Marvel’s Most Underappreciated Character Is Coming Back Sooner Than Expected
Marvel’s Uatu, more commonly known as the Watcher, is set to return in the second season of I Am Groot. The character, voiced by Jeffrey Wright in What If…?, was seen in the first trailer for the upcoming series of animated shorts starring Baby Groot. Writer-director Kirsten Lepore later confirmed his return in an interview with ComicBookMovie.
The Watcher will serve as the narrator in the fifth episode of season 2, titled “Groot and the Great Prophecy.”
“That was a really fun kind of undertaking,” Lepore said. “It was also an example of something that we pitched where I was like, ‘I don’t know if they’re gonna let me do this.’ But they did, and they were really excited about the prospect of bringing the Watcher in, in a very different capacity than we’ve seen him in Marvel’s What If…?”
The Watcher will serve as the narrator in the fifth episode of season 2 titled “Groot and the Great Prophecy.” Meanwhile, Groot embarks on an adventure within an ancient Drez-Lar temple, where he must fulfill a mythic prophecy to save the universe. Lepore also praised Wright’s portrayal of Marvel’s interdimensional observer, emphasizing how his performance immediately stood out.
As soon as Jeffrey came in, it was just like boom, there it is—like incredible performance,” Lepore said of the Marvel voice actor. “[He] just knocks it out of the park first time around. I mean, he is The Watcher, like he embodies it so [well]. It was magical to witness him bring that character to life in that capacity and to give him a little bit of a sense of humor that we haven’t always seen.”
Wright debuted as The Watcher in the first season of Marvel’s What If…? The animated anthology series saw the character narrating alternate tales from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The show, which premiered in August 2021, was praised for its stellar cast, animation, and its ability to expand upon MCU characters and scenarios.
Created by Marvel’s Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the Watcher made his first comic book appearance in 1963’s Fantastic Four #13. The character belongs to an ancient and highly advanced alien race known as the Watchers, who are tasked with observing and recording the events of the universe but are strictly forbidden from interfering in those events.
“That was a really fun kind of undertaking. It was also an example of something that we pitched where I was like, ‘I don’t know if they’re gonna let me do this.’ But they did, and they were really excited about the prospect of bringing the Watcher in, in a very different capacity than we’ve seen him in Marvel’s What If…?”
Kirsten Lepore
In the Marvel comics, the Watcher is typically depicted as a being with a somewhat humanoid appearance. He is usually seen wearing a simple toga-like robe. His most distinctive feature is his oversized, hairless head, which is often portrayed as being much larger than most. The Watcher possesses vast cosmic knowledge and awareness after observing countless civilizations, planets, and celestial events.
He is often consulted by other cosmic entities and superheroes within the Marvel universe when they need information about the cosmos. Uatu is the most famous of the Watchers and is often associated with Earth. He resides on the Blue Area of the Moon in a base known as the Watcher’s Citadel. Despite his oath of non-interference, Uatu has occasionally broken his vow to help Earth’s heroes.
A few examples include Fantastic Four #48-50 when the Watcher broke his vow to help the Fantastic Four against the cosmic threat of Galactus. Uatu provided Reed Richards with the ultimate Nullifier, a device capable of destroying Galactus’s entire ship and power source to save Earth. In What If? Vol. 1 #34, The Watcher interfered (with the help of Doctor Strange) to save Earth from Dormammu’s invasion.
“As soon as Jeffrey came in, it was just like boom, there it is—like incredible performance. [He] just knocks it out of the park first time around. I mean, he is The Watcher, like he embodies it so [well]. It was magical to witness him bring that character to life in that capacity and to give him a little bit of a sense of humor that we haven’t always seen.”
Kirsten Lepore
In Marvel’s storyline, Original Sin in 2014, the Watcher is murdered, and his secrets are revealed. The heroes of Earth, including the Avengers and other prominent characters, discover that the Watcher had secretly interfered in various events by collecting and storing vast amounts of knowledge about the universe, which had been stolen and distributed, leading to chaos.
The Watcher has appeared in numerous other Marvel Comics storylines and crossovers, often playing a pivotal role in cosmic and intergalactic events.
