What If... Zombies?!

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"What If... Zombies?!"
What If...? episode
Promotional poster
Episode no.Season 1
Episode 5
Directed byBryan Andrews
Written byMatthew Chauncey
Produced byA. C. Bradley
Editing byGraham Fisher
Original release dateSeptember 8, 2021 (2021-09-08)
Running time31 minutes
Cast
Episode chronology
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"What If... Zombies?!" is the fifth episode of the first season of the American animated television series What If...?, based on the Marvel Comics series of the same name. It explores what would happen if the events of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018) and Avengers: Infinity War (2018) occurred differently, with members of the Avengers becoming zombies and initiating a worldwide zombie apocalypse, while a group of survivors search for a cure. The episode was written by story editor Matthew Chauncey and directed by Bryan Andrews.

Marvel Zombies
comic series.

"What If... Zombies?!" was released on Disney+ on September 8, 2021. The episode received mixed reviews from critics, with differing views on its tone, writing and story logic, and voice acting. A four-episode animated series based on the reality of the episode, Marvel Zombies, is in development, scheduled to debut on Disney+ in 2024.

Plot

Janet van Dyne, but she has been infected with a quantum virus that has turned her into a zombie.[a] She infects Pym before both return to his lab, attacking Scott Lang while their daughter, Hope van Dyne, escapes. Within 24 hours, the virus spreads across the Northwestern United States. The Avengers respond, but are infected themselves and turn the virus into a worldwide zombie apocalypse
.

Two weeks later,

Camp Lehigh in New Jersey, where they believe a cure for the virus is being developed, but are attacked by a zombified Steve Rogers, Clint Barton, and Sam Wilson
, who infect Carter, Hogan, and Hope before the group kill the zombies in turn.

Before she succumbs to her infection, Hope sacrifices herself to bring the others to the camp, where they meet

Mind Stone can reverse the virus's effects, exemplified by Lang's cured head being kept alive in a jar. However, the group also learns that Vision has been keeping a zombified Wanda Maximoff captive due to her resisting the Mind Stone and has been feeding other survivors to her, including T'Challa
. After Maximoff breaks free and kills Kurt, Okoye, and Barnes, Vision, unwilling to live without Maximoff, sacrifices himself to give up the Mind Stone so the others can cure the world with it.

While Parker, Lang, T'Challa, and the Cloak escape in a

Infinity Gauntlet
.

Production

Development

External videos
video icon What If... Zombies?! | Marvel Studios' What If...? | Disney+, a promotional video introducing the episode's "what if" concept with narration by
the Watcher, video from the What If...? Twitter
account

By September 2018,

Christmas-themed episode exploring what if the Avengers had showed up during Iron Man 3 (2013), told in the style of Love Actually (2003) vignettes.[11]: 11:22–12:13  "What If... Zombies?!" was released on Disney+ on September 8, 2021.[12]

Writing

In the episode's alternate storyline,

Marvel Zombies comic series,[13] with a number of direct references to the comics in the episode, more so than any other What If...? episode.[14] Bradley had previously attempted to write a "dark body horror" story in which Spider-Man turns into a real spider, taking inspiration from Franz Kafka's 1915 novella The Metamorphosis, which Marvel rejected for being too dark for their target PG-13/TV-14 audience.[15] She then pitched the idea of MCU characters turning into zombies as an alternative story idea, not knowing about the existing Marvel Zombies series.[14] Kevin Feige had previously expressed interest in a live-action Marvel Zombies adaptation in 2013, but was not able to accurately adapt the storyline to film due to the MCU's target demographic;[16] he encouraged Bradley to pursue the idea in animated form for What If...?.[14]

Chauncey was the one to "spearhead" the episode, initially creating a draft with more gruesome deaths.[17]: 2:38–3:00  He and Bradley were hesitant to have T'Challa appear without his leg because the racial implications of "a white couple [Vision and Wanda Maximoff] basically feasting off a man of color", but decided to include it as a reference to a significant part of the Marvel Zombies comic. They rationalized that losing a limb in a zombie apocalypse was "getting away easy" when compared to someone like Scott Lang, who ends up with his head in a jar.[17]: 3:05–3:42  Other Easter eggs in the episode include a reference to the phrase "till the end of the line" from Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014);[18] an homage to the logo of Mutant Enemy Productions, the production company of the horror television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer;[19] and the MCU's first mention of Peter Parker's Uncle Ben.[20] This was included in early drafts of the script, and was kept despite Bradley and Chauncey expecting Marvel to request its removal.[17]: 1:20–1:58 

Casting

Ebony Maw.[21]

Hank Pym, Janet van Dyne, Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow, Clint Barton / Hawkeye, Sam Wilson / Falcon, Wanda Maximoff, and Thanos;[26] many of these characters appear as zombie versions of themselves.[25]

Animation

Animation for the episode was provided by Squeeze,[7]: 29:10 [6]: 4  with Stephan Franck serving as head of animation.[27] Andrews developed the series' cel-shaded animation style with Ryan Meinerding, the head of visual development at Marvel Studios.[28][29] Though the series has a consistent art style, elements such as the camera and color palette differ between episodes.[6]: 4  Concept art for the episode is included during the end credits, and was released online by Marvel following the episode's premiere.[30]

Music

A soundtrack for the episode was released digitally by

Marvel Music and Hollywood Records on September 10, 2021, featuring composer Laura Karpman's score.[31]

What If... Zombies?! (Original Soundtrack)[31]
No.TitleLength
1."Too Late?"1:22
2."Overkill"2:12
3."Searching"1:23
4."Hope"0:48
5."Grand Central"1:20
6."Station Brawl"2:33
7."Snakes on a Train"1:10
8."You're in Trouble"1:25
9."Walk Through That"2:05
10."Brian Stuff"1:04
11."Trap"2:42
12."Man-Eater"2:53
13."Avenge Us"1:27
14."Saved Twice"2:23
Total length:24:47

Marketing

On August 7, 2021, Marvel announced a series of posters created by various artists to correspond with the episodes of the series, including a poster featuring zombified versions of Iron Man and Captain America in an apocalyptic New York City designed by Chris Christodoulou, as part of a series of posters for the series. Mira Jacobs of

Funko Pops, Marvel Legends figures, and Lego minifigures based on the zombie versions of characters.[33]

Reception

David Opie at

Marvel Zombies: Resurrection comic storyline and was "just as affecting". She also highlighted the Cloak of Levitation, Kurt, and Happy Hogan, and gave the episode 4.5 out of 5 stars.[9] Writing for The A.V. Club, Sam Barsanti believed the episode had "all of the violence, black humor, and brain-chomping that you'd expect", and gave the episode a "B−". Barsanti felt Parker's interjections of pop culture references successfully undercut the episode's horror elements despite being a repetitive trope after stories such as Zombieland (2009).[8]

Tom Jorgensen of IGN was more negative about the episode, comparing it to "What If... Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands?" which had darkness rooted in Doctor Strange's character arc while the story of "What If... Zombies?!" just "shambles along" between different zombie encounters; he scored the episode 5 out of 10. Jorgensen criticized the episode's tonal inconsistencies and comedy, feeling the latter was overused and detracted from the realism of the story's MCU connections. He also took issue with the virus being explained only as a "quantum virus", which he felt was lazy writing. Jorgensen enjoyed how the outbreak affected Vision, but was disappointed that the episode quickly moved past its exploration of the character's disregard for human life in trying to save Maximoff. He was mostly positive about the action sequences, but felt they were hindered by the episode's unclear logic for why the zombie characters could use their superpowers.[10] Amon Warmann agreed with Jorgensen's sentiments in his review for Yahoo! News, finding the overall episode to be unsatisfying and the weakest of the series so far. He was positive about Parker's "eternal optimism" and his relationship with Hope, and he said Hope's final act of going giant size for the first time in the MCU was "beautifully played", but he found the episode to otherwise be rushed with even more pacing issues than what he had highlighted for previous episodes. Like Jorgensen, Warmann also compared this episode to the previous one's tragic tone, criticizing "What If... Zombies?!" for trying to move between dark and comedic tones in a "disjointed" way and for the inconsistent way the characters felt about killing zombie versions of other heroes.[35]

Despite his mostly negative feelings for the episode, Jorgensen was positive about the voice acting which is something he had criticized in earlier episodes. He specifically highlighted the performances of Gurira, Boseman, and Dastmalchian.[10] Warmann, on the other hand, felt the series' voice acting was "more mixed than ever", criticizing the performances of Ruffalo and Stan. He felt Lilly gave the episode's strongest performance, and was shocked at how close Thames' voice was to Tom Holland's portrayal of Parker.[35] Barsanti thought Thames did a fine job replacing Holland, and enjoyed Rudd's comedic performance as well as the visual joke of the Cloak of Levitation flying around with Lang's head in a jar. He was surprised at Boseman's role in the episode after the second episode had been presented as a farewell to the late actor.[8] Opie, Barsanti, Jorgensen, and Warmann all highlighted Boseman's poignant line in the episode: "In my culture, death is not the end. They're still with us, as long as we do not forget them."[8][10][34][35]

Marvel Zombies series

Main article: Marvel Zombies (miniseries)

In November 2021, a Marvel Zombies animated series was announced, with Andrews returning to direct and Zeb Wells serving as head writer.[36] It is a continuation of the reality first introduced in this episode of the series,[37] that "look[s] at that universe with a different lens",[38] following a group of survivors who must fight former heroes and villains. Marvel Studios began development on the spin-off series after the positive fan response to the episode and its cliffhanger ending.[37] Marvel Zombies is scheduled to debut on Disney+ in 2024,[39] and will consist of four episodes.[40]

Notes

  1. ^ This infection is when the story diverges from the events of the film Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018).
  2. ^ This attack is when the story diverges from the events of the film Avengers: Infinity War (2018).

References

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  30. ^ What If...? [@whatifofficial] (September 12, 2021). "See the drop-dead stunning concept art from the fifth episode of Marvel Studios' #WhatIf, as seen in the credits. A new episode arrives Wednesday on @DisneyPlus" (Tweet). Archived from the original on September 12, 2021. Retrieved September 21, 2021 – via Twitter.
  31. ^ a b "'What If... Zombies!?' Soundtrack Album Details". Film Music Reporter. September 9, 2021. Archived from the original on September 9, 2021. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
  32. ^ Jacobs, Mira (August 7, 2021). "Marvel's What If...? Poster Shows a World Ravaged by Zombie Avengers". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on August 8, 2021. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
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External links

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