Yes, the Marvel Cinematic Universe Seems to Have Briefly Crossed Over with Star Wars Via “What If…?”

SPOILER ALERT: If you haven’t seen this week’s new episode of Marvel Studios’ animated series What If…? on Disney+, you should probably steer clear of this article.

In the excellent eighth episode of What If…? entitled “What If… Ultron Won?” the Watcher (voiced by Jeffrey Wright) faces off against a now-Infinity-Stone-powered Ultron (performed here by The Walking Dead’s Ross Marquand, who also played Red Skull in Avengers: Endgame) and the evil robot smashes Uatu through a series of various universes in attempt to wipe out all life in the multiverse. But some eagle-eyed viewers have noticed that one of these worlds looks shockingly familiar, especially to fans of A Galaxy Far, Far Away.

Yes, as you can see in the screencap below, the Watcher and Ultron very briefly pass through the lava planet Mustafar from Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. One can pretty clearly make out the molten landscape over which Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi faced off in their climactic lightsaber duel, and in the background stands the identifiable outline of Darth Vader’s castle, first seen on-screen in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

What’s happening:

  • The Marvel Cinematic Universe briefly crossed over with the (also Disney-owned) Star Wars galaxy in the latest exciting episode of the Disney+ animated series What If…?, entitled “What If… Ultron Won?”
  • One scene from the episode featured the characters of Ultron and the Watcher smashing through a series of alternate timelines, one of which bore a striking resemblance in a number of ways to the lava planet Mustafar from Star Wars.
  • While What If…? has so far only taken places in universes separate from the familiar MCU chronology, the concept is that all of these timelines exist within the same multiverse.

Does this mean we’ll be seeing more of the fictional Star Wars galaxy in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, or vice-versa? It’s highly doubtful, but this is certainly a very cool Easter Egg inserted by the talented creative team behind What If…? and likely approved by Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige.

The first-season finale of What If…? will be released next Wednesday, October 6, exclusively on Disney+.

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