Season Three of What If? is coming much quicker than expected.

On the same day that we saw the finale of Season 2, Marvel also dropped a clip of Season 3 and gave the ominous ‘coming soon’ answer to when it may arrive. Yet Season 2 has taught the fans that any storyline can get an apparent sequel if deemed important enough but also that there appears to be a larger direction the show wants to go, outside of connecting storylines and showcasing what-if scenarios. Let’s get into some of the possible things we might see in Season 3 of What If?.

Popular Fan What If? Scenarios

It wouldn’t be fair to discuss a third season without sharing some possible scenarios for episodes that fans have been putting forth. While there clearly are endless what-if possibilities, some either have gained quite a bit of traction online or could be interesting additions to what the first two seasons have already created. Below is a list of what-if scenarios fans want to get in Season 3 that we would very much enjoy seeing as well.

• What if the other half snapped?
• What if Bucky was Captain America and Steve was the Winter Soldier?
• What if Wanda died instead of Pietro?
• What if the Eternals intervened?
• What if Loki returned?
• What if Tony never survived his kidnapping?
• What if Strange’s spell didn’t work? (Referring to NWH)

More Sequels in Season Three

Season 2 gave as our first sequel to a previous What If? episode and it’s safe to say that theme might be continuing in Season 3. The first released clip of Season 3 is of Bucky and the Red Guardian as they are driving to an unknown location but run into a little bit of a police problem, which checks for those two. Many have already speculated that this is a sequel to the second episode in Season 2, What If Peter Quill Attacked Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. That episode left us off with the Winter Soldier version of Bucky going AWOL from both the Avengers and Hydra command. We don’t see what he chooses to do other than him overlooking the Brooklyn Bridge, which we all know to be where he is from. However, this clip seems that we might just be getting more to his story than we thought we would.

With this new precedence, the question arises regarding how many other sequels we might get. While many have debated their feelings on sequels, as they feel there are plenty of stories to tell without getting more of one already told, the prominence of the one we did get in Season 2 can’t be ignored. It singlehandedly set up for two other episodes of What If?, one of those being the finale. If the prominence of sequels remain on that level, then it’s safe to say only getting one or two sequels in Season 3 may impact more than half of the season as a whole. As the Watcher said, he doesn’t typically do sequels, leading us to believe the amount of sequels will probably stay limited, to highlight their increased importance.

Connecting it all to the Watcher

The finale of Season 2 gave us one final point to think through until whenever we get Season 3 and that is Loki’s tree. Any promo going into the season showed the tree often, going with the Christmas theme and decorating it accordingly. Yet we had to wait until the very last few seconds to see the tree at all, in all its’ glory. So once again, the Watcher is not only getting involved, but he’s breaking the wall between what we know from Loki, the MCU and What If?, while at the same time showing Captain Carter the bigger picture. Yet, what even is the bigger picture?

The ending of the season confirmed that Loki’s shift to the God of Stories and being the life of the Multiverse has taken root. The very last seconds of the season leaves us with an ominous message from the Watcher, as he says “Oh Captain, just you watch” after she suggests taking the scenic route. Is this the lead into Season 3? Could Marvel go a completely different direction and have us flow through different branches of the Multiverse as Captain Marvel makes her way back to her own universe? And just out of curiosity, does the Watcher know Loki? Could we see an animated version of Loki, God of Stories, in the next season?

It seems every time a connection is made, the whole story only gets more confusing. The Watcher clearly exists adjacent to Loki and is on some level aware of the change that has taken place in leadership. Additionally, the art of the scene makes it clear that he exists outside of the Multiverse itself as he stands staring at Loki’s tree of life. So while we can understand those two things, everything else for now remains fairly muddled. It’s possible Season 3 might give us more answers on where What If? and the stories it tells may fit in the long run of the MCU and its’ version of the Multiverse. Unfortunately for us, Season 3 may just as well make things more confusing, as What If? continues to play fast and loose with how involved it becomes with other MCU Multiverse projects. At this point, we can only speculate what may come, but with Incusions taking place in Episode 8, it’s safe to say we may be closer to the MCU Multiverse than we think.

Image: “What If Season 3”, Jacob Siegal, BGR