The first two seasons of What If...? brought back most of the fan-favorite MCU characters from the earlier phases of the franchise for various adventures across the multiverse.
However, the X-Men and Fantastic Four, which have yet to be formally introduced in the live-action universe, have not made any appearances even though Marvel Studios is free to use them in the series.
Fans have been wondering whether those characters will eventually become part of the series in future seasons and crossover with the established MCU players.
As it turns out, we still have to wait longer to see their What If...? debut.
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What If...? Producers Confirm X-Men is Currently 'Off the Table' in the MCU Series
In an interview with ComicBook.com, What If...? producers Bryan Andrews and A.C. Bradley were asked whether the X-Men characters will eventually make appearances in the series.
They revealed that the mutants are currently "off the table" in the series as Marvel Studios wants them to debut first in the live-action projects.
"They were pretty much off the table. They're like, 'We got to do it first in live action and then you get to do it.' And we're like, 'Ah, man!' We would've loved to have played with all kinds of toys. But there's limitations," Andrews said.
Bradley also shared that it was the same reason why Sam Wilson's Captain America has yet to make an appearance in the series as the first two seasons were made while The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was still in production.
"It's also why we couldn't do Sam Wilson's Captain America because we didn't know when that would be coming out," she revealed.
"We were writing season two, season one of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier were shooting, paused shooting, the scripts were being rewritten because of other things, and we were like, we don't know when anything's airing, so we couldn't touch it because we're not allowed to introduce... It makes sense. Let the character live in live-action first and then come play in the multiverse."
It's not surprising to hear the policy that the series is not allowed to use existing Marvel characters that haven't made their live-action debut and it makes a lot of sense since they want the audience to resonate with them first in the live-action universe before becoming multiversal variants.
It might take more seasons before the X-Men will be incorporated into the series, but for now, fans can look forward to X-Men '97 which is set to debut later this year.
The first two seasons of What If...? are streaming on Disney+.
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