Crossover events are all the rage in the comic book world, both in the pages of famous stories and now on screen in modern TV shows. Now that Disney owns arguably the most popular comic book franchise in Marvel and arguably the most popular sci-fi franchise in Star Wars, many fans of both properties have hoped that such a crossover would happen with those two universes.
Thanks to one of Marvel’s new upcoming series, that’s now more of a possibility than ever before.
Marvel’s What If…? is one of the more unique ventures the MCU has undertaken over the last decade-plus. The animated anthology series will take place in alternate realities where the stars of the MCU as we know them — Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, etc. — are vastly different.
In the upcoming series, the Marvel universe is reimagined in numerous ways, such as having Peggy Carter taking the super-soldier serum instead of Steve Rogers, Killmonger saving Tony Stark from his own missile at the beginning of the events of the original Iron Man film, and Yondu taking T’Challa under his wing instead of Peter Quill, among other things.
With this new series exploring unorthodox and bizarre storylines and with the first season of Loki opening up the entire multiverse, the possibilities for the MCU seem endless.
So, why not introduce Marvel’s universe to a galaxy far, far away?
Will What If…? feature a Star Wars crossover?
In a recent interview with Steve Weintraub of Collider, What If…? director Bryan Andrews and head writer AC Bradley discussed their hopes for an eventual crossover with the Star Wars universe in the show.
“I was kind of notorious for trying to get a Star Wars character involved,” Bradley said, as transcribed by ScreenRant. “We did try at one point, but there was… it’s kind of like, ‘Play with the sandbox you’re given. We gave you the entire MCU. Run with that.’ And I was like, ‘Okay, but Luke Skywalker would be an amazing… Avenger.'”
While such an event doesn’t seem forthcoming as of now, neither Andrews nor Bradley is closing the door entirely. In fact, Andrews believes that if fans make enough noise about it, anything could happen.
“You know, it’s true, we did have those thoughts,” Andrews said. “We were just like, ‘Woo!’ And then that’s when they were like, ‘Hey, guys, there are a little bit of guidelines. Stick with the MCU.’ But who knows? If fans watch it and love it and clamor enough, in future episodes, who knows what could happen? What if, right?”
A show like What If…? would be the perfect way to introduce Marvel and Star Wars together on-screen. The show itself doesn’t have to worry about fitting into the MCU because the stories take place in an alternate universe; the writers don’t have to make sure the story they want to tell has to fit in with the events across the two dozen MCU films and handful of shows.
With a playground like that, introducing characters outside the Marvel comics seems like an eventuality.
For now, though, What If…? is strictly an MCU affair.
Imagining Luke Skywalker as part of the Avengers, Darth Vader teaming up with Thanos, or the Hulk fighting a rancor is still the stuff of dreams for now. But with What If…? opening up the possibilities of stories outside of the canon timeline, it may only be a matter of time before we see if a lightsaber can cut through vibranium.
Marvel’s What If…? begins streaming on Disney+ on Wednesday, August 11.