Where to watch What If...?
In the US, all three seasons of What If...? stream on Disney Plus. In other countries the options vary, so check the watch box on this page for the services where you live. Disney Plus lists it with the other Marvel animated series rather than the live-action shows, so searching by name is quickest.
The series has 26 episodes in total, each running about 36 minutes. That comes to roughly 15 and a half hours, which is a lot to binge but very easy to spread out. Many fans watch one episode between bigger films during a rewatch, since every episode works as a short break.
What to watch before What If...?
You need two things first: Avengers: Endgame and Loki. Nearly every episode rewrites a scene from the Infinity Saga, and the jokes and twists only land if you know the original version. Loki's first season ends with the multiverse cracking open, which is exactly the idea What If...? runs with.
Beyond those two, the more films you know, the better. A few first-season premises make the point:
| The twist | Best seen after |
|---|
| Peggy Carter takes the super soldier serum | Captain America: The First Avenger |
| T'Challa becomes Star-Lord | Guardians of the Galaxy and Black Panther |
| Doctor Strange makes a very different choice | Doctor Strange |
| A zombie outbreak hits the heroes | Ant-Man and the Wasp |
None of these are hard requirements, but an episode about a scene you have never watched loses most of its charm.
What If...? watch order and timeline
Our timeline lists the series after Loki and before WandaVision. It is not set in a specific year, though. Each episode takes place in an alternate universe, so its spot reflects what you need to know rather than when events happen. It is a Phase 4 series in the Multiverse Saga, first released in August 2021, and our Marvel Phase 4 in order guide shows it among the films and shows from that stretch.
Within the show, release order is the way to go. Start with season 1, episode 1, and keep going in sequence.
How the anthology works (no spoilers)
The Watcher, a cosmic being who observes every reality but is sworn never to interfere, introduces each story. The question is always the same: what if one moment had gone differently? In the very first episode, Peggy Carter takes the super soldier serum instead of Steve Rogers. Other episodes flip the fates of T'Challa, Doctor Strange, Killmonger and more, sometimes as comedy and sometimes as tragedy.
Most episodes stand alone, yet each season builds toward a shared finale. That is why skipping around is fine for a casual watch but costly at the end of a season, when earlier stories come back together.
The tone shifts a lot from one installment to the next. One plays like a heist comedy, another like a zombie movie, and a few aim straight for heartbreak. If an episode is not working for you, the next one will probably feel completely different.
Is it essential?
We list it as optional. The live-action films and series do not require it, and you can follow the Multiverse Saga in order without it. That said, some characters introduced here, such as Captain Carter, have since turned up in live action, and the show gives a clear picture of how alternate realities work in this era of the MCU.
It also has a spin-off of sorts. The zombie universe from season 1 grew into Marvel Zombies, its own animated series, so fans of that episode have somewhere to go next.
Voice cast and creative team
Jeffrey Wright voices the Watcher, the one constant across all three seasons, and his calm narration sets the tone. Bryan Andrews directs. Many MCU actors return to voice their own characters, while voice actors including Terri Douglas, Matthew Wood, Fred Tatasciore, Robin Atkin Downes and Shelby Young fill out the long list of supporting roles.
Where it sits among Marvel's series
What If...? opened the door for Marvel Studios animation, and several more animated shows followed. For the full lineup of live-action and animated series by release and by timeline, see our Marvel TV shows in order guide.
