Those awaiting several trailers from Marvel’s animation panel at Comic-Con were disappointed this afternoon; of all the various shows in development, the only trailer that arrived was the just-released “I Am Groot,” starring Vin Diesel’s “Guardians of The Galaxy” character.
Still, fans looking for details about their favorite upcoming animated Marvel series did receive some new information. Let’s start with what’s coming soonest (aside from “I Am Groot” in August, which we already covered here). “What If…?” season two has now been dated… sort of. Marvel revealed the series will receive a release date sometime in early 2023, presumably January, so as not to conflict or take away from “Ant-Man Quantumania” in February. The company also announced a third season of “What If…?” is currently being developed too. What to expect from “What If…?” season two?
Captain Carter (Hayley Atwell) will return and was shown with Black Widow (Lake Bell) and Steve Rodgers in the Iron Man suit from season one. The series will also include a medieval episode taking place in 1602; an episode where characters from “Shang-Chi” fight Odin; a racing episode with Valkyrie and Iron Man on Sakaar from “Thor: Ragnorak,” and more. (some details via Variety).
Arriving in the fall of 2023 will be “X-Men ’97,” which picks up where the 1990s X-Men series left off, which ran from 1992 to 1997 on Fox Kids Network (now that Disney owns Fox, it’s all fair game to them). The series will include the original “X-Men” heroes, but they will be joined by new characters like Sunspot, Cable, Bishop, and Nightcrawler. Magneto will also lead the team. A second season was also announced.
“Spider-Man: Freshman Year” won’t come to Disney+ in 2024, but Marvel was generous with its reveals, illustrating a design influenced by the great Steve Ditko with Spider-Man in his nascent teen years. Executive producer Jeff Trammell teased the show with the cast of characters—Doctor Strange, Daredevil, voiced by Charlie Cox, and villains like Doctor Octopus, The Rhino, Scorpion, Speed Demon, and Tarantula. A second season was also announced, aptly titled “Spider-Man: Sophomore Year.”
The animated series “Marvel Zombies” also won’t arrive until 2024, and it’s been confirmed as a direct spin-off from the episodes introduced non “What If…?” Directed by executive producer Bryan Andrews and written by executive producer Zeb Wells, they revealed that “Marvel Zombies” will be rated TV-MA, a mature rating, not necessarily meant for kids. Additional heroes to be seen on the show will be Yelena from “Black Widow,” Katie (played by Awkwafina) from “Shang-Chi,” Kate Bishop, Red Guardian from “Black Widow,” Jimmy Woo from “WandaVision,” Death Dealer from “Shang-Chi,” Shang-Chi himself, and Ms. Marvel.