Angourie Rice’s connection to "What Ifs" encompasses both her official voice work as Betty Brant in Marvel Studios' animated anthology series What If...? and the broader hypothetical scenarios defining her Hollywood career. By transitioning her live-action Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) role into animated multiversal timelines while simultaneously exploring narrative choices through her literary podcasting and acting roles, Rice occupies a unique intersection of superhero lore and speculative storytelling.
Angourie Rice in Marvel’s What If...?: Voice Performance and MCU Continuity
Angourie Rice first entered the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Betty Brant in 2017's Spider-Man: Homecoming. Portraying Midtown High School's star news anchor alongside Tony Revolori's Flash Thompson, Rice grounded the character with a charmingly stiff, overly formal high school broadcast persona. She reprised this role in live-action across Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) and Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), establishing Betty Brant as a consistent comedic anchor within Peter Parker's academic environment.
When Marvel Animation developed What If...? for Disney+, the production team sought to maintain audio continuity by inviting live-action cast members to voice their animated counterparts. Angourie Rice joined the voice cast to play alternate-universe iterations of Betty Brant.
Voice acting for an established live-action character presents distinct technical and performance challenges:
- Vocal Matching and Timing: Unlike live-action scenes where subtle facial expressions and physical body language convey subtext, voice performance in animation demands enhanced vocal dynamics. Rice had to project Betty Brant’s signature eager, newsroom-obsessed delivery purely through microphone technique.
- Adapting to Genre Shifts: While the live-action Spider-Man films lean heavily into high-school romantic comedy and teen adventure, What If...? thrusts characters into radical genre exercises—ranging from horror to noir and apocalyptic survival.
- Multiversal Variant Distinction: In an anthology structured around divergent choices, voice actors must balance familiar character traits with the altered emotional states of variants surviving catastrophic events.
By reprising Betty Brant in animated form, Rice joined a select group of MCU actors who bridged the gap between traditional filmmaking and voice acting within Marvel's canon, demonstrating her versatility across media formats.
Analyzing Betty Brant’s Alternate Multiverse Timelines
The core premise of Marvel's What If...? rests on the concept that a single altered decision or event creates an entirely new branch of reality. Across the MCU multiverse, Betty Brant’s trajectory shifts dramatically from her mainline Earth-616 experience.
- Mainline Earth-616 Timeline:
- Midtown High Anchor
- Europe School Trip Reporter
- Daily Bugle Intern / Host
- Alternate Multiverse Variants (What If...?):
- Divergent Branching Event
- Survival / Apocalyptic Broadcasting
- Alternate Fate
The Earth-616 Baseline vs. Animated Branch Realities
In the primary MCU timeline (Earth-616), Betty Brant’s arc follows a relatively stable progression:
- Midtown News Anchor (2017–2024): Co-hosting the high school news bulletin, covering the aftermath of "The Snap" (The Blip), and navigating student life.
- The European Field Trip (2024): Striking up a brief summer romance with Ned Leeds during their trip across Europe in Spider-Man: Far From Home.
- Daily Bugle Internship (2024): Transitioning into a professional media role under J. Jonah Jameson as an intern for The Daily Bugle in Spider-Man: No Way Home.
In contrast, the alternate realities depicted in What If...? remove the safety net of high school journalism. When apocalyptic forces or cosmic disruptions alter the timeline, secondary characters like Betty Brant are thrust into high-stakes survival scenarios.
Narrative Function of Secondary Characters in What If...?
In speculative storytelling, secondary characters often serve as crucial anchors for establishing the ground-level impact of cataclysmic events. When cosmic entities, zombie outbreaks, or corrupted heroes rewrite reality, background news broadcasts provide the audience with vital context.
Through Rice’s voice work, Betty Brant acts as the narrative conduit explaining how ordinary citizens experience multiversal shifts. Her character reinforces the contrast between the grand scale of superhero conflicts and the everyday world left in their wake.
Career "What Ifs": Roles, Turning Points, and Creative Choices
Beyond her direct involvement with Marvel Animation, the phrase "Angourie Rice's What Ifs" frequently comes up among film historians, casting directors, and fans examining the alternate paths of her rapidly evolving career. Beginning as a child actor in Australia before breaking out internationally, Rice's filmography is marked by strategic choices that reshaped her public profile.
The Breakthrough: The Nice Guys (2016)
Rice’s breakout role came at age 15, playing Holly March, the precocious daughter of Ryan Gosling’s character in Shane Black’s neo-noir comedy The Nice Guys.
- The Alternate Scenario: Had The Nice Guys performed more robustly at the theatrical box office, a greenlit sequel would have positioned Rice as a central lead in an ongoing comedy franchise during her teenage years.
- The Resulting Reality: The film’s critical acclaim established Rice as a dramatic and comedic prodigy, leading directly to her casting in Sofia Coppola’s The Beguiled (2017) and her subsequent entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Genre Diversification: Mare of Easttown and Mean Girls
Rice has consistently avoided being typecast by balancing major studio blockbusters with prestige television and musical cinema.
- Prestige Drama (Mare of Easttown, 2021): Playing Siobhan Sheehan alongside Kate Winslet, Rice demonstrated deep emotional resonance, tackling complex family dynamics, grief, and adolescent angst in HBO’s critically praised limited series.
- Musical Comedy (Mean Girls, 2024): Stepping into the iconic role of Cady Heron for the movie musical adaptation of Mean Girls, Rice took on a major lead role that required integrating vocal musical performances with broad comedic timing.
Literary "What Ifs": The Community Library and Fiction Writing
Rice's interest in hypothetical narratives extends into her work as a podcaster and author. Host of the book podcast The Community Library, Rice regularly analyzes classic literature, pop culture tropes, and narrative structure.
In her literary commentary, she frequently explores narrative "what ifs"—examining how famous novels and film adaptations alter character choices, thematic outcomes, and historical contexts. Co-authoring the young adult novel Stuck in Time (co-written with her mother, playwright Kate Rice), she directly engaged with time-loop tropes and speculative romantic fiction, solidifying her creative identity as someone who actively constructs alternate narrative frameworks.
Comparative Breakdown: Live-Action vs. Voice Performance Roles
To understand how Angourie Rice’s work in Marvel’s What If...? compares to her live-action MCU appearances and other landmark roles, consider the operational and stylistic differences across her major projects:
| Project Title | Release Period | Character | Format / Role Type | Narrative & Creative Impact |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Nice Guys | 2016 | Holly March | Feature Film / Co-Lead | Breakthrough critical role; established comedic and dramatic timing. |
| Spider-Man: Homecoming | 2017 | Betty Brant | Live-Action MCU / Supporting | Introduced the MCU version of Betty Brant as a high school news anchor. |
| Spider-Man: Far From Home | 2019 | Betty Brant | Live-Action MCU / Supporting | Expanded comedic presence; highlighted high school romantic subplots. |
| Mare of Easttown | 2021 | Siobhan Sheehan | HBO Limited Series / Main Cast | Earned wide critical praise for complex dramatic performance. |
| Marvel's What If...? | 2021–Present | Betty Brant (Voice) | Animated Series / Voice Guest | Portrayed multiversal variants in alternate-reality comic book scenarios. |
| Spider-Man: No Way Home | 2021 | Betty Brant | Live-Action MCU / Cameo | Completed high school trilogy arc; transitioned character to The Daily Bugle. |
| Honor Society | 2022 | Honor Rose | Paramount+ Film / Lead | Displayed lead comedic talent and fourth-wall-breaking narrative techniques. |
| Mean Girls | 2024 | Cady Heron | Feature Musical / Lead | Led high-profile studio musical adaptation; broad commercial release. |
The Multiverse Concept and Future Marvel Trajectories
The establishment of the Multiverse Saga within the MCU has opened up numerous narrative possibilities for secondary characters. As the franchise progresses toward large-scale crossover events, the distinction between live-action characters and their animated variants continues to blur.
MCU Betty Brant:
- Live-Action Earth-616: Daily Bugle Broadcast Host
- Voice Performance: Alternate Animated Timelines (What If...?)
- Potential Multiversal Crossovers: Secret Wars / Variant Cameos
Could Betty Brant Return in Live-Action or Animation?
The MCU’s reliance on multiversal storytelling leaves several doors open for Angourie Rice’s character:
- Continued Voice Work in Animated Projects: With Marvel Animation expanding its roster of shows (including Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man and additional seasonal installments of anthology series), Rice’s established track record as a voice actor makes her a prime candidate for future animated voice roles.
- Adult Media Career in Earth-616: At the end of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Peter Parker’s peers graduate high school and transition into adulthood. With Betty Brant interning at The Daily Bugle, future Spider-Man storylines focusing on Peter Parker's college years or photojournalism career could naturally reintroduce Betty Brant as a full-fledged broadcast journalist working alongside J. Jonah Jameson.
- Variant Cameos in Multiversal Crossover Events: As demonstrated in projects like Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Deadpool & Wolverine, Marvel frequently uses multiversal variants for unexpected cameos. Rice could potentially portray a live-action variant of Betty Brant who holds a radically different status—such as a costumed hero or a high-ranking government official—drawing directly on the conceptual freedom pioneered by What If...?.
Practical Takeaways for Fans and Film Analysts
For readers, film scholars, and MCU enthusiasts researching "Angourie Rice's What Ifs," navigating her creative output involves looking at three distinct areas:
- Exploring the Marvel Animation Catalog: To experience Rice’s voice performance work directly, view Marvel’s What If...? on Disney+. Pay close attention to how her vocal cadence reflects the tone of alternate reality settings compared to the lighthearted energy of the Spider-Man live-action trilogy.
- Tracing Her Dramatic Career Trajectory: To appreciate her versatility beyond blockbusters, stream The Nice Guys and Mare of Easttown. These roles highlight the dramatic range that makes her voice and physical performances so compelling.
- Engaging with Her Literary Analysis: Listen to episodes of The Community Library podcast to understand Rice’s perspective on narrative construction, story choices, and speculative fiction tropes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did Angourie Rice voice Betty Brant in Marvel's What If...??
Yes. Angourie Rice reprised her live-action Marvel Cinematic Universe role as Betty Brant by providing the voice for animated variants of the character in Disney+'s What If...?. This preserved audio continuity between the live-action Spider-Man films and Marvel Animation's multiversal stories.
What other Marvel movies does Angourie Rice appear in?
Angourie Rice portrays Betty Brant in three live-action MCU feature films: Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019), and Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021). She also appeared as Betty Brant in Marvel's digital promotional web series for The Daily Bugle.
What is Angourie Rice's book podcast about?
Angourie Rice hosts The Community Library, a podcast dedicated to exploring literature, pop culture tropes, critical theory, and storytelling mechanics. The podcast frequently examines narrative "what ifs," analyzing how alternate character choices and creative adaptations reshape classic stories.
Has Angourie Rice written any books?
Yes. Angourie Rice co-authored the young adult novel Stuck in Time alongside her mother, playwright Kate Rice. The book incorporates time-loop narrative structures and romance, reflecting her interest in speculative fiction concepts.
How does voice acting in What If...? differ from live-action filming for Marvel?
Live-action filming requires physical presence, costume fitting, practical lighting, and interacting with physical sets or green screens. Voice acting in What If...? takes place in a recording booth, requiring Rice to convey emotion, tone, and character dynamics entirely through vocal inflection, matching pre-rendered or work-in-progress animation cues.
Will Betty Brant return in future Spider-Man or MCU projects?
While Marvel Studios guards future casting details tightly, Betty Brant’s story at the end of Spider-Man: No Way Home leaves her positioned as a rising journalist at The Daily Bugle. Additionally, the ongoing multiverse narrative structure leaves open the possibility for continued voice work in animated projects or variant cameos in future films.
