Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Marvel Animation

  • Marvel Adds Two Projects to Its 2026 Slate

    Marvel Adds Two Projects to Its 2026 Slate

    Bob Iger‘s return to the Disney throne may have come with a mandate for the company’s major production studios to slow their respective rolls in terms of the quantity of streaming projects being released per year but in the case of Marvel Studios, no slowdown has been detected just yet.

    We’re slowly going to decrease volume and go to probably about two TV series a year instead of what had become four and reduce our film output from maybe four a year to two, or a maximum of three. And we’re working hard on what that path is.

    -Bob Iger

    A busier than expected 2025, featuring three films and a total of six streaming series, has just gotten underway and is about to ramp up significantly with the highly-anticipated Daredevil: Born Again set to launch on March 4th. Following the return to Hell’s Kitchen, fans still have plenty to look forward to the rest of the year and it’s starting to look as though 2026 might be nearly as busy, including second seasons of two of the studio’s most well-received streaming series to date.

    According to Marvel TV chief Brad Winderbaum, the sophomore seasons of both X-Men ’97 and Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man are planned to hit D+ at some point in 2026.

    Of course, in the world of animatied projects things can often move a little slower than expected; however, Winderbaum reminds, at the very least, cautiously optimistic that Season 2 of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man will be ready for next year. “Season 2 in ’26, I think,” said Winderbaum before addressing the studio’s even grander plans for the hit series.

    Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Hudson Thames) in Marvel Animation’s YOUR FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN, exclusively on Disney+. Photo courtesy of Marvel Animation. © 2025 MARVEL. All Rights Reserved.

    “We will have a Spider-Man season every year if I have anything to say about it,” said Marvel’s head of TV, streaming and animation. “What usually happens, as you know, in animation, is that there’s a bigger gap between Season 1 and Season 2 than in subsequent seasons, and that’ll be similar in Friendly. We will have to wait a little bit more than a year for Season 2, but then after that, it should come out on an annual cadence, hopefully. “

    Pragmatically speaking, a second season of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man might not hit arrive on D+ until mid-2026. That’s ok, however, considering fans are already looking forward to a jam-packed follow-up which will introduce Gwen Stacy, follow Peter and Harry’s plans with the Worldwide Engineering Brigade, follow Tombstone’s rise in Harlem and, hopefully, address how Peter’s father ended up in prison, among other things. It’s also ok because it sounds like another amazing animated adventure might be on track to return sooner than that.

    (L-R): Cyclops (voiced by Ray Chase) and Jean Grey (voiced by Jennifer Hale) in Marvel Animation’s X-MEN ’97. Photo courtesy of Marvel Animation. © 2024 MARVEL.

    “Season 2 of X-Men ‘97 is going to be in ‘26. We’re working on it now,” Winderbaum told Collider, confirming previous reports. The longtime Marvel exec then explained that as part of Marvel Television’s new approach, the hope is to have X-Men ’97, like Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, ready for yearly release. “To me, it’s important to try to get to an annual cadence with these shows and to have something that people can rely on,” he said. “This has been a challenge for streaming in general, but I really want to create television shows that feel like shows. So, part of that is creating a seasonal cadence that people can rely on.”

    The season finale cliffhanger set the stage for multiple major storylines to unfold in Season 2 of X-Men ’97; however, with Ms. Marvel and What If…? writer Matthew Chauncey taking over for a fired Beau DeMayo, the new season required a little more time to prep as Chauncey redirects it from the original 5-season plan.

    As it stands, fans have 4 streaming projects confirmed to arrive in 2026 (X-Men ’97 Season 2, Daredevil: Born Again Season 2, The Punisher Special Presentation, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Season 2) with another likely (Vision). Theatrically, the studio has set dates for Avengers: Doomsday and Spider-Man 4 while still keeping dates set aside for a pair of untitled films. All told, 2026 does indeed look to be another busy year for Marvel, Iger’s mandate be damned.

    Source: Collider and Collider

  • Upcoming Marvel Studios Series Already Greenlit for Record Run

    Upcoming Marvel Studios Series Already Greenlit for Record Run

    After 17 years with the company, it would be right to say that Marvel Studios Head of Streaming, Television and Animation, Brad Winderbaum, has seen it all. After working as an assistant to Louis D’Esposito on 2008’s Iron Man, Winderbaum climbed company ladder and is now one of the most influential voices working behind the scenes at Marvel. Given the scope of that influence, when Winderbaum feels strongly about the direction of a project, it’s good news for that project.

    In the case of Marvel Animation’s upcoming streaming series, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, which debuts on January 29th, Winderbaum‘s positivity about the project seems to have it poised to make a record-breaking run on Disney Plus.

    Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Hudson Thames) in Marvel Animation’s YOUR FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN, exclusively on Disney+. Photo courtesy of Marvel Animation. © 2024 MARVEL. All Rights Reserved.

    What Jeff is building brick by brick in this show is starting to pay off. You feel it in season 1. You grow connected to these characters so when everything starts to lock into place and starts to pay off by the end of the season, I feel it in my soul. It just gets deeper and deeper in subsequent seasons.

    -Brad Winderbaum
    In an interview with The Movie Podcast, Winderbaum not only confirmed that the previously announced second season of the series is already deep into development but also that a third season has already been given the go-ahead.

    “We’re greenlit for season three so in a couple of weeks, I’m going to hear [Jeff Trammell ‘s] pitch for the third season of this show,” said Winderbaum.

    Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Hudson Thames) in Marvel Animation’s YOUR FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN, exclusively on Disney+. Photo courtesy of Marvel Animation. © 2024 MARVEL. All Rights Reserved.

    With that, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man joins Marvel Animation’s What If…? and X-Men ’97 as the only Marvel Studios’ streaming series to find life beyond a second season. Like X-Men ’97, the first season Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man consists of 10 episodes which means, should subsequent seasons also receive 10-episode orders, it looks to be on track to be the first streaming series to run for at least 30 episodes, especially with development on X-Men ’97 slowing down.

    Early reactions to the new animated series have been overwhelmingly positive and Winderbaum seems to share that enthusiasm. “I’ve fallen so head over heels in love with these characters,” he said before updating the progress being made on Season 2. “By the way, I’ve now read all the scripts for season 2. We’re halfway through the animatics.” Though the animation process is a long one, Winderbaum‘s comments could point to a second season streaming on Disney Plus at some point in 2026.

    Source: The Movie Podcast

  • The Skinny on Marvel Animation’s ‘Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man’

    The Skinny on Marvel Animation’s ‘Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man’

    Marvel Studios will kick off a very busy 2025 on January 29th with Marvel Animation’s Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. Originally intended as a canonical prequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming, the series, which was initially titled Spider-Man: Freshman Year, underwent some significant changes in 2022, morphing into a multiversal adventure when the creative team, led by Jeff Trammell, realized setting it on the MCU’s Sacred Timeline limited their storytelling. “It started out as ‘Okay it’s Spider-Man’s freshman year, he’s going to be a freshman, can we get away with this being entirely in the MCU?’ and very early on in the development process, we realized how locked in that actually made us,” said Marvel Television’s head honcho, Brad Winderbaum. “We couldn’t really use his rogues gallery, we couldn’t really use his origin,” Winderbaum continued, “It was not fun, honestly. We would’ve had to put so many limiters on our story to get it to lock into canon.“

    Retitled as Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, the retooled series now includes an impressive aggregation of supporting characters, including some not traditionally a part of Peter Parker’s circle. The overhaul also allowed Trammell to include some classic Spider-Man rogues, such as Rhino and The Scorpion, which would not have been available to them had the series remained set in the Sacred Timeline.

    “You’re going to see some familiar faces — and if you’re a fan of Chameleon, you’re going to see a few of his faces,” teased Trammell. “You’re also going to see Scorpion, as well as a few characters who may seem new, like Speed Demon or Butane. We have a huge rogues gallery to play with, and so we’re looking forward to putting some of them in the forefront.”

    Though Trammell and company ditched the original pitch for the freedom offered by the multiversal setting, they did hold onto some familiar bits and pieces of Tom Holland’s MCU-set Spidey’s story. In some ways, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man will play out like an extended episode of What If…? in which one change will lead to a cascade of changes for Peter Parker, including the identity of his mentor. Rather than Parker, voiced by Hudson Thames, being taken under the iron wing of Tony Stark, he’ll find himself under the tutelage of Norman Osborn, voiced by Colman Domingo.

    Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Hudson Thames) and Norman Osborn (Colman Domingo) in Marvel Animation’s YOUR FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN, exclusively on Disney+. Photo courtesy of Marvel Animation. © 2024 MARVEL. All Rights Reserved.

    Well, like we said, in the panel, it follows the pattern that you see in [Captain America:] Civil War. Down to Peter getting the broken Blu-ray player from the trash and he walks into his department for the famous moment where Tony Stark is waiting for him to offer him the stark internship and take him to Berlin. But because of things that happen in the multiverse because of new, random occurrences, it’s not Tony Stark who’s waiting for him there. It’s Norman Osborn and that sends his life in an unexpected trajectory that collides him with many unexpected characters in the Marvel universe.

    -Brad Winderbaum

    “It was Jeff Trammell who had the idea to cast Colman Domingo as Norman Osborn,” explained Winderbaum. “The character is such a rich and complicated mentor for Peter, so we really needed an actor who could deliver many different dimensions. You can see in his work that he’s so multifaceted, so I can’t wait for the world to see his version of Norman.”

    Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is an animated series that follows Peter Parker on his way to becoming a hero, with a journey unlike we’ve ever seen and a style that celebrates the character’s early comic book roots.

    -Official synopsis, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man

    And so, perhaps for the best, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, morphed into a hybrid drawing from Spidey stories across all mediums. “It does have a lot of DNA that is very similar to the MCU depiction of the Tom Holland Spider-Man, but it really also draws all the way back to Steve Ditko,” Winderbaum explained. “It’s adjacent to the main continuity but really speaks to what is inherent about the character.”

    And while many fans certainly know and love Holland‘s Spider-Man and have enjoyed his stories in the pages of Marvel Comics for decades, others, including Trammell, were introduced to the Wallcrawler through previous animated efforts such as the beloved mid-90s animated Spider-Man series. “We have the privilege of following the movies and shows, so we pay homage to them as well as the comics,” he said. “We build on things we’ve seen before but present them in new ways. We use those expectations to our advantage and turn things away from where you might expect.“

    With the events of the series rearranging the pieces of Peter’s life, fans will find that everything has changed, including his friend group. Without MJ and Ned by his side, Peter will find himself befriending some characters that even longtime Spidey fans may not be familiar with. “I’m excited for people to see new twists on classic characters, and I’m also excited to introduce characters that aren’t normally featured in Spider-Man stories.”

    (Second from Left-R) Pearl Pangan (Cathy Ang), Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Hudson Thames) and Nico Minoru (Grace Song) in Marvel Animation’s YOUR FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN, exclusively on Disney+. Photo courtesy of Marvel Animation. ?? 2024 MARVEL. All Rights Reserved.

    And so while Peter will find some familiar allies in Doctor Strange and Daredevil, voiced by Charlie Cox, he will also be hanging out with Runaways mainstay Nico Minoru and Pearl Pagan, a character relatively new in the pages of Marvel Comics. According to Winderbaum, despite being new to Spidey’s sphere, they’ll follow the longtime pattern of being more than just sidekicks and one-note page fillers in Peter’s story. “There’s a reason why we changed the title to Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. It’s about the neighborhood. It’s an ensemble show. Every character is well-defined and has amazing arcs, from Peter and Nico to Lonnie and Pearl.”

    Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, a 10-episode series, begins streaming on Disney Plus on January 29th.

    The voice cast includes Hudson Thames, Colman Domingo, Eugene Byrd, Grace Song, Zeno Robinson, Hugh Dancy, and Charlie Cox. The head writer is Jeff Trammell and Mel Zwyer is the supervising director. Brad Winderbaum, Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Dana Vasquez-Eberhardt, and Trammell serve as executive producers. 

    Sources: Phase Hero, The Walt Disney Company

  • ‘What If ..?’ Season 3 Episode Titles Reveal a Few Big Surprises

    ‘What If ..?’ Season 3 Episode Titles Reveal a Few Big Surprises

    On December 22nd, the third and final season of Marvel Animation’s What If…? will get underway on Disney Plus. As was the case with Season 2, Marvel will debut one new episode a day with the series finale dropping on December 29th. Ahead of the season debuting next week, Marvel Studios has released an episode guide complete with the titles of the final eight episodes. And as you might expect, some are a little unexpected!

    While quite a few of the episodes have been prominently featured in the marketing for the series, quite a bit more can be gleaned about their premises now that titles have been revealed. For example, it’s been known for quite some time that an episode would feature Mech Avengers taking on Kaiju; however, knowing that they will also take on the Hulk certainly spices up the episode a bit.

    Episode 4, “What If…Howard the Duck Got Hitched”, will almost certainly be a follow up to Season 1’s “What If…Thor Were an Only Child?” which saw the Master of Quack-Fu fall in love with Darcy Lewis. An absurd idea, to be sure, but you know the old saying: first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes Byrdie in a baby carriage.

    Though it seems as though 2021’s Eternals may never get a proper theatrical or streaming sequel, Episode 5, “What If…The Emergence Destroyed the Earth?”, will at least acknowledge the project and remind everyone it exists before Tiamut pops back up in Captain America: Brave New World.

    Featured heavily but without context in trailers and promo spots for Season 3 was Episode 6, featuring Hailee Steinfeld‘s Kate Bishop and Simu Liu‘s Shang-Chi. Inspired, it would seem, by the 2015 Secret Wars title, 1872, “What If…1872?” will explore the Old West similar to the way that Season 2’s “What If…The Avengers Assembled in 1602?” did with familiar characters in an unusual setting.

    Finally, as has been the case over the first two seasons, it is likely that Episode 7, “What If…The Watcher Disappeared?” will dovetail into Episode 8, “What If…What If?”. And though we’d hesitate to go too far out on a limb, it’s likely that over the course of those two final episodes, Captain Carter’s ongoing What If…? story will be picked back up and taken to its denouement.

    The final eight episodes of What If…? begin on Disney Plus on December 22nd!

  • The Ultimate List of What to Watch Before ‘What If…?’ Season 3

    The Ultimate List of What to Watch Before ‘What If…?’ Season 3

    What If…?, Marvel Animation’s first MCU-set adventure, is set to return for its third and final season just in time for folks to be home a bit more for the holidays. As was the case with Season 2, one new episode of What If…? will arrive daily from December 22nd through December 29th.

    Season 2 was a marked improvement over Season 1 in part because it expanded beyond the slightly altered retelling of familiar origin stories to take advantage of the true nature of the What If…? premise. Season 3 looks to be headed in that direction as well and will also greatly increase the size of the roster of characters. That said, you’ll likely want to refeesh your memory about some of the stories and characters set to make a splash in the new season. So if you’re looking for something to watch while you wrap your presents and guzzle your egg nog, we present The Ultimate List of What to Watch Before Season 3 of What If…?.

    How It Started…

    It’s been quite some time since Season 1 of Loki and most of Marvel Studios’ Multiverse Saga plans have been altered since then; however, without Sylvie knifing He Who Remains, there’s no Multiverse at all. That action went down in Season 1, Episode 6, “For All Time Always”, which is one of the best episodes of TV Marvel Studios has put together.

    How It Went…

    Even though Marvel Animation is adding characters such as Agatha Harkness, Shang-Chi and Moon Knight to the mix in Season 3 you’ll likely want to refresh yourself on some of the series’ central characters. While What If…? is ostensibly Uatu’s show, Captain Carter takes the lead in many episodes across both seasons and will be back for more. Additionally, the MCU original character Kahhori, who debuted in Season 2, is confirmed to return in the new season.

    What If…?, Season 1:

    Episode 1, What If… Captain Carter Were the First Avenger?

    Episode 9, What If…The Watcher Broke His Oath?

    What If…?, Season 2:

    Episode 5, What If…Captain Carter Fought the HYDRA Stomper?

    Episode 6, What If…Kahhori Reshaped the World?

    Episode 8, What If…The Avengers Assembled in 1602?

    Episode 9, What If…Strange Supreme Intervened?

    Where It’s Going Next

    Not to beat a dead horse here but…the voice cast for Season 3 is MASSIVE. An unbelievable amount of stars are back to lend their voices to the characters they’ve played in Marvel Studios live-action projects. The list of first timers includes Kathryn Hahn, Oscar Isaac, Hailee Steinfeld, Simu Liu, Dominique Thorne, Kumail Nanjiani and more.

    The trick here is that the appearances of each of these characters does not necessarily indicate an alteration of any individual story one of the may have had. For example, Kate Bishop’s appearance in a Western-set episode may not be a result of some small changes to her origin story which means watching Hawkeye may not provide any additional context for her actions in What If…? That’s certainly a change from Seasons 1 and 2 which included quite a few episodes that were just alt takes on familiar stories. All that said, here’s a list of projects that include characters that will appear in Season 3.

    Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

    Ant-Man and The Wasp (2018)

    Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)

    WandaVision (2021)

    The Falcon and The Winter Soldier (2021)

    Black Widow (2021)

    Eternals (2021)

    Hawkeye (2021)

    Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)

    Moon Knight (2022)

    Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)

    Secret Invasion (2023)

    The Marvels (2023)

    X-Men ’97 (2024)

    Agatha All Along (2024)

    The third and final season of Marvel Animation’s What If…? will debut new episodes daily for eight days beginning on December 22nd.

    About What If…?, Season 3

    Marvel’s animated series What If…? returns in Season 3 for its culminating adventure through the multiverse. Watch as classic characters make unexpected choices that will mutate their worlds into spectacular alternate versions of the MCU. The Watcher (voice of Jeffrey Wright) will guide viewers as the series traverses new genres, bigger spectacles, and incredible new characters.

    The series features an incredible voice cast that includes a host of stars who reprise their iconic roles. Season 3 features fan-favorite characters like Captain America/Sam Wilson, The Winter Soldier/Bucky Barnes, Hulk/Bruce Banner, The Red Guardian, Captain Peggy Carter, Agatha Harkness, Shang-Chi, Storm the Goddess of Thunder, and numerous others.

    Episodes are directed by Bryan Andrews and Stephan Franck and are written by Matthew Chauncey, Ryan Little, and A.C. Bradley. Executive producers are Brad Winderbaum, Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Dana Vasquez-Eberhardt, and Bryan Andrews, with co-executive producer Matthew Chauncey, and producers Danielle Costa, Carrie Wassenaar, and Alex Scharf.

  • Marvel Studios Reveals Voice Cast, Synopsis for Animated D+ Series ‘Eyes of Wakanda’

    Marvel Studios Reveals Voice Cast, Synopsis for Animated D+ Series ‘Eyes of Wakanda’

    Developed almost entirely in secret, Marvel Animation’s Eyes of Wakanda was revealed to the public by Marvel Studios Head of TV, Streaming, and Animation Brad Winderbaum in December 2023 during the studio’s What If…? Season 2 red carpet premiere. Set throughout the MCU’s Sacred Timeline, the four-episode series was originally described as the story of “brave warriors” who “throughout Wakandan history have been tasked to travel the world retrieving dangerous vibranium artifacts.”

    One of the rarest metals on the planet, Vibranium came to Earth 2.5 million ago as a series of meteorites crashed into Africa and the Atlantic Ocean. Wakandans mined the Great Mound and learned to refine the precious metal which quickly allowed them to become the most technologically advanced civilization on the planet. Though they worked hard to keep the Vibranium a secret, artifacts have made their way outside the isolationist nation. Captain America’s shield, created by Howard Stark, was made of Vibranium that a group of researchers from Stark Industries located in Africa; aided by N’Jobu, Ulysses Klaue stole a quarter ton of the substance in 1992; and, as seen in Black Panther, a Vibranium Wakandan warhammer was on display in the Museum of Great Britain until it was taken by N’Jadaka.

    Over the past year, it was revealed that the series was set to share “the history of Wakanda as told through the War Dogs,” referencing Wakanda’s global intelligence network whose number has included Nakia, Zuri and Prince N’Jobu. Now, as part of a 2025 Preview Kit, Disney has released an updated official synopsis for the series as well as members of the impressive voice cast for Eyes of Wakanda.

    Marvel Animation’s new action-adventure series Eyes of Wakanda follows the adventures of brave Wakandan warriors throughout history. In this globe-trotting adventure, the heroes must carry-out dangerous missions to retrieve Vibranium artifacts from the enemies of Wakanda. They are the Hatut Zaraze and this is their story.

    Official Synopsis for Marvel Animation’s Eyes of Wakanda
    (Center): The Lion (voiced by Cress Williams) in Marvel Studios Television’s EYES OF WAKANDA. © 2024 Marvel. All Rights Reserved.

    Created under Black Panther franchise writer/director Ryan Coogler‘s Proximity Media banner and directed by Todd Harris, Eyes of Wakanda “fits right into our sacred MCU timeline continuity,” according to Winderbaum, and has the unique opportunity to reframe the MCU’s known continuity. As seen in Black Panther, the history of Wakanda stretches back to 28,000 B.C. though the meteorite that brought Vibranium to Africa and the Atlantic Ocean fell from the sky much earlier in 2,500,000 B.C. While projects such as Eternals, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and each of the Thor films have included flashbacks that predate Captain America: The First Avenger‘s WWII setting–and even predate the flashbacks in Black Panther–they are primarily set in “the present” and, as such, are placed far further down the timeline than Cap’s first MCU adventure. According to reports, one of the four 30-minute episodes of Eyes of Wakanda is set during the time of the Trojan War. While it seems historians are all over the place when trying to pin down exactly when the Trojan War took place–if at all–an episode set during it would likely take place in the 12th or 11th century B.C., stretching the known timeline of the MCU.

    According to a press release, Eyes of Wakanda will feature the voices of Winnie Harlow, Cress Williams (Black Lightning) as The Lion, Patricia Belcher (Bones), Larry Herron (Hello Neighbor: Welcome to Raven Brooks), Adam Gold, Lynn Whitfield (The Chi), Jacques Colimon (The Society), Jona Xiao (Hightown), Isaac Robinson-Smith (X-Men ’97), Gary Anthony Williams (Batman: Caped Crusader), Zeke Alton (Dungeon Masters), Steve Toussaint (House of the Dragon) and Anika Noni Rose (the voice of Jasmine in the Princess and the Frog).

    Marvel Animation’s Eyes of Wakanda will debut on Disney Plus on August 6, 2025.

  • ‘Marvel Zombies’ Sets Premiere Date

    ‘Marvel Zombies’ Sets Premiere Date

    First announced in November 2021 as part of Disney Plus Day, Marvel Animation’s four-episode TV-MA project Marvel Zombies has been slow in making its way to the screen. Originally planned for a 2024 release, the series, created by Zeb Wells and Bryan Andrews fell off the radar a bit after being absent from several consecutive convention presentations by Marvel Studios.

    However,tThe project was recently revealed to be part of Marvel’s 2025 Disney Plus slate with a promise that fans would be able to view the episodes in time for Halloween. Now, you can go ahead and fill out your calendars with an official release date.

    Via an official 2025 Preview Kit shared with members of the media, Marvel Zombies will premiere on Disney Plus on October 3, 2025.
    Zombie Thanos in Marvel Television’s MARVEL ZOMBIES exclusively on Disney+. Photo courtesy of Marvel Television. © 2024 MARVEL.

    The animated series will feature a voice cast that includes Awkwafina, David Harbour, Simu Liu, Elizabeth Olsen, Randall Park, Florence Pugh, Hailee Steinfeld, Dominique Thorne, Iman Vellani reprising their respective MCU roles and Todd Williams as Blade.

  • Marvel Studios Sets Surprising Release Date for ‘What If…?’ Season 3

    Marvel Studios Sets Surprising Release Date for ‘What If…?’ Season 3

    Marvel Studios’ first canonical animated series, What If…?, seemed to truly hit its stride in its second season. However, despite its premise as a multiversal adventure, for reasons out of the control of its creators the series was by and large geared toward telling stories about alternate universe Variants of the core Avengers featured in the Infinity Saga. Footage from Season 3 released following the Season 2 finale featured the inclusion of David Harbour‘s Red Guardian, teasing a new direction for the new season.

    However, even as complete footage was shared, neither creator Bryan Andrews nor Executive Producer and Marvel Studios Head of TV, Streaming, and Animation Brad Winderbaum were able to give a clear answer as to when the new episodes would hit Disney Plus.

    In January, Andrews revealed that the best fans could hope for is a late-2024 debut of What If…? Season 3. “They move stuff around,” said Andrews of Marvel Studios. “Every time I thought it was like, ‘Oh, it’s going to be this!’ It’s like, ‘It’s going to move a little bit!’ So, even I would hate to say something and have people’s hopes come up and then have them be dashed because of the beast of production and when things move around,” he explained. “I thought that it could come out at the end of the year in 2024 possibly, but that would be tight. There’s some other group of people that are masterminding when things [release] and they’re moving things on the board, and I don’t know where we exist on that at this moment.”

    “What If…? Season Three is — that might be the one that comes out next, in terms of animation,” said Winderbaum in a May interview, adding that the next season would be “the culmination of a trilogy.”

    We’re actually close to completing that one, and it really feels like you’ve gone through this amazing emotional experience with Uatu, in a way that’s… What’s great about The Watcher is that he presents himself as uncaring, and cold, and just an observer, but he cares more than everybody [and] anybody. That is on full display in that third season.

    -Brad Winderbaum, May 2024
    As it turns out, Andrews was indeed correct on two counts: Marvel does like to move things around and as part of the latest series of movements, Season 3 of What If…? secured a surprising release date. As revealed in a sizzle reel for the studio’s upcoming projects, the third and final season of What If…? is set to debut on Disney Plus on December 22, 2024.

    Though the episode release schedule was not included in the teaser, it seems as though the studio will repeat the daily episode roll out it utilized with Season 2, which premiered on December 22, 2023 and wrapped on December 30, 2023.

    During Marvel Animation’s D23 panel in August, footage from the upcoming third season showcased an expanded roster of heroes which generated quite a bit of buzz online with the majority of fans eagerly looking forward to the next group of episodes. Now those fans can look forward to settling in over the December holiday season.

  • Marvel Studios Officially Reveals Its Massive 2025 D+ Streaming Slate

    Marvel Studios Officially Reveals Its Massive 2025 D+ Streaming Slate

    With Bob Iger‘s return to the Disney throne came a mandate that the company’s largest production studios take a hard look at their project pipelines. During a May conference call with investors, the big boss made it clear that the studios were to scale back the number of streaming projects being developed and that the ones that did make their way to Disney Plus needed to be of the quality customers had come to expect, adding the mandate was “particularly true with Marvel.” Following a three-year run in which both theatrical and streaming projects failed to land with audiences, Iger pumped the brakes on the monster Multiverse Saga slate Marvel Studios One Above All, Kevin Feige, revealed at SDCC ’22 in which Phase 6 alone was comprised of 11 projects.

    We’re slowly going to decrease volume and go to probably about two TV series a year instead of what had become four and reduce our film output from maybe four a year to two, or a maximum of three. And we’re working hard on what that path is.

    Bob Iger

    While there’s no reason to doubt that Iger fully intends to accomplish the plan he laid out in May, it would seem as though the decrease in volume will indeed be a slow process. With a backlog of projects, both animated and live-action, already in the can and ready to roll out, Marvel Studios has officially revealed its 2025 Disney Plus slate and it is one of its most ambitious yet with six series on the way next year.

    • January 29, 2025: Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man (Marvel Animation)
    • March 4, 2025: Daredevil: Born Again (Marvel Television)
    • June 24, 2025: Ironheart (Marvel Television)
    • August 6, 2025: Eyes of Wakanda (Marvel Animation)
    • October 2025: Marvel Zombies (Marvel Animation)
    • December 2025: Wonder Man (Marvel Television)

    A leaked sizzle reel that was likely intended to launch online following the two-episode finale of Agatha All Along revealed both the slate and first looks at each of the projects.

    The inclusion of Wonder Man on the 2025 slate opens up an intriguing, although perhaps too early, conversation about the studio’s 2026 plans. With the Paul Bettany-led untitled Vision series filming next year along with Season 2 of Daredevi: Born Again, it seems as though Marvel may have a surprise or two in store for fans.

  • Marvel’s Animated Spider-Man Project Gets New Release Date

    Marvel’s Animated Spider-Man Project Gets New Release Date

    As part of a slew of announcements made during 2021’s first-ever Disney Plus Day, Marvel Studios revealed the development of Spider-Man: Freshman Year. Originally teased as a canonical series that would serve as the prequel to the events of Captain America: Civil War, the project morphed into a multiverse adventure and was retitled Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man.

    As explained at SDCC ’22, the series, developed and written by Jeff Trammell, will feature a slew of MCU supporting characters such as Doctor Strange and Matt Murdock, voiced by Charlie Cox, as well as characters who have yet to debut in the MCU such as Harry Osborn, Nico Minoru and Amadeus Cho. It was also revealed that it would feature multiple villains from Spidey’s Rogues Gallery including Unicorn, Chameleon, Scorpion, Speed Demon, Tarantula, Rhino, and Doc Ock as well as Norman Osborn. And as of late 2023, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man was included on Disney’s official 2024 D+ slate with a rumored November release in the works. It was recently revealed, however, that the series would not hit the streaming service in 2024 and now we may know when to expect it.

    According to an update to Disney’s All Access page, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man will debut on Disney Plus on January 25, 2025.

    It follows the pattern that you see in [Captain America:] Civil War. Down to Peter getting the broken Blu-ray player from the trash and he walks into his department for the famous moment where Tony Stark is waiting for him to offer him the stark internship and take him to Berlin. But because of things that happen in the multiverse because of new, random occurrences, it’s not Tony Stark who’s waiting for him there. It’s Norman Osborn and that sends his life in an unexpected trajectory that collides him with many unexpected characters in the Marvel universe.

    -Brad Winderbaum on Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man

    With the move, Marvel Animation’s Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man and Eyes of Wakanda are now tentatively dated until January 25, 2025 and August 6, 2025, respectively.