Disney+ is going big on Marvel.
On Friday, the streaming service announced several new animated projects and confirmed others that had been rumored to be in development. Disney+ also showed off the first footage for upcoming live-action shows Moon Knight, She-Hulk and Ms. Marvel, all as part of a Marvel Studios Special that debuted on the service to celebrate Disney+’s second anniversary.
Among the newly announced projects are X-Men ’97, Spider-Man: Freshman Year and Marvel Zombies.
X-Men ’97, due in 2023, continues the story of the beloved 1990s animated X-Men series, which ran from 1992-97 and was praised for its sophisticated, serialized storytelling and has been cited as an inspiration by creators such as Loki director Kate Herron. Beau DeMayo, known for his work on The Witcher, is head writer.
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Spider-Man: Freshman Year is an animated show exploring Peter Parker on his way to becoming the MCU’s Spider-Man. It’s described as celebrating the early comic roots of the character. Jeff Trammel serves as head writer. Tom Holland first played Peter Parker in Captain America: Civil War and was established to be a sophomore in Spider-Man: Homecoming, which occurred two months later, so it is likely this series takes place before Civil War.
Marvel Zombies, from director Bryan Andrews, reimagines the Marvel Universe as a new generation of heroes fights the zombie plague. What if …? recently explored the concept of Marvel Zombies, which The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman tackled in the pages of the comics 15 years ago. Zeb Wells will serve as executive producer and head writer.
Additionally, Marvel renewed What if …? for season two, with Andrews directing and AC Bradley returning as head writer.
The studio also confirmed a number of series and specials already known to be in the works, including the Hawkeye spinoff, Echo, which will star Alaqua Cox as Maya Lopez. Marvel also revealed that Kathryn Hahn’s WandaVision spinoff is titled Agatha: House of Harkness.
In addition to the news of these upcoming shows, Marvel unveiled the first footage of Moon Knight, starring Oscar Isaac, She-Hulk, starring Tatiana Maslany, and Ms. Marvel, headlined by newcomer Iman Vellani. Marvel’s next series, Hawkeye, debuts Nov. 24.
Disney+ day came two days after Disney earnings revealed sluggish growth for the streaming service. Marvel closed out Disney+ Day with the types of reveals fans had been hoping for regarding Star Wars but did not receive. While Lucasfilm also has a number of series coming up, such as Diego Luna’s Andor, no new footage was shown. However, Obi-Wan Kenobi star Ewan McGregor and director Deborah Chow were featured in a sizzle reel that included concept art.
