Here’s How ‘Loki’ Sets Up the Next Disney+ Marvel Show

With Marvel’s animated series What If…? slated to be the next MCU show on Disney+, something major had to happen on Loki to set it up. And, readers, that “something major” happened, indeed. SPOILERS from this point on.

The “something major,” it turns out, was Jonathan Majors. The Lovecraft Country star and Emmy-nominated actor made his debut as He Who Remains, a variant of the timeline-conquering despot known as Kang. His arrival and subsequent murder were essential for the MCU to go from Loki to What If…?, and now it all makes sense.

To back up a bit: What If…? is Marvel Studios’ first animated series (Marvel Animation produces the cable cartoons for the TV-Y7 audience). And because it’s produced by Marvel Studios, it’s part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, just like the movies and the Disney+ live-action shows that debuted this year.

The series is based on the iconic and evergreen Marvel Comics series What If…?, which has been published in some form or fashion since 1977’s debut issue (“What If Spider-Man Had Joined the Fantastic Four?”). Each issue of What If…? poses a question that pulls characters and events away from the Marvel canon fans know. Examples from the comics: What if Daredevil had killed the Kingpin? What if the new X-Men had died on their very first mission? What if J. Jonah Jameson Adopted Spider-Man? You get the idea. Also—WTF is up with that last one?

The animated What If…? series will follow the same formula, instead using the Marvel Studios movies as the jumping off point. Storylines will include tales about Peggy Carter receiving the Super-Soldier Serum and T’Challa leading the Guardians of the Galaxy, among other scenarios.

But if you’ve been watching Loki, then you know that there is one sacred timeline that has to be protected at all costs. That’s why the TVA exists! How would all these what ifs happen if there’s only one timeline? The Loki Season 1 finale answered that question: now there’s a multiverse because Sylvie killed the one person who wanted to keep the timeline in check.

The fact that What If…? is coming to Disney+ a month after Loki’s finale is really a delightful bit of scheduling. It’s perfect, actually! Loki ends with the creation of the multiverse and the next Marvel show is all about the multiverse. And, looking further ahead, so are the upcoming films Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

What makes What If…? stand out from those films, though, is that Loki’s finale makes the animated series even more essential viewing. These aren’t presumably just imaginary tales of what might’ve been. Considering that the MCU is getting into alternate reality territory, it now feels a little more possible for some of these animated episodes to have an impact on the live-action TV shows or films. Hey, that kind of cartoon-to-live-action crossover is what Star Wars has been doing for a while now!

Start the campaign to get the super-powered Captain Peggy Carter into the live-action MCU right now.

What If…? debuts on Disney+ on August 11.

Stream Loki on Disney+