Marvel Zombies (miniseries)
| Marvel Zombies | |
|---|---|
_logo.png){kind=logo} | |
| Genre | |
| Created by | Zeb Wells |
| Based on | |
| Showrunner | Bryan Andrews |
| Written by | Zeb Wells |
| Directed by | Bryan Andrews |
| Starring | |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Producers |
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| Production company | Marvel Studios Animation |
| Original release | |
| Network | Disney+ |
| Related | |
Marvel Zombies is an upcoming American adult 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 is set in the alternate timeline introduced in the "What If... Zombies?!" (2021) episode of the animated series What If...? (2021–2024). Continuing from that episode, Marvel Zombies follows a group of survivors who fight against former heroes and villains that have been turned into zombies. Bryan Andrews served as showrunner and director, with Wells as head writer.
The series features an ensemble cast including Awkwafina, David Harbour, Simu Liu, Elizabeth Olsen, Randall Park, Florence Pugh, Paul Rudd, Wyatt Russell, Hailee Steinfeld, Tessa Thompson, Dominique Thorne, and Iman Vellani reprising their roles from previous MCU media, alongside Todd Williams. Marvel Studios was developing several animated series in addition to What If...? by June 2021, including a spin-off based on "What If... Zombies?!" which was announced in November. Wells and Andrews were both involved by then. The series features the same animation style as What If...?, with Stellar Creative Lab returning from that series to provide the animation. It will be Marvel Studios Animation's first series to be rated TV-MA.
Marvel Zombies is scheduled to be released on Disney+ on September 24, 2025, and will consist of four episodes. It will be part of Phase Six of the MCU.
Premise
Marvel Zombies is set in the alternate timeline introduced in the What If...? episode "What If... Zombies?!" (2021), where a virus has turned most of the world's population, including the Avengers, into zombies. The series follows a group of survivors as they discover the key to ending the zombie plague, which leads them to travel across a dystopian landscape and risk their lives fighting superpowered zombies to save the world.[1][2]
Cast and characters
- Awkwafina as Katy: Xu Shang-Chi's best friend and former co-worker as a hotel valet[3]
- David Harbour as Alexei Shostakov / Red Guardian: The Russian super-soldier counterpart to Captain America and a father-figure to Yelena Belova[3]
- Simu Liu as Xu Shang-Chi:
A highly skilled martial artist who was trained at a young age to be an assassin by his father Xu Wenwu.[3] In the series, Shang-Chi was bitten by a zombie on the arm and uses the mystical Ten Rings to prevent the infection from spreading to the rest of his body.[4] - Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch: A former Avenger turned zombie who can harness chaos magic, engage in telepathy and telekinesis, and alter reality[3]
- Randall Park as Jimmy Woo: A former FBI agent[3]
- Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova: A highly skilled spy and assassin who was trained in the Red Room as a Black Widow[3]
- Paul Rudd as Scott Lang: A former petty criminal and superhero whose head was preserved in a jar after losing his body in the same process that cured him of the infection[5]
- Wyatt Russell as John Walker / U.S. Agent: An enhanced super-soldier[5]
- Hailee Steinfeld as Kate Bishop: A young woman who trained to become a master archer after being saved by Clint Barton as a child[3]
- Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie: The last survivor of an all-female group of Asgardian warriors[5]
- Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams / Ironheart: A former MIT student and genius inventor from Chicago who created a suit of armor that rivals the one built by Tony Stark / Iron Man[3]
- Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan / Ms. Marvel:
A teenage mutant from Jersey City who wears a magical bangle that unlocks her ability to harness cosmic energy and create hard light constructs. Vellani said Khan was central to the series, with the creators describing her role as "the Frodo of the story" in reference to the character Frodo Baggins from the novel The Lord of the Rings (1954–55).[6] - Todd Williams as Blade: A half-vampire "daywalker" who hunts vampires.[7] In the series, the character has adopted the mantle of Moon Knight.[8][9]
Additionally, Hudson Thames reprises his role as Peter Parker / Spider-Man from previous MCU media.[10] Other characters confirmed to be appearing in the series include survivors Death Dealer,[1] and Xu Wenwu,[11] as well as zombies Clint Barton / Hawkeye, Steve Rogers / Captain America, Emil Blonsky / Abomination, Ava Starr / Ghost, Carol Danvers / Captain Marvel, Ikaris, and Okoye.[1]
Episodes
| No. | Title | Directed by [12] | Written by [12] | Original release date [9] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | TBA | Bryan Andrews | Teleplay by : Zeb Wells Story by : Bryan Andrews and Zeb Wells | September 24, 2025 |
| 2 | TBA | Bryan Andrews | Teleplay by : Zeb Wells Story by : Bryan Andrews and Zeb Wells | September 24, 2025 |
| 3 | TBA | Bryan Andrews | Teleplay by : Zeb Wells Story by : Bryan Andrews and Zeb Wells | September 24, 2025 |
| 4 | TBA | Bryan Andrews | Teleplay by : Zeb Wells Story by : Bryan Andrews and Zeb Wells | September 24, 2025 |
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...? (2021–2024).[13][14][15] The next month, these were said to be in various stages of development and were not expected to debut until at least 2023.[16] A Marvel Zombies animated series was announced during a Disney+ Day event in November 2021,[17] based on the Marvel Comics series of the same name.[18] Bryan Andrews returned as director from What If...? and also served as showrunner,[18][19] with Zeb Wells—a writer for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022) and the films The Marvels (2023) and Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)—set as creator, head writer, and executive producer.[9][17][18][20] The series is a continuation of the zombie-infested alternate timeline that was introduced in the What If...? episode "What If... Zombies?!" (2021), picking up after its ending which saw a zombified Thanos appear with a nearly complete Infinity Gauntlet.[9] Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige and animation head Brad Winderbaum enjoyed that episode so much that they suggested the story be continued,[19] and development began after a positive fan response to the episode.[1]
Originally conceived as a film,[9] Andrews called Marvel Zombie's four episodes a "mini-movie event".[19] Marvel Studios' Feige, Louis D'Esposito, Winderbaum, and Dana Vasquez-Eberhardt served as executive producers alongside Wells and Andrews, with Danielle Costa and Carrie Wassenaar as producers.[12] 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".[21] Also at the panel, Marvel Zombies was announced to be the studio's first animated series to be rated TV-MA so it could feature all the "gore and splatter you want from a zombie show".[22][23]
Writing
Wells wrote the series' teleplays, based on stories he conceived with Andrews.[12] Winderbaum called the series "pretty intense" and compared the level of violence to the Marvel Zombies comics.[24] Andrews noted that the TV-MA rating meant they "don't have to pull punches. We can be a little bit more hardcore."[19] He said the series has humor mixed in with the action, violence, drama, and emotion,[25] and added, "It's not just a zombie story, it's a sweeping adventure—one with themes of hope and despair, and that's what you want from a rich zombie story."[19] Profanity is used sparingly in moments where it "fit", and the creators "tr[ied] not to be gratuitous about it", with Andrews explaining that the violence and intense character beats were what led to the TV-MA rating.[9]
Casting and voice recording
In November 2023, Iman Vellani said she was reprising her MCU role as Kamala Khan / Ms. Marvel in the series; she had already completed her voice work by then.[6] In November 2024, several other actors were revealed to be reprising their MCU roles in the series: 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. Todd Williams was also announced as part of the cast.[3] In February 2025, Winderbaum said Hudson Thames—who voiced Peter Parker / Spider-Man in "What If... Zombies?!" and went on to voice the character in the Disney+ animated series Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man (2025–present)—would also be reprising his role in the series.[10][26]
In August 2025, Paul Rudd, Wyatt Russell, and Tessa Thompson were revealed to be reprising their respective MCU roles as Scott Lang, John Walker / U.S. Agent, and Valkyrie,[2][5] while Todd was reported by ComicBook.com to have been cast as Blade.[7][27][28] The character was marketed as "Blade Knight".[29]
Animation and design
The series features the same cel-shaded animation style as What If...?, with character likenesses based on the actors from the films.[30][31] The animation is "2.5D", with 3D models rendered with 2D lighting to appear like flat drawings.[32] Animation was provided by Stellar Creative Lab, one of the studios that worked on What If...?.[33] Paul Lasaine served as the production designer, after previously working on What If...?.[34]
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.[11][30][35] Both Germain Lussier of Gizmodo and Ray Flook of Bleeding Cool compared the footage to the Mad Max franchise.[11][30] 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.[36] More footage was included in a sizzle reel that was shown at Disney's upfront presentation in May 2025.[37]
Release
Marvel Zombies is scheduled to be released on Disney+ on September 24, 2025,[9] and will consist of four episodes.[38] It was previously scheduled to premiere on October 3.[12] In July 2022, the series had been expected to debut in 2024.[22] In January 2024, Andrews said he was unsure when the series would be released, revealing that the release date had been continually shifting,[39]: 51:00–51:08 and the series was undated at that time.[40] 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".[41][42] Its October 2025 release month was announced in October 2024,[36] and was moved up to its September release date in August 2025.[9] The series will be part of Phase Six of the MCU.[43]
References
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- ^ a b c Lussier, Germain (August 10, 2024). "'Spider-Man' and Shang Chi In 'Marvel Zombies' Topped Off a Killer Marvel Animation Panel at D23". Gizmodo. Archived from the original on August 11, 2024. Retrieved August 12, 2024.
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