Marvel's What If...? Show Has 9 Episodes In Seasons 1 & 2

Brad Winderbaum, the executive producer behind Disney+'s upcoming animated series Marvel's What If...? has revealed that both seasons 1 and 2 of the show will consist of nine episodes each. What If...? is the Marvel Cinematic Universe's first venture into animation since the franchise first launched in 2008 with Iron Man. While animated series based off of Marvel Comics' various heroes have aired in the interim, none have been canon to the MCU continuity like What If...? will be.

The series will mark the second entry in the MCU to fully embrace and explore the multiverse, the first being the recently concluded Disney+ series, Loki. In Loki, it was revealed that the multiverse had hitherto been kept under lock and key by a mysterious and omniscient figure known simply as He Who Remains (Jonathan Majors). The actions taken by Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and Sylvie (Sophia di Martino) during the climactic season finale finally opened up the multiverse for all to access, including the looming threat of the fan-favorite villain, Kang the Conquerer. Promotional materials for What If...? have begun to pick up momentum in the wake of Loki's finale, with the show's executive producer now confirming the number of episodes in the series' first two seasons.

In an interview with Collider, Brad Winderbaum confirmed that seasons 1 and 2 of What If...? will both comprise nine total episodes, with each episode expected to be around 30 minutes long. He also revealed that an episode intended for season 1 didn't quite meet the production deadline, and so would be pushed to season 2. Check out Winderbaum's full statement via Collider below:

"We had to push an episode into Season 2. It was just, honestly, like everything else, that was a COVID impact. There was an episode that just wouldn't hit the completion date, but luckily we do get to see it in the second season of the show. Season 2 will also be 9.

"We targeted a half an hour for each episode. Some of them come in a little longer, some of them come in a little shorter. We wanted to tell as many stories as we could and we had a certain budget we had to work with so it felt like that 10-episode — now 9-episode run — was the right quantity."

Disney+'s original series all feature unique season lengths, which made What If...?'s season length a topic of discussion among fans. Live-action series have predictably had shorter seasons, with the MCU's shows (as well as The Mandalorian) hovering between six and nine episodes each. Meanwhile, the streaming service's original animated ventures feature a few more episodes ranging from ten to sixteen episodes each. What If...? seems to be erring on the side of the live-action shows, which hopefully is indicative of the quality of each episode.

What If...? presents an exciting new opportunity for the future of storytelling in the MCU. With the multiverse now unlocked, MCU creatives theoretically have the freedom to tell any story that they want. As the MCU delves deeper into the multiverse, it's highly likely that Marvel's What If...? will establish the basis by which Marvel will tell future multiversal stories.

More: Theory: MCU's Multiverse Will Be Invaded By Ultron In Phase 4

Source: Collider