Five Most Surprising Moments In The 'What If?' Trailer

With Loki confirming the possibility that alternate timelines and characters are possible in the MCU, it now makes perfect sense that the next MCU series set to debut on Disney Plus is the animated What If?

Like the Marvel comic of the same name, each episode of the series is set to explore what would be different for certain characters in the MCU if one thing had happened differently. This is definitely a series in which we should expect the unexpected. While some of What If's? oddest changes, such as T'Challa somehow becoming Star-Lord, were shown in earlier teasers, the first full trailer offered a few big surprises for fans.

Here are the most surprising moments from the What If? trailer.

1. Killmonger Rescues Tony Stark

The entire Marvel Cinematic Universe begins when a military convoy transporting Tony Stark from the site of a missile test is attacked in the first Iron Man film. The What If..? trailer begins the same way, except that rather than being kidnapped by terrorists like he is in the film, Tony is rescued, by none other than the future Black Panther villain Eric Killmonger.

Obviously, this would cause massive differences in how the story unfolds. Without being kidnapped, Tony would never have had a reason to become Iron Man. He also might never have moved Stark Industries away from the weapon industry. As for Killmonger, he may have found in Tony a benefactor for his future exploits. Some leaked merchandise images for What If..? appear to show Killmonger in possession of Stark Tech. Whether he would still eventually challenge T'Challa, or be set on adifferent path, is currently unknown.

2. The Return Of Ultron

Most of the characters in What If..? are voiced by the actors who play them in the live-action films, except for a few who were unavailable, or no longer under contract. Upon first viewing the trailer, some fans were upset not to hear Paul Bettany's voice, believing Vision had been recast for the series. However, watching a version of the trailer with subtitles reveals that most of 'Vision's' lines are actually credited to Ultron.

Fans will remember that in Age of Ultron, the synthetic flesh/vibranium body that eventually became Vision was originally intended as a new body for Ultron. It seems that in What If's..? version of AoU, Ultron's upload must have succeeded.

3. Thor becomes a Guardian

In one shot in the trailer, Thor, with Mjolnir in hand, appears to be a member of the Guardians Of The Galaxy. This shot looks to be in the same universe in which T'Challa has become Star-Lord.

The circumstances that lead to this scenario are currently unknown, but Thor and the Guardians together is always a fun dynamic.

4. Loki brings an army to Earth

Another brief, but surprising moment in the trailer sees Loki confronting Nick Fury and a team of S.H.I.E.L.D agents. The confrontation appears to be happening in a desert, probably setting it during the time period of the first Thor film, though Thor himself is nowhere to be seen.

The surprise in this shot is not Loki bringing an army to Earth.. attempting to conquer or otherwise cause trouble on Earth is part of Loki's MO in his early MCU appearances. No, the surprising part is that, aside from his main army, Loki also appears to have the support of Lady Sif and The Warriors Three. Which leads to the big question: What happened to Thor in this universe?

5.The Scarlet Witch

Another shot in the trailer that has tongues wagging is a shot that many believe to be the Scarlet Witch, Wanda Maximoff, using her powers. While Wanda's presence in the series had not been officially confirmed, it is not surprising, given that What If..? is set to cover every film from phases 1-3.

The surprise comes from the level of power she is expressing, as all episodes of What If..? are set before Wanda embraced her powers as the Scarlet Witch in WandaVision, which begs the question of what has happened to result in her potentially unlocking them earlier.

What If..? raises a lot of questions, and we can't wait to find out the answers when the series begins on August 11.

Check out the trailer here: