NYCC: Marvel Animation Bringing More Marvel Zombies, X-Men '97 and Spider-Man
Not so long ago, Marvel was on top of the world. Their movies and series were the dominant force in popular culture. Post Avengers Endgame, they have released a series of films and shows that haven't attracted the same size of audience that they used to. Is it down to the dreaded 'superhero fatigue' that some critics have been diagnosing? Perhaps, but it's done nothing to dent the box-office success of this year's Spider-Man: Brand New Day or the Avengers Endgame: Encore re-release. With Avengers Doomsday on the horizon, things seem to be on the up again for the studio. Marvel was in town for the New York ComicCon last weekend, where they shared the latest news, including on animation.
On the first day of the convention, they held the panel for Marvel Television and Marvel Animation. They teased their upcoming live-action series VisionQuest, Daredevil: Born Again Season 3 and the new spy-thriller Zodiac. The panel was hosted by Brandon Davis and featured Brad Winderbaum, Marvel Head of Television, Animation, Comics and Franchise. Marvel Comics Editor-In-Chief Stephen Wacker kicked off the panel with news of upcoming developments in the comics. Then it was time to talk the latest from Marvel Animation.
Marvel Zombies, the animated series that started life (or death) as a spin-off from Marvel's What If..? series. The series will return in a different format- three two-part event series, to be released over consecutive years, starting from 2027. Marvel Zombies: The Winter Soldier will be released just in time for Halloween 2027. Marvel Zombies: The Fist of Khonshu will be released in 2028. Finally, concluding the story in 2029 will be Marvel Zombies: The Last Guardian. "I won't tell you who the Last Guardian is, but it's very, very exciting," said Winderbaum.
Winderbaum promises fans lots of gory action. And of course, Winderbaum promised, fans can expect plenty of gory zombie goodness. “We’re about halfway through animatics, and it is a blood-splattering good time, but it's also quite beautiful,” he teased. “I still can’t believe Disney+ lets us get away with it.” Marvel fans will be able to speculate what storylines the new episodes will riff on based on the titles. The Winter Soldier is pretty obvious, but the others are more obscure. Note that on the unveiled posters, The Fist Of Khonshu seems to be using the font from Moon Knight and The Last Guardian is using the Guardians Of The Galaxy font. Could be clues?
Fans in the room got a chance to feast their eyes on early footage from the third season of X-Men '97, the sequel series to the classic 90s X-Men cartoon. The footage shown teased the return of the Brotherhood of Mutants and Gambit and Rogue tying the knot. Season 3 will be released on Disney+ sometime in 2027. It was also confirmed that a fourth season is in the works.
"We’re hard at work on the third season, and it's incredible," Winderbaum said. "I mean, I'm actually getting choked up thinking about one of the episodes right now."
Your Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man is returning for a sophomore season next year. Series creator Jeff Trammell took to the stage to tease the continuing animated adventures of Peter Parker. In season two, Parker (voiced by Hudson Thames) faces a host of new enemies and challenges, including a familiar black symbiote suit.
“In Season 1, we got to see Peter start out as Spider-Man," Trammell revealed. "He's learning, he's growing, he's got a man in a chair, he's got a mentor. None of that for Season 2. In Season 2, he's ready to go, and he's got big threats. He might need a little help. And, you know, sometimes that help comes in the form of inky black goo from space.”
Your Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man Season 2 will swing on to Disney+ from January 13, 2027.
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