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Marvel's “What If...?” has always offered a refreshing take within superhero formats by delving into various 'What If' scenarios in Marvel's multiverse using animation to showcase alternate character timelines that sometimes can prove more engaging that their mainstream big screen portrayals, and that consistent quality has given that format many loyal viewers. Though its second season may not have achieved as much praise as its original launch point , there's still potential that this franchise might yet once more expand; therefore, today's focus looks toward this particular franchise in an almost entirely speculative exploration into potential stories the upcoming ( and now apparently final) 3rd cycle may want to achieve alongside possible areas to improve while carefully reexamining its past successes to reach its full creative potential for something truly impactful.
First we need to reflect at all story foundations established and all key components that might have been both greatly praised and negatively reviewed and those provide clear opportunities for the team behind 'What If' to reflect onto it's future as many of their prior cycles did rely heavily on past MCU narratives while also changing elements enough for new interpretations those often times didn't fully create a narrative with clear set impact for many casual consumers but those that were truly engaged fully embraced with open arms so what lessons could be taken there? .
If its purpose was originally just to tell alternate, less significant or consequence free plots that didn't really impact main canon ( as first established) it could now completely take the opposite approach: it can now create brand new unexplored concepts and characters beyond that pre-set universe’s structure with that setting's core rules in order to further benefit from animation medium and even take far greater artistic license with previously explored timelines, characters ( with new cast additions). And that has clear potential to add much needed variety in that specific structure which could create brand new concepts to explore.
Perhaps the strongest selling point of “What If...?” would be simply to provide new 'Elseworld’ style concepts completely unbound by the need for main franchise synergy which is where its strengths reside, which is why it creates strong audience feedback and while at face value this seems simple that alone offers endless possibilities for creative expressions since that very element was also what many viewers seemed to truly appreciate in their older season arcs: a chance to experiment with known settings in unexpected manners, which is where this show can greatly benefit with open creativity over other more restrictive production guidelines or parameters often linked to other shared big budget universes.
Considering it may very well serve as the final conclusion on the series, several elements now require more attention, including previously untouched narrative areas. One important aspect that many did raise in discussion is also how characters might fare against threats outside of the MCU itself so it seems natural this setting should, if this truly was their aim now embrace those more obscure Marvel storylines including all concepts within comic books instead of relying too much on more recent big screen productions, while this alone could be enough to engage many viewers , many would want new character additions .
It's important that this show ( as most adaptation should) fully commit into that original medium by presenting more complex villains than its usual approach, not just simple character alterations but new threats, it needs to also provide greater opportunity to engage fans of all backgrounds because one of major critical complaints about previous episodes was how most felt as mostly "just an alteration" with all final outcome not being that vastly different from originals, the concept of exploring a villainous approach can make 'What If" a lot more enticing.
Finally all concepts of 'alternative timeline' while always a draw will ultimately depend in delivering characters that, despite being from well known big franchises can truly grow and have their individual arcs developed far further than main series; that one concept by itself might add a new approach in what was once considered simply as throw away short episode formats by adding an almost anthology-based production value with core links to a singular character that will provide viewers what they have already come to expect but with enough of their favorite core elements but through new more original concepts rather than simply rehashing the known.
By considering a likely possibility that ‘What If?’ cycle three could be the final chapter all signs must indicate they must create a meaningful conclusion of existing elements and potentially deliver new ones with greater importance. While many previous episodes had clear defined good versus evil approaches all of the season needs now push the main limits while setting key markers for their final storylines by showcasing core underlying ideas ( if possible that could cross across every alternate reality version); that should connect all series as part of a complete ‘multiverse saga’ where ideas tend to overlap.
This 'What If ' franchise as an extension for mainstream big screen production will also benefit from a large emotional impact if they can deliver truly character driven conclusions and explore deeply rooted ethical themes that make every single version important. This also benefits by allowing more mature approaches to ideas as each episode can serve a very meaningful purpose with strong emphasis on ‘why and not only ‘what happened’, to further promote viewers into further analysis .
Finally, an ending or conclusion must now move away completely from older established timelines to explore areas completely outside MCU’s core structure so long as those underlying characters or values that define that franchise core are at display. It requires those ideas and concepts are expanded rather than simply modified (like previous episodes often felt), which may even allow for an open conclusion so future iterations of similar projects in those styles may use their series as creative spring board while also cementing that specific version as something completely stand alone within itself. A fitting end.
If this will be the final cycle for such unique take within super hero narratives the franchise may now seek to embrace a far less restrictive nature regarding themes or even plots and can create what many seem to call 'a sandbox mode' where they simply build brand new concepts without a need to set future events ( as they often do within big shared universe franchises); therefore, it will also serve as the best opportunity for those creative members involved to deliver truly original concepts beyond big name recognition.
That alone might provide ‘What if..?’ with its long deserved closure by putting a full stop at creative limitations and offer all of it as something completely unique, original and with brand new sets of parameters to make sure that the long running production values from a series originally intended to be just a small side event now finally evolves into the grand scale multi dimensional narrative which fans have expected all along.
Ultimately a final “What If?” season needs to challenge all notions from previous arcs as an almost self critical approach, so instead of relying in familiar story set-pieces they should explore unexplored concepts which might offer interesting new viewing approaches that will benefit not just ‘that series’ but all other super hero styled productions that often rely too much on same existing production guidelines, and if such an exploration were truly made the show can ( and arguably should ) be one of most prominent projects to showcase that potential while presenting a unique end to this singular animated format which can then transcend that universe limitations to create a far grander emotional experience where both casual viewer and hardcore series fans may have an excellent experience during their given run-times which does seem to make a perfect conclusion for a very uniquely engaging and very peculiar type of production.