Draft:What If... Hela Found the Ten Rings?

"What If... Hela Found the Ten Rings?" is the seventh episode of the second season and sixteenth episode overall of the American animated television series What If...?, based on the Marvel Comics series of the same name.The episode was written by Matthew Chauncey and directed by Bryan Andrews.

Jeffrey Wright narrates the series as the Watcher, with this episode also starring the voices of Cate Blanchett, Jeff Bergman, Feodor Chin, Lauren Tom, Idris Elba, Michael Hagiwara, and Liv Zamora. Work on a second season of What If...? had begun by December 2019, with Andrews and head writer A. C. Bradley returning from the first season. Animation was provided by Flying Bark Productions, with Scott Wright serving as head of animation.

"What If... Hela Found the Ten Rings?" was released on Disney+ on December 28, 2023.

Plot
Growing weary of Hela's bloodlust in the Nine Realms, Odin banishes her to Earth and strips her powers by destroying Mjolnir and placing an enchantment on her crown.

Hela lands in Medieval China and is confronted by the armies of Xu Wenwu. She attempts to retrieve the crown, but fails. Wenwu keeps Hela alive and tries to recruit her to his army, but Hela escapes his fortress after failing to steal his Ten Rings. She is guided by a Hundun to the realm of Ta Lo where she convinces their leader Jiayi to let her join their cause. Jiayi teaches Hela the techniques of Ta Lo after she recognizes her true desire for freedom from control.

After Heimdall reports his failure to locate Hela, Odin visits Earth to battle Wenwu in retaliation. Hela joins Wenwu and fights against Odin, ultimately winning and regaining her worthiness to wield her crown. Odin recognizes Hela's growth and submits Asgard's throne to her. Hela unites the armies of Asgard and Wenwu's Ten Rings organization and embarks on a journey to ensure freedom across the Nine Realms and beyond, coming to the rescue of Gamora's people as Thanos attacks them.

Development
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. It explores how the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films would be altered if certain events occurred differently. A. C. Bradley and Bryan Andrews returned from the first season as head writer and lead director, and they executive produce alongside Brad Winderbaum, Kevin Feige, Louis D'Esposito, and Victoria Alonso. Matthew Chauncey wrote the seventh episode, titled "What If... Hela Found the Ten Rings?", which features an alternate storyline of the film [FILM(s)]. "What If... Hela Found the Ten Rings?" was released on Disney+ on December 28, 2023.

Writing
Bradley had tried to include Hela in the season one episode "What If... Thor Were an Only Child?" but felt she did not "belong in that world". Instead, her and Chauncey decided to create a "redemption story" episode for the character, and quickly settled on exploring what if she had been banished to Earth instead of Hel, looking to explore "how much of Hela's villainy is a product of her own nature and how much of it was created by the way her father treated her". After reading the script for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021) before it entered production, the duo realized they needed to set their episode in the past because the present day elements had yet to be solidified,  and were excited to explore "the visuals of getting to see this time period in China you don't often get to see".

Casting
Jeffrey Wright narrates the episode as the Watcher, with Marvel planning to have other characters in the series voiced by the actors who portrayed them in the MCU films. The episode stars Cate Blanchett as Hela, Jeff Bergman as Odin, Feodor Chin as Xu Wenwu, Lauren Tom as Jiayi, Idris Elba as Heimdall, Michael Hagiwara as Shunyuan,  and Liv Zamora as young Hela. Blanchett signed on "pretty fast" to reprise the role. Chin replaces original actor Tony Leung.

Animation
Animation for the episode was provided by Flying Bark Productions, with Scott Wright serving as head of animation. Andrews developed the series' cel-shaded animation style with Ryan Meinerding, the head of visual development at Marvel Studios. Though the series has a consistent art style, elements such as the camera and color palette differ between episodes. Andrews was able to look at the early concept art for Shang-Chi, as well as serving as an action sequence consultant on the film, to inform him and the animators about the movement of the ten rings with Wenwu that the Shang-Chi filmmakers were hoping to achieve since it had not yet been filmed. He called the process a "moving target" that the What If...? team had to keep up with as the film was changing things, such as altering the color being associated with Wenwu to blue.