Warning! Spoilers ahead for Marvel's What If...? episode 8.
Marvel's What If...? may have just confirmed that Star Wars is part of the MCU multiverse. The Disney+ animated series, which imagines how the Infinity Saga may have changed if one element in it panned out differently, is on its final stretch before wrapping up season 1. While previous outings have contained narratives, What If...? episode 8 marked the show's first time to have a serialized storytelling as it functioned as a supplementary story to Party Thor's (Chris Hemsworth) previous arc.
Titled "What If... Ultron Won?," the latest episode of the Marvel Studios series used the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron as a jumping point for its narrative. As the title suggested, it imagined an MCU where Ultron (Ross Marquand) was able to accomplish his goal of wiping out all life on Earth, leaving the Avengers defeated. But, the series further pushed it, showing the villain scouring the galaxy and killing all living beings that he encountered. Once he was done, the realization of the multiverse's existence motivated him to also subject other realities to the same fate.
As the observer of everything, The Watcher (Jeffrey Wright) fought Ultron after the AI discovered him. In arguably one of the most creative battles in the MCU, the pair duked it out while traversing different realities, including a timeline where Steve Rogers actually becomes the President of the United States. At one point during their tussle, they found themselves in what appears to be Mustafar, with Darth Vader's castle in the background. The iconic Star Wars location has appeared in a handful of projects, so it's pretty easy to distinguish even in a brief shot. Assuming that this was an intentional creative decision from Marvel Studios, it may have just confirmed that the space opera is part of the MCU's burgeoning multiverse. As arguably two of the biggest franchises ever, this is obviously exciting. And since both are under the Disney umbrella, it's not outside the realm of possibility that this was a deliberate detail.
There have been calls for a crossover between the MCU and Star Wars for quite a while now. In fact, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige is even slated to produce a film for the space saga, with Loki and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness writer, Michael Waldron, set to pen the story. To make matters even more exciting, some viewers have suggested that Mustafar isn't even the only planet featured in What If...? episode 8, as The Watcher also appears to fight Ultron on the lush tropical planet of Felucia. All of this makes a crossover seem tantalizingly close.
Assuming that both Star Wars locations do appear in What If...?, this could be an indication that the franchises will start narratively connecting with each other. However, while mouthwatering, this is not necessarily a realistic prospect. After all, combining their respective lores could quickly become much too complicated, resulting in various plot holes that audiences will inevitably pick up on. While this could establish that Star Wars is part of the MCU's multiverse, it doesn't mean that Marvel Studios will now start regularly referencing the galactic saga. This could just be a fun Easter egg that won't have any narrative repercussions to both franchises moving forward. Given the context, it's probably best that they primarily exist separately from each other.
The prospect of a franchise crossover has even been dismissed by none other than Feige himself. The Marvel Studios chief has outright said that an MCU and Star Wars crossover will never happen when asked about the possibility. In an interview with Yahoo! Entertainment, he explained that there's really no compelling reason for the franchises to clash, and he's right. Aside from the initial excitement over the idea brought about by fun Easter eggs and references, there's not much more to it.
What If...? airs Wednesdays on Disney+.
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