the franchise.

Just like And if…? season 2 introduced Kahhori as a brand new hero expected to make it to live action, Natasha Lyonne makes her MCU debut in season 3 as a new creation called Byrdie. There are also rumors that Wright's Uatu will play a major role in the future of the franchise, while the stalwart Captain Carter seems like an easy fit for Avengers: Secret Wars' supposed recreation of Battleworld. This comes after Hayley Atwell played a version of the character in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

And if…? told mostly its own stories that unfolded over the course of a season and culminated in a massive multiverse team-up. So far, he hasn't had to worry about the main Earth-616 canon of the MCU. However, with the series coming to an end, many are expecting And if…? to storm out and set up a future live-action project for the MCU. With two Avengers movies on the horizon, it makes sense to start planting these seeds now.

MCU loses potential what if…? Season 4

Even though Sealy-Smith is unlikely to step on as Storm for the upcoming X-Men reboot, her role in And if…? it reminds fans of the potential that future seasons hold And if…? could have resisted. Similar to how Deadpool and Wolverine they included Channing Tatum's Gambit and Wesley Snipes' Blade, And if…? Season 4 could have let any number of familiar faces lend their voices to classic roles. Imagine a Ghost Rider episode with Nicolas Cage, Ben Affleck voicing an animated Daredevil, or a Spider-Man-centric episode making good for Drew Goddard's Sinister Six movie that never happened.

More importantly, the upcoming debuts of The Fantastic Four and the X-Men include a lot of characters that would be perfect for them. And if…? stories. After all, the live-action versions of Charles Xavier becoming the Juggernaut (And if…? #13) and Dazzler being the herald of Galactus (And if…? #33) is unlikely to ever play in the main MCU. Beyond that, Wolverine's potential to fight Conan the Barbarian (And if…? #16), Punisher becoming Venom (And if…? #44), and the Thing becoming a mutated Hulk-like (And if…? #37) are just a few of the stories audiences are missing out on.

It's not clear exactly why And if…? ends, but it seems like it was always planned as a three-part story that could cross over to other projects. This has already been presented by Marvel Zombies derived from Season 1's “What If… Zombies?!” Speaking to The Official Marvel Podcast in July 2024, executive producer Brad Winderbaum said season 3 “it feels like completing a trilogy”:

Although the Watchers were briefly teased Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2The live-action MCU has yet to live up to its potential. As the franchise introduces more cosmic entities such as Thor: Love and Thunder done with Eternity and Agatha All Along done with Death, the Watchers (and especially Uatu) seem ready to play a role.

And if…? Season 3 forms an alternate line of Avengers with Sam Wilson, Shang-Chi, and Monica Rambeau, which is convenient since these are all potential recruits for the supposed New Avengers in the MCU. Even if And if…? ends in a traditional sense, it is possible to continue to explore some of its ideas in spin-offs such as Marvel Zombies. By entertaining ideas that are too “wild” for live action, And if…? it served at least as a testing ground for unusual concepts. There was already a Christmas episode, so it might as well be an idea to revisit And if…? for special occasion.

As disappointing as And if…?It could be its end, it's important to remember that it's the only Disney+ series to get a three-season order. Most of Marvel's series have been limited to a single season and even the critically acclaimed ones Loki does not appear to be returning for a third season. Also with Secret Wars The advice to destroy the Multiverse and end the current Multiverse Saga before heading into the rumored “Mutant Saga” makes sense as And if…? it ends. Although it's a shame fans never got to see Wolverine become Lord of the Vampries (And if…? #24), not even the Watcher knows what the future holds And if…? contain.