Ahead of the What If? premiering next week, the latest episode of Marvel Legends has launched on Disney Plus. The recap series aims to get viewers up to speed with important MCU events and may have just confirmed that a previous Marvel series is no longer considered canon.
The first episode of What If? will focus on what would have happened if Peggy Carter had been given the super-soldier serum instead of Steve Rogers. So, unsurprisingly the latest episode of Marvel Legends is dedicated to Carter herself. However, the event of Peggy’s own series Agent Carter are completely ignored in the recap.
- How to watch the Marvel movies in order
- Every MCU end-credits scene ranked — from Phase 1 to Phase 4 movies
- Plus: Yellowstone prequel 1883 adds three cast members — including Sam Elliott
Only Carter’s appearances in MCU films and scenes from 2013’s Agent Carter one-shot are included. This is significant because the latter directly contradicts events depicted in the Agent Carter television series. This would almost certainly suggest that Marvel now views the show as non-canon.
Agent Carter was a series that aired for two seasons on ABC from 2015 to 2016. It was generally well-received by fans and there was some disappointment when the series was canceled due to Disney’s desire to focus on original shows for its upcoming streaming service, which eventually became Disney Plus.
This wouldn’t be the first time that a Disney Plus series had essentially written a previous show out of MCU canon. Both WandaVision and Loki feature plot points and references that directly contradicted events contained with another ABC series, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Internet theorists are speculating that this rewriting of Carter’s backstory could be because of Steve Rogers’ decision to stay in the past in Avengers: Endgame, therefore changing the timeline. However, it’s much more likely that Marvel Studios simply doesn't view any pre-Disney Plus series as truly part of the MCU.
Marvel Studios viewing any series prior to WandaVision as non-canon likely won’t come as a huge shock to fans who have been paying close attention. Last month Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn took to Twitter to explain that these earlier TV shows aren’t viewed as connected to the MCU.
Before Disney Plus launched there were also multiple Marvel series available on Netflix. These included shows focused on Daredevil, Jessica Jones and Luke Cage. While Marvel has yet to indicate whether these shows are considered part of the MCU canon, there is a rumor that Charlie Cox (Daredevil) could appear in Spider-Man: No Way Home.
The first episode of What If will be available on Disney Plus from August 11. It was also recently announced that the upcoming Hawkeye series will hit the streaming service in November. With a whole load of additional MCU films and series due to follow afterward — all of which will almost certainly be canon.
