Does Rene Russo Voice Frigga? In What If...? Episode 7?
Episode 7 of "What If...?" was quite a ride for Marvel Cinematic Universe fans as Party Thor took viewers on the adventure of a lifetime. The newest installment of the animated series depicted what would happen in a universe if Thor was an only child. Instead of adopting Loki, Odin returns the abandoned baby to Laufey on Joutenheim, which drastically changes the events of the universe as we know it.
In this reality, Thor travels to Midgard, aka Earth, bringing all sorts of aliens from different galaxies with him for the ultimate rager. The episode was full of cameos, featuring the likes of Nebula, Howard the Duck, Drax, the Grandmaster, Frost Giant Loki, and Mantis. While Thor was at the center of the story, some major supporting characters helped the narrative right along. Jane Foster, Darcy Lewis, and Captain Marvel all had their time to shine, as did Frigga, Thor's mother.
The last we saw the Queen of Asgard was in "Avengers: Endgame" during the time heist when Rene Russo reprised her role from "Thor" and "Thor: The Dark World." The big question with "What If...?" episodes is whether the actors of live-action films have returned to voice their animated version. If you were wondering why Frigga sounded a little bit off, there's a reason for that.
Many MCU stars returned for What If...? Episode 7
Thankfully, most of the characters in "What If...?" Episode 7 were voiced by their original MCU actors. Chris Hemsworth returned for Thor, Tom Hiddleston for Loki, and Natalie Portman for Jane Foster. Some cameo roles featured original stars like Karen Gillan and Jeff Goldblum, who lent their voices to Nebula and the Grandmaster. However, some actors did not voice their original characters, and Rene Russo was one of them. In Episode 7, Frigga was voiced by Josette Eales, an actress with a relatively short resume in the business, per IMDb.
Russo hasn't spoken out about not reprising her role in "What If...?" but she's hardly the first MCU star to be absent from the project. In Episode 7 alone, a handful of other characters were voiced by someone other than their live-action portrayer. Captain Marvel, Hogun, Fandral, Volstagg, and Drax were all voiced by someone other than their original MCU star. While it would have been great to hear Russo's voice again, we're just happy the Queen of Asgard had another appearance in a Marvel Studios project.