Brad Winderbaum talks about the end of the series and the future of Ms. Marvel

Brad Winderbaum talks about the end of the series and the future of Ms. Marvel

Brad Winderbaum, head of Marvel television and animation, has a lot to be proud of this year.

From the critics and audience praise of X Men ’97 And Agatha all the time For Disney+’s first profitable fiscal quarter (Q3), Winderbaum wants to carry this momentum into 2025. But first he says goodbye to one of the studio’s fundamental series: What if…?. The animated anthology has no shortage of what-if stories to explore, but the show’s crowning achievement has more to do with the needs of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a whole.

What if…? has always been connected to the larger MCU and the multiverse saga. And for reasons that will become clear in the next few years, this was the right time to crown the series from a story perspective,” says Winderbaum The Hollywood Reporter.

One of the key insights Winderbaum has learned since Marvel Studios began releasing television shows on Disney+ in 2021 is that they don’t always have to create something that’s everything to everyone.

“The most important thing we can do as a studio is tell stories that resonate with people,” says Winderbaum. “I don’t know that every show has to try to be a giant EndgameA large-scale event that is a four-quadrant series where every single person shows up in a big emotional way. If we can do that for anyone, for one fan, then we’ve done our job.”

Looking ahead, Marvel Television begins 2025 with perhaps its most anticipated series yet, with the return of Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock/Daredevil in March Daredevil: Reborn. (Earlier this year, Winderbaum explained the simplistic way Marvel Studios has declared all of Netflix’s previous Marvel series to be MCU canon.) The longtime exec also sheds light on what to expect from their numerous new animated series.

Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man is just a fun ride. “It’s a cartoon about Peter Parker in high school and his friends and the risky world of vigilante justice in New York as you try to make ends meet and keep your group of friends together,” says Winderbaum. “Daredevil: Reborn is a very, very grounded story of street violence that has a lot to say about the world we live in. Eyes of Wakanda is in some ways a story of conquest and national identity in this four-part adventure. Marvel Zombies is this sprawling adventure story that uses the entire world as a backdrop.”

Below, during a recent conversation with THRWinderbaum also deals with the future of non-Daredevil Netflix characters like Jessica Henwick’s Colleen Wing as well as what’s next for Iman Vellani’s favorite character Kamala Khan/Ms. Wonder.

Based on the two episodes I’ve seen, this series is still going strong and creative. Why was now the time to end it?

Well, I can’t go into details, but just like the first season came out after the Sacred Timeline blossomed into multiple alternate realities at the end Loki season one, What if…? has always been connected to the larger MCU and the multiverse saga. And for reasons that will become clear in the next few years, this was the right time to crown the series from a story perspective.

(L-R): Red Guardian/Alexei Shostakov (voiced by David Harbour) and Winter Soldier/Bucky Barnes (voiced by Sebastian Stan) in WHAT IF…? of Marvel Animation Television Season 3.

Courtesy of Marvel Animation

In one of the episodes, Bucky (Sebastian Stan) and Alexei (David Harbour) go on an adventure. Was this episode intended as an introduction to their dynamic over the next year? Lightning?

It wasn’t designed that way. We were just spitting out stories like we always do What if…? Authors’ room. Obviously Sebastian Stan’s performance as Bucky is one of the most iconic characters in the MCU and I love David Harbour. The way he embodies Red Guardian is just so entertaining. He’s so charismatic and just jumps off the screen, so it felt like a natural thing to see these characters together. They both have that Russian heritage and the what-if scenario: “What if you prevented the deaths of Howard and Maria Stark?” – was just a fun story to play along with.

“What if… the Red Guardian stopped the Winter Soldier?” This was originally supposed to be a season two episode, so I incorrectly assumed it was held back for advance promotion Lightning.

Honestly, it’s a coincidence that it’s coming out so soon Lightningas well as the Mech Avengers episode with Anthony Mackie’s Captain America (previously). Captain America: Brave New World). That’s something we wanted to bring to the screen, and based on the timeline of how long it takes to create an animation versus a film, you actually have to add an extra year to the animation. So it just happens that (these two What if…? Episodes) fit perfectly with these two (2025) films.

What if…? of Marvel Animation Television Season 3.

Courtesy of Marvel Animation

Last time we talked about it X Men ’97They have admitted that the state of streaming at the time led to Marvel Studios taking a more cautious approach. But since then you have achieved three stunning victories: X Men ’97, Agatha all the time and a very positive third quarter for Disney+. Do you currently feel like you have some new wind behind you?

The most important thing we can do as a studio is tell stories that resonate with people. I don’t know that every show has to try to be a giant EndgameA large-scale event that is a four-quadrant series where every single person shows up in a big emotional way. This is important someone shows up in an emotional way so we can tell stories that speak to us any part of our fan base and convey to them the excitement they felt in the theater when they saw it Endgame. If we can do that for anyone, for one fan, then we’ve done our job. This allows these shows to be discovered and word of mouth grows so more people can discover them.

us too discussed the integration of the former Netflix shows into the MCU chronology of Disney+ and how Daredevil: Reborn was retooled to accommodate these stories. But are all of these former Netflix characters on the board now? Is someone like Colleen Wing (Jessica Henwick) eligible to return under the right circumstances?

It’s all a shared universe, so you never know where the characters will show up next. It’s a huge opportunity to have these stories officially added to our canon. Regardless of whether they have always been part of the canon or not, it is now official and we can play with these toys in our toy box. There are surprises surrounding the band that I don’t want to go into, but for fans of the Netflix shows, we have a very exciting show on the horizon Daredevil: Reborn.

The year 2025 is just around the corner. Would you mind giving your best elevator pitch for next year’s Disney+ edition?

I remember walking into the comic book store as a child. I was a Marvel fan and collected Marvel comics and had a huge selection of books at my disposal. There was a heightened imagination with it Thor. There was a soap opera with social commentary X Men. There were adventure stories The avenger And Iron Man. And Marvel has always meant many things. Marvel is not one thing. There are many stories to tell that belong to different genres, have different tones, and appeal to different segments of the fandom. So that’s something we’re definitely trying to create in our television programming, but in our overall programming.

Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man is just a fun ride. It’s a cartoon about Peter Parker in high school and his friends and the risky world of vigilante justice in New York as you try to make ends meet and keep your group of friends together. Daredevil: Reborn is a very, very grounded story of street violence that has a lot to say about the world we live in. Eyes of Wakanda is in some ways a story of conquest and national identity in this four-part adventure. Marvel Zombies is this sprawling adventure story that uses the entire world as a backdrop. Each of these shows has a different tone and type of story in a different genre. And just like the comics, it reflects the breadth of the Marvel brand.

I’m staring at a Ms. Marvel Logo behind you, and I remember how you found Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan. What can you say about their future?

I love Iman. She is incredible. I love this character. I will tell you that for me she is certainly a big part of the MCU. Ms. Marvel is a really important show for us and without going into too much detail because I don’t want to give anything away, it’s top of mind. So it will be exciting to see where she shows up next.

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What if…? Season three premieres on December 22nd Disney+.

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