As the MCU continues to expand, the franchise is starting to draw more and more from the cosmic side of Marvel Comics. More characters are beginning to pop up in the films that can only be described as literal gods. Now, in the upcoming animated Marvel's What If...? series, audiences are going to be introduced to Uatu, the Watcher, voiced by Jeffrey Wright. In an interview reported by The Direct, the producer of the series, Brad Winderbaum, hinted that the Watcher possesses a level of power unsurpassed by any other character in the MCU.

"He's a godlike, omnipotent figure who is larger than life. The challenge with a character like that is: How do you make him human? How do you make him relatable? He is mysterious, but he's also kind of dangerous. You want to know more, and you're hanging on his every word as he invites you into all these stories."

In the comics, Uatu is a member of an ancient, immensely powerful species that call themselves Watchers. The Watchers have taken a vow to observe the evolution of lesser species without ever interfering with their development. This resolve is tested many times as Uatu, the Watcher assigned to Earth, finds himself fascinated by the planet's superheroes, and is occasionally compelled to work alongside them to deal with a bigger problem. According to Wright, his version of Uatu also starts out intending to never interfere, but gradually finds his resolve tested.

"In the comics, [Uatu is] an observer-and then some. Here, in the first season, he starts off as an observer, but he gradually becomes more compelled by what he watches... There are infinite possibilities with this series within the MCU. I'm open to all of it. One thing I think we're realizing with Marvel and Kevin Feige's leadership is that these are broad, broad canvasses they're painting on. I don't even try to anticipate, so I'm just open to all of it - as The Watcher would be."

To Earth's heroes, Uatu's powers might seem almost limitless, but there are in fact limits to what he can do, and some threats that are too extreme for even the Watchers to handle. As such, while Uatu might be the most powerful character to appear in the MCU so far, he is unlikely to remain that way for long, once characters like Galactus, the Celestials, and the Living Tribunal start to make their presence felt.

For now, Uatu will not be the center of the narrative in the What if...? series. Instead, the Watcher will view different universes across the Marvel multiverse, where the events of the MCU have played out differently than the movies, resulting in different worlds where Peggy Carter became a super soldier instead of Steve Rogers, or T'Challa became Star-Lord instead of Peter Quill.

Created by A.C. Bradley and directed by Bryan Andrews, What If...? stars Jeffrey Wright, Samuel L. Jackson, Hayley Atwell, Chadwick Boseman, Tom Hiddleston, Michael Rooker, Chris Hemsworth, Dominic Cooper, Jeremy Renner and more. The series premieres in August on Disney+. This news arrives from TheDirect.com