Draft:What If... 1872?
![]() | This is a draft article. It is a work in progress open to editing by anyone. Please ensure core content policies are met before publishing it as a live Wikipedia article. Find sources: Google (books · news · scholar · free images · WP refs) · FENS · JSTOR · TWL Last edited by Adamstom.97 (talk | contribs) 8 days ago. (Update) |
![]() | Please note: This draft should not be submitted for review or moved to the mainspace until the recommendations given at WP:NTVEP for television episode articles has been met. |
"What If... 1872?" | |
---|---|
What If...? episode | |
Episode no. | Season 3 Episode 6 |
Directed by | Stephan Franck Bryan Andrews |
Story by |
|
Teleplay by |
|
Editing by | Anton Capaldo-Smith |
Original release date | December 27, 2024 |
Running time | 32 minutes |
Cast | |
| |
"What If... 1872?" is the sixth episode of the third season and 24th episode overall of the American animated television series What If...?, based on the Marvel Comics series of the same name. Inspired by the 1872 comic book miniseries, the episode follows Shang-Chi and Kate Bishop as they settle to stop the Hood's onslaught in an alternate 1872. The episode was written by Bryan Andrews, Matthew Chauncey and Ryan Little and directed by Stephan Franck and Bryan Andrews.
Jeffrey Wright narrates the series as the Watcher, with this episode also starring the voices of TBD.
"What If... 1872?" was released on Disney+ on December 27, 2024.
Plot
[edit]In the 1860s, Xu Xialing fled to America for a better life only to fall victim to the Hood's plan to enslave Chinese immigrants in order to consolidate his power.
In 1872, Xu Shang-Chi is searching for his sister alongside Kate Bishop, who wants revenge on the Hood for killing her family. Shang-Chi and Bishop fight John Walker's gang and defeat them. Walker directs them to where the Hood was last sighted. They find a decimated township and meet a boy, Kwai Jun-Fan who claims the Hood attacked and left on a train. Shang-Chi, Bishop, and Jun-Fan find and board the advanced train where they discover that the missing immigrants have been brainwashed by the Hood's enforcer Sonny Burch.
The Watcher helps Jun-Fan escape Burch's henchmen after noting that other versions of Jun-Fan were killed in similar situations. Shang-Chi and Bishop are taken to the Hood who is revealed to be a corrupted Xialing after she killed the original Hood and stole his powers. Burch confesses to killing Bishop's parents and attempts to brainwash her until Jun-Fan rings the bell enough to free the prisoners and allowing Bishop to knock Burch out. Shang-Chi refuses to join or fight Xialing and Bishop kills her, freeing Xialing from the Hood's influence as the hooded cape flies off in the wind. Later, the pair observes Jun-Fan with the immigrants and rides off into the sunset.
Subsequently, the Watcher is punished by the other three Watchers for his interference, causing shards of their observatory to spill into the multiverse.
Production
[edit]Development
[edit]TBD
Casting
[edit]Jeffrey Wright narrates the episode as the Watcher,[1] with Marvel planning to have other characters in the series voiced by the actors who portrayed them in the MCU films.[2][3] The episodes stars the voices of Simu Liu as Xu Shang-Chi, Hailee Steinfeld as Kate Bishop, Wyatt Russell as John Walker / U.S. Agent, Meng'er Zhang as Xu Xialing / The Hood, Walton Goggins as Sonny Burch, Allen Deng as Kwai Jun-Fan, and Jason Isaacs as the Eminence.
Animation
[edit]Reception
[edit]This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (January 2025) |
Accolades
[edit]At the 77th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards, Jeffrey Wright was nominated for Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance for his work on the episode, while Mac Smith, Vanessa Lapato, Alyssa Nevarez, Steve Bissinger, Derek McGinley, Anele Onyekwere, Carl Sealove, Andrea Stelter Gard, and Sean England were nominated for Outstanding Sound Editing For An Animated Program for their work on the episode.[4]
Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Cite error: The named reference
WrightConfirm
was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
WhatIfAnimation
was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
S2ReturningActors
was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Rice, Lynette; White, Peter; Gomez, Dessi (July 15, 2025). "Primetime Emmy Nominations: The Complete List". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on July 15, 2025. Retrieved July 15, 2025.