What If... Happy Hogan Saved Christmas?

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"What If... Happy Hogan Saved Christmas?"
What If...? episode
Promotional poster
Episode no.Season 2
Episode 3
Directed byBryan Andrews
Written by
Produced byA. C. Bradley
Editing byGraham Fisher
Original release dateDecember 24, 2023 (2023-12-24)
Running time29 minutes
Cast
Episode chronology
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What If...? season 2
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"What If... Happy Hogan Saved Christmas?" is the third episode of the second season and twelfth episode overall of the American animated television series What If...?, based on the Marvel Comics series of the same name. It explores what would happen if Happy Hogan had to prove himself when the Avengers Tower is attacked by Justin Hammer during a holiday party. The episode was written by head writer A. C. Bradley and Matthew Chauncey and directed by Bryan Andrews.

Jeffrey Wright narrates the series as the Watcher, with this episode also starring the voices of Jon Favreau (Hogan), Kat Dennings, Cobie Smulders, Sam Rockwell (Hammer), Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, Mick Wingert, Lake Bell, Josh Keaton, Isaac Robinson-Smith, Matthew Waterson, and Ross Marquand. Work on a second season of What If...? had begun by December 2019, with Andrews and Bradley returning from the first season. Animation was provided by SDFX Studios, with Scott Wright serving as head of animation.

"What If... Happy Hogan Saved Christmas?" was released on Disney+ on December 24, 2023.

Plot[edit]

The Watcher narrates his favorite Christmas story in the Multiverse. On Christmas Eve, Happy Hogan is assigned to oversee security in the Avengers Tower for an annual holiday party, until Justin Hammer and his henchmen Sergei and Rusty break out of prison and lay siege on the Tower for Tony Stark's technology.[a] With Maria Hill injured attempting to apprehend him, Hammer and his henchmen plan to obtain Tony Stark's armor and Bruce Banner's Hulk blood sample.

Attempting to save the Hulk blood sample, Hogan is accidentally injected with it, causing him to slowly transform into a purple Hulk-like monster, though Hogan manages to retain his intelligence in this form, which Hammer calls "Freak". With the Avengers busy with the Christmas-related activities and J.A.R.V.I.S. inactive, Hogan contacts Darcy Lewis, who is tasked to find an A.I. to reboot the Tower's system. They find an A.I. named W.E.R.N.E.R. who is no help to them at all.

Just as Hammer, Sergei, and Rusty have Lewis and Hill hostage, a fully transformed Freak confronts him, forcing Sergei and Rusty to flee, and destroying the hijacked Iron Legion probes. Hammer takes control of Stark's Hulkbuster armor. Freak defeats him before the Avengers arrive. The Avengers think that Freak is the threat and attack him, until Lewis clears it up and points to a defeated Hammer. After Hammer is accidentally knocked out of Avengers Tower, he is saved by Freak, who then quotes, "It's Christmas, Hammer! Goodwill toward men, even the bad ones".

With Hammer in his clutches, Freak then apologizes to Tony about what happened to the party, hoping that most of Tony's insurance will cover it, and Tony responds that Happy is the only insurance policy he needs. Freak is then praised for his efforts, as Tony doesn't hold Freak accountable for what happened. Freak and the Avengers resume their Christmas party, before Thor arrives and thinks he missed the party.

Production[edit]

Development[edit]

In December 2019, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige revealed that work had already begun on a second season of the animated anthology series What If...?, based on the Marvel Comics series of the same name.[1] It explores how the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films would be altered if certain events occurred differently.[2] A. C. Bradley and Bryan Andrews returned from the first season as head writer and lead director,[3][4] and they executive produce alongside Brad Winderbaum, Kevin Feige, Louis D'Esposito, and Victoria Alonso.[4] Bradley and Matthew Chauncey wrote the third episode, titled "What If... Happy Hogan Saved Christmas?".[4] After voicing Happy Hogan in the first season of What If...?, actor Jon Favreau requested that he have a headlining episode for the second season and that he would become the Freak, the moniker Hogan received in the comics after temporarily becoming a Hulk-like creature. Bradley and Chauncey were previously unfamiliar with this aspect of the character from the comics.[5]

Writing[edit]

The episode is a holiday-themed episode centered on Happy Hogan proving himself when the Avengers Tower is attacked by Justin Hammer during a holiday party,[4][6] and was inspired by Die Hard (1988). Bradley said they initially wanted to look to Favreau's films such as Elf (2003) for inspiration, before selecting Die Hard given it was her favorite film when she was younger. The episode references some of Favreau's prior work, such as The Chef Show (2019–20).[6] The creatives were reluctant to tell the cast that the episode was meant to be a Die Hard homage, but Justin Hammer actor Sam Rockwell was enthused after realizing Hammer was meant to be the Hans Gruber of the episode.[7] Hogan's characterization in the episode is not much of a departure from his film appearances, with Bradley saying they did not want it to be "Happy Hogan goes John Wick", and in wanting to keep the tone "light and fun", the Freak is not to the full extent of the character as it is in the comics.[8]: 12:13–12:36 

Bradley and Chauncey had created a Christmas-themed episode for the first season exploring what if the Avengers had showed up during Iron Man 3 (2013), told in the style of Love Actually (2003) vignettes, that was passed on by Marvel Studios in favor of "What If... Zombies?!"; this made them want to try to find a way to fit a Christmas episode into the second season.[8]: 11:22–12:13  The duo were writing the episode in March 2020 when lockdowns started because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and continued doing so together during the pandemic as "an escapism exercise".[7] They enjoyed the challenge of figuring out who the "would-be heroes" would be to save the Tower, "creating this sweet, meta-narrative where these characters who usually play the sidekick role in the movies finally get to step into the limelight and be the heroes of the story"; this also played into the holiday theme they were looking to emulate by allowing "fan-favorite characters their moment to shine".[9]: 4  The episode features a joke of holiday shoppers trying to get the last Iron Man action figure in a store, with plenty of Hawkeye figures still available and discounted. Andrews called it "an appropriate joke" because the people take "potshots" at the character that "it just made sense", and likened the joke to the film Jingle All the Way (1996).[8]: 15:15–15:40, 16:25–16:40 

Casting[edit]

Jeffrey Wright narrates the episode as the Watcher,[10] with Marvel planning to have other characters in the series voiced by the actors who portrayed them in the MCU films.[11][12] The episode stars Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan / "The Freak",[13][5] Kat Dennings as Darcy Lewis, Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill, Sam Rockwell as Justin Hammer, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner, Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton / Hawkeye, Mick Wingert as Tony Stark / Iron Man, Lake Bell as Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow, Josh Keaton as Steve Rogers / Captain America,[13] Isaac Robinson-Smith as Sergei, Matthew Waterson as Rusty,[14][15]: 25:34  and Ross Marquand as W.E.R.N.E.R., Stark's AI. The creatives approached Werner Herzog to voice the AI, but he "respectfully declined";[16] Marquand's performance was called a "valiant" Herzog impression.[13] Renner created additional ad libs for the Hawkeye figure joke, which Andrews had hoped to include if there was additional time in the episode.[8]: 15:41–16:15 

Animation[edit]

Animation for the episode was provided by SDFX Studios,[15]: 26:06  with Scott Wright serving as head of animation.[15]: 24:59  Andrews developed the series' cel-shaded animation style with Ryan Meinerding, the head of visual development at Marvel Studios.[17][18] Though the series has a consistent art style, elements such as the camera and color palette differ between episodes.[19]: 4 

Music[edit]

A five-track EP for the episode was released digitally by Marvel Music and Hollywood Records on December 15, 2023, featuring composer Laura Karpman and Nora Kroll-Rosenbaum's score.[20] The Craig Gilder Sextet and Tony Liberto's cover of "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" is heard during the end credits.

What If... Happy Hogan Saved Christmas? (Season 2/Episode 3) [Original Soundtrack][20]
No.TitleLength
1."Snow Days"0:45
2."Sugar Cookies"1:20
3."Fa La La"1:11
4."All Is Bright"0:46
5."Merrily On"0:49
Total length:4:51

Release[edit]

"What If... Happy Hogan Saved Christmas?" was released on Disney+ on December 24, 2023.[21] It had a premiere screening, along with the first episode "What If... Nebula Joined the Nova Corps?", at the Walt Disney Studios lot in Burbank, California on December 11, 2023, along with a Q&A with the creatives.[4][22]

Reception[edit]

Arezou Amin at Collider felt the episode took "full advantage" of releasing on Christmas Eve, saying it "beautifully blends the high stakes that usually come with an Avengers team-up together with the low stakes of having to prepare for a Christmas party to create the perfect little gift of an episode".[13]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Hammer’s attack on Avengers Tower as revenge for his imprisonment is when the story diverges from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Bonomolo, Cameron (December 19, 2019). "Kevin Feige Reveals What If...? Has More Episodes Than Marvel Studios' Other Disney+ Series". ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on December 20, 2019. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
  2. ^ Kroll, Justin (September 18, 2018). "Loki, Scarlet Witch, Other Marvel Heroes to Get Own TV Series on Disney Streaming Service (Exclusive)". Variety. Archived from the original on September 19, 2018. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  3. ^ Hipes, Patrick (November 12, 2021). "Disney+ Day: All The Streamer's Film & TV News From Premiere Dates To Series Orders". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on November 12, 2021. Retrieved November 12, 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Marvel Studios Celebrates New Season of 'What If...?'". Marvel.com. December 12, 2023. Archived from the original on December 12, 2023. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
  5. ^ a b Schaefer, Sandy (December 20, 2023). "Jon Favreau Had One Demand Before He Joined Marvel's What If...?". /Film. Archived from the original on December 22, 2023. Retrieved December 24, 2023.
  6. ^ a b Johnston, Dais (December 12, 2023). "Jeff Goldblum Confirmed for What If Season 2 (And 5 More Things We Learned)". Inverse. Archived from the original on December 13, 2023. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
  7. ^ a b Bennett, Tara (December 31, 2023). "Marvel's What If...? Head Writer Breaks Down Every Episode of Season 2". IGN. Archived from the original on December 31, 2023. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
  8. ^ a b c d What If..? Season 2 Live Q&A With Creative Team (A.C. Bradley, Matthew Chauncey, Bryan Andrews). Phase Zero. January 5, 2024. Retrieved January 5, 2024 – via YouTube.
  9. ^ "What If 2 production brief Final with cast" (PDF). The Walt Disney Studios. December 21, 2023. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 23, 2023. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
  10. ^ Kit, Borys (September 1, 2023). "Marvel Shuffles TV Calendar with New Dates for 'Agatha,' 'Echo,' X-Men '97' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on September 1, 2023. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  11. ^ Sciretta, Peter (March 12, 2019). "Exclusive: Marvel Studios Producing 'What If' TV Series For Disney+". /Film. Archived from the original on March 20, 2019. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
  12. ^ Schreur, Brandon (December 22, 2023). "Disney Confirms Which MCU Stars Are Returning to Voice Characters in What If? Season 2". SuperHeroHype. Archived from the original on December 23, 2023. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
  13. ^ a b c d Amin, Arezou (December 24, 2023). "'What If...?' Season 2 Episode 3 Recap: Yippee Ki-Yay, Happy Hogan". Collider. Archived from the original on December 24, 2023. Retrieved December 24, 2023.
  14. ^ Nolan, Liam (December 27, 2023). "All Major Actors & Voice Cast List for What If… Season 2". The Escapist. Archived from the original on December 31, 2023. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
  15. ^ a b c Bradley, A. C.; Chauncey, Matthew (December 24, 2023). "What If... Happy Hogan Saved Christmas?". What If...?. Season 2. Episode 3. Disney+. End credits begin at 24:45.
  16. ^ Jirak, Jamie (December 24, 2023). "Does Werner Herzog Really Cameo in Marvel's What If...? Season 2?". ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on December 26, 2023. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  17. ^ Jones, Marcus (August 23, 2019). "What If on Disney+ will feature voices from majority of Marvel Cinematic Universe cast". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on August 24, 2019. Retrieved August 24, 2019.
  18. ^ Salazar, Andrew J. (September 6, 2019). "'What If...?' Showrunner Ashley Bradley Talks 'Trollhunters', The Beginning Of 'What If...?', Captain Carter, The Watcher & Star-Lord T'Challa (Exclusive)". Discussing Film. Archived from the original on September 22, 2019. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
  19. ^ "What If..? Production Brief" (PDF). Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution. July 30, 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 1, 2021. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
  20. ^ a b "'What If… Happy Hogan Saved Christmas?' Soundtrack EP Released". Film Music Reporter. December 15, 2023. Archived from the original on December 25, 2023. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  21. ^ Burlingame, Russ (December 15, 2023). "What If...? Season 2 Episode Titles Revealed". ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on December 15, 2023. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
  22. ^ Bennett, Tara (December 12, 2023). "What If...? Season 2: New Avengers Lineups, a 'Lost' Episode Revived, and Other Things We Learned". IGN. Archived from the original on December 13, 2023. Retrieved December 13, 2023.

External links[edit]

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