What If…? has an infinite number of possibilities – so could the X-Men or Fantastic Four show up in one of its many, many multiverses?
Short answer: no – at least not yet. Long answer? Marvel executive producer Brad Winderbaum has explained exactly why mutants and Marvel’s First Family won’t be showing up in What If…? anytime soon.
"We had very few parameters… but [no X-Men or Fantastic Four] was certainly one of them," Winderbaum told Collider.
"We wanted to make sure the characters were firmly rooted in the MCU. It had nothing to do with rights, nothing to do with the future stories we wanted to tell. It had everything to do with what What If…? is, which is a spin on an established storyline. We looked primarily at the Infinity Saga," Winderbaum said. "Once it’s there [in the MCU], we get to make it."
That wasn’t the only thing off-limits in What If…? Head writer A.C. Bradley recently told 12DOVE that two things were off the table when developing stories: swerving current MCU stories and a Star Wars crossover. Naturally.
Still no word yet on when Fantastic Four and X-Men are making their way to the MCU – but they are coming. A Fantastic Four movie has been officially announced and will be directed by Jon Watts. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, meanwhile, had previously confirmed that the X-Men wasn’t part of the MCU’s future five-year plan as of 2019.
For more on what the MCU does have planned, check out our comprehensive guide to Marvel Phase 4.
