Former ‘X-Men ’97’ Showrunner Beau DeMayo Rips ‘What If…?’ Season 3: ‘Feels Like Fanfic’ and ‘Just Yikes!’

What If…? Season 3 recently aired its final episode, wrapping up the season—for now. The show introduced new characters but caused some controversy, especially for focusing too much on Captain Carter and, more recently, featuring an odd episode where Howard the Duck and Darcy Lewis get married and have a child, with Darcy seemingly “laying an egg.”

Season 3 was full of surprises but received a lot of negative feedback. It currently has the lowest audience score of all What If…? seasons on Rotten Tomatoes, sitting at just 39%. The critics’ score is also the lowest at 80%.

Among the many critics, former X-Men ’97 showrunner Beau DeMayo shared his thoughts and didn’t hold back.

DeMayo criticized What If…? Season 3 on social media, calling it a “yikes” experience. He felt the season lacked depth, describing it as “fanfic” with flat, predictable dialogue and strange story ideas.

DeMayo also mentioned that this season was when AC Bradley left, and Matthew Chauncey took over as the writer and producer. He jokingly said that while the season could have been improved, he had more important things to do than give detailed feedback.

(Matthew Chauncey was chosen to write ‘X-Men ’97’ Season 3 after Beau DeMayo’s dismissal.)

DeMayo also managed to make it about skin color when detailing his reaction:

DeMayo has a strong point about Marvel Studios’ recent animated projects, especially since he played a big role in making X-Men ’97 so popular.

The continuation of X-Men: The Animated Series is considered by many to be Marvel’s best animated work, earning great reviews and high ratings on Rotten Tomatoes. The show was so successful that it was renewed for a second and third season before the first even aired. However, DeMayo was unexpectedly fired, and the reason wasn’t clear at first—until DeMayo pushed the studio to reveal the truth.

It was later reported that DeMayo was fired due to sexual misconduct accusations. A Disney spokesperson said the results of their internal investigation were serious enough that they had to sever ties with him immediately.

“Mr. DeMayo was terminated in March 2024 following an internal investigation, given the egregious nature of the findings, we severed ties with him immediately, and he has no further affiliation with Marvel.”

What did you think about ‘What If…?’ Season 3? Let us know in the comments below!