Marvel Zombies (miniseries)

Last updated

Marvel Zombies
Marvel Zombies (miniseries) logo.png
Genre
Created by Zeb Wells
Based on
Written byZeb Wells
Directed by Bryan Andrews
Starring
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producers
Producers
Production company Marvel Studios Animation
Original release
Network Disney+
Related

Marvel Zombies is an upcoming American animated television miniseries created by Zeb Wells for the streaming service Disney+, based on the Marvel Comics series of the same name. It is intended to be the 16th television series in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) from Marvel Studios and is produced by Marvel Studios Animation. The series explores an alternate timeline in the multiverse introduced in the What If...? episode "What If... Zombies?!" (2021), in which a group of survivors must fight former heroes and villains who are now zombies. Wells serves as head writer and Bryan Andrews directs.

Contents

Awkwafina, David Harbour, Simu Liu, Elizabeth Olsen, Randall Park, Florence Pugh, Hailee Steinfeld, and Iman Vellani reprise their roles from prior MCU media, alongside Dominique Thorne and Todd Williams. Marvel Studios was developing several animated series in addition to What If...? by June 2021, including a spin-off series continuing the events of "What If... Zombies?!". Marvel Zombies was announced in November, along with the involvement of Wells and Andrews.

Marvel Zombies is scheduled to premiere on Disney+ on October 3, 2025, and will consist of four episodes. It will be part of Phase Six of the MCU.

Premise

Continuing from the events of the What If...? episode "What If... Zombies?!" (2021), a group of survivors must fight former heroes and villains who are now zombies. [1]

Cast and characters

Alternate versions of characters from the MCU confirmed to appear in the series include Death Dealer, [1] Eric Brooks / Blade, [4] and Xu Wenwu. [5] Zombies in the series include Clint Barton / Hawkeye, Steve Rogers / Captain America, Emil Blonsky / Abomination, Ava Starr / Ghost, Carol Danvers / Captain Marvel, Ikaris, and Okoye. [1]

Episodes

The series consists of four episodes, [6] which are directed by Bryan Andrews and written by Zeb Wells, from a story by both. [7]

Production

Development

By June 2021, Marvel Studios Animation was developing a slate of at least three more series in addition to their Disney+ series What If...? (2021–present). [8] [9] [10] The next month, these were said to be in various stages of development and were not expected to debut until at least 2023. [11] A Marvel Zombies animated series was announced during the Disney+ Day event in November 2021, [12] based on the Marvel Comics series of the same name. [13] Bryan Andrews returned as director from What If...? and Zeb Wells was set as head writer and executive producer. [12] Wells previously served as a writer for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022) and the film The Marvels (2023). [14]

The series is a continuation of the zombie-infested alternate timeline that was introduced in the episode "What If... Zombies?!" from the first season of What If...? (2021), [15] exploring more of the mythology established in the episode; [16] Marvel Studios began development on the spin-off after a positive fan response to that episode and its cliffhanger ending. [1] The company revealed in July 2022 that Marvel Zombies would be its first animated series to be rated TV-MA so it could feature all the "gore and splatter you want from a zombie show". [17] [18] The series consists of four episodes. [6] Marvel Studios' Kevin Feige, Louis D'Esposito, Brad Winderbaum, and Dana Vasquez-Eberhardt serve as executive producers, alongside Wells and Andrews, while Danielle Costa and Carrie Wassenaar serve as producers. [7] During Marvel Studios Animation's panel at the 2022 San Diego Comic-Con, Marvel Zombies and the other projects discussed were introduced as being part of the "Marvel Animated Multiverse". [19]

Writing

Wells wrote the series' teleplay, based off a store conceived by both he and Andrews. [7] Andrews explained that even though many of the deaths in the series are "rough", there was humor and levity mixed in with the action, drama, and emotion. [20]

Casting and voice recording

In November 2023, Iman Vellani revealed that she would be reprising her MCU role as Kamala Khan / Ms. Marvel in the series; she had already completed her voice work by then. [3] In November 2024, several actors were revealed to be reprising their MCU roles in the series, including Awkwafina as Katy, David Harbour as Alexei Shostakov / Red Guardian, Simu Liu as Xu Shang-Chi, Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch, Randall Park as Jimmy Woo, Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova, Hailee Steinfeld as Kate Bishop, and Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams / Ironheart. [2] Additionally, Todd Williams was revealed to have been cast in an undisclosed role in the series. [2]

Animation

The series features the same animation style as What If...?, [21] which uses a cel-shaded animation style with character likenesses based on the actors from the films. [22] The animation is "2.5D", with 3D models rendered with 2D lighting to appear like flat drawings. [23]

Marketing

The series was discussed during Marvel Studios Animation's panel at the 2022 San Diego Comic-Con, when artwork of the characters was revealed. [1] Andrews and Winderbaum promoted the series during Marvel Studios Animation's panel at the D23 convention in August 2024, where footage was shown. [5] [21] [24] More footage from the series was included in a video that was released by Disney+ in October, announcing the release schedule for Marvel Television and Marvel Animation projects through the end of 2025. [25]

Release

Marvel Zombies is scheduled to premiere on Disney+ on October 3, 2025, [7] and will consist of four episodes. [6] By July 2022, the series was expected to debut in 2024. [17] In January 2024, Andrews said he was unsure when the series would be released, revealing that the release date had been continually shifting, [26] : 51:00–51:08  and the series was undated at that time. [27] Marvel Studios Animation's panel at D23 in August 2024 covered series, including Marvel Zombies, that were intended for release over the following 12 to 18 months, though it was specifically stated that Marvel Zombies would not be released "for a while"; [28] [29] its October 2025 release month was announced that October. [25] The series will be part of Phase Six of the MCU. [30]

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References

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