What If...?'s latest batch of tie-in merchandise highlights Party Thor. After kicking off MCU Phase 4 through WandaVision, Marvel Studios will continue to thrive on Disney+ as the streaming platform gives it more creative freedom to try new concepts for its stories. Case in point is the upcoming animated series, What If...? which is slated to premiere summer of 2021.
As with Marvel Studios' other projects, the aforementioned project is also based on comic books which are part of a run titled What If? that started in the 1970s. Using the same concept as its print source, the upcoming Disney+ show will revisit certain events in the Infinity Saga and imagine how things would be like if certain story elements panned out differently. Jeffrey Wright will serve as the narrator, The Watcher, but while it won't have any narrative connection to the MCU, it will bring in a lot of the franchise's actors as they voice their respective roles.
The selection includes Chris Hemsworth, who will reprise his God of Thunder role, but with a small twist. Instead of playing a version of the character that exists in the MCU, he will be voicing Party Thor. While the Asgardian royal has long been confirmed to be involved in the show, even appearing in the trailer for it, new tie-in apparel from Ocio Stock (via @cosmic_marvel) offers the first proper look at this version of the character in What If...? Check out the images below:
It appears as if marketing for What If...? has already begun with various pieces of merchandise popping out. With The Falcon and the Winter Soldier down to its last two episodes and Loki inching near its premiere, Marvel Studios is slowly promoting the animated series. Its events won't have any implications on the main MCU continuity, but it will be more of a palate cleanser. On top of that, it will also be a great way to revisit the Infinity Saga in a brand new way. Given the string of new materials for the show, Marvel Studios may also be gearing up to announce an exact release date.
While other storylines included in What If...? are a little bit more straightforward like Peggy Carter becoming Captain America instead of Steve Rogers, and T'Challa becoming Star-Lord, Party Thor's storyline seems a little bit more complicated. It's uncertain what will go down in this specific plotline, although this overly boisterous version of the character might have some similarities with his Avengers: Endgame counterpart. Granted, he was really suffering from depression and just trying to hide that during that time, but it's possible that this take is genuinely more loose and fun-loving.
Source: Ocio Stock (via @cosmic_marvel)