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What If…?’s writers wanted to canonize this non-Marvel superhero. But it was promptly rejected before it could see the light of day.
Throughout its nine-episode run, Marvel’s What If…? proved to be a show that was willing to take plenty of risks. From answering questions like what the Marvel Cinematic Universe might look like without the Avengers to showing what would happen if someone like Doctor Strange went down a more villainous path, the series has managed to push boundaries that the pre-multiverse MCU could not have allowed. Of course, even with the introduction of the multiverse giving the show’s writers an ample amount of freedom, there are still a lot of surprising concepts that even they couldn’t get away with.
In an interview with Vanity Fair, the creators of What If…? revealed several wild story ideas that never came to fruition. Concepts such as Captain America becoming the Winter Soldier and Spider-Man transforming into an actual spider were all considered in the early production stages of the show. That said, probably one of the wildest pitches for an episode came from Bryan Andrews, the director. If his idea had gone through, the Marvel series could have canonized a non-Marvel character in a very curious way.
The proposed idea for the episode would have had Captain America and Peggy Carter fighting alongside the Rocketeer during World War II. While this would have been an exciting premise and a fun nod to the fact that the two characters once shared a director, Kevin Feige quickly rejected it, not only because of the possible legal issues but also because of the inconsistencies it would have presented. Andrews even cited Howard Hughes existing in the same universe as Howard Stark to be one such problem.
While this decision was, in no way, surprising, the fact that the concept was even considered by the creative team is fascinating to learn. While the MCU does not shy away from including references and Easter eggs to other Disney properties, none ever go as far as canonizing one of its characters as a real person. Even some of Disney’s more popular franchises have only ever been referred to as works of fiction in their world. Star Wars, for instance, has been directly referenced more than once as a film series that exists in their universe.
This makes the near inclusion of the Rocketeer an intriguing idea, considering such a cameo could have opened the floodgates for other non-Marvel characters to cross over into the MCU. It puts into perspective just how far the writers of What If…? were willing to go with such a concept. And while it did not come to pass, it does present the MCU fans and Rocketeer fans with an interesting scenario.
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