We all know that 2025 is going to be a big year for the theme parks, with plenty of plans chugging full steam ahead over at both of Disney’s US theme parks, on the high seas, and abroad. But recently, Disney has given fans a sneak peak at the upcoming animation projects coming out of Marvel Studios this year, with three new animated series coming to Disney+ for streaming.
The three shows – Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, Eyes of Wakanda, and Marvel Zombies – will come out at various points throughout the year, making sure that Marvel fans are eating good all year long!
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man
Head writer Jeff Trammell brings fans a new generation of spider story with Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, which follows the adventures of Peter Parker (voiced by Hudson Thames) on his way to becoming a hero. With a unique story and a beautiful animation style that pays tribute to the superhero’s comic book origins, this show is set to premier January 29th, on Disney+.
“We have the privilege of following the movies and shows, so we pay homage to them as well as the comics,” Trammell said. “We build on things we’ve seen before but present them in new ways. We use those expectations to our advantage and turn things away from where you might expect. I’m excited for people to see new twists on classic characters, and I’m also excited to introduce characters that aren’t normally featured in Spider-Man stories.”
Trammell, who has been an avid reader of Marvel comics since he was a young child, also made the call to cast Colman Domingo as Norman Osborn, the “self-made, ruthless industrialist” who also plays the role of Peter’s mentor in the new series.
“The character is such a rich and complicated mentor for Peter, so we really needed an actor who could deliver many different dimensions,” said Brad Winderbaum, Head of Marvel Television and Marvel Animation, “You can see in his work that he’s so multifaceted, so I can’t wait for the world to see his version of Norman.”
In addition to Thames and Domingo, the series is set to include talent like Eugene Byrd, Grace Song, Zeno Robinson, Hugh Dancy, and Charlie Cox reprising his role as Daredevil.
Winderbaum added, “There’s a reason why we changed the title to Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. It’s about the neighborhood. It’s an ensemble show. Every character is well-defined and has amazing arcs, from Peter and Nico to Lonnie and Pearl.”
Eyes of Wakanda
Premiering August 6th on Disney+, this series is going to be comprised of four episodes, and tells the tale of Wakandan warriors throughout history.
“This has been a long time coming,” showrunner Todd Harris said. “The story has been stewing for a long time in my head. I’m a big believer in what Wakanda represents to mankind as a place that’s untethered by expansion. It has drawn a line — a line it won’t cross and it won’t let anybody else cross.”
The story follows a group of Wakandan heroes, the Hatut Zaraze, as they travel across the globe to retrieve Vibranium from Wakanda’s enemies. These dangerous missions are rife with peril and packed with action, as the Hatut Zaraze work fearlessly to protect Wakanda.
Harris has stated that animation is the perfect medium for a story like this to be told elegantly and effectively; “Animation is the ultimate equalizer of locations,” he said “Egypt costs just as much as New York City, and the moon costs just as much as Ohio. Filming around the globe has inherent limitations that we just don’t have in animation. That freedom allowed us to re-imagine an idealized version of an era that’s unaffected by human history.”
Eyes of Wakanda will feature the voice talents of Winnie Harlow, Cress Williams, Patricia Belcher, Larry Herron, Adam Gold, Lynn Whitefield, and countless more, including Disney legend Anika Noni Rose, who many know from her headliner role as Princess Tiana in the 2009 Disney Film The Princess and the Frog.
Marvel Zombies
Back in season one of “What If…?”, fans were given a brief glimpse into a world where the MCU films Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018) and Avengers: Infinity War (2018) ended very differently, resulting in a zombie apocalypse that left a handful of surviving heroes in a race to find the cure.
That idea has now been expanded on for this series, starting October 3rd on Disney+.
Brad and Kevin loved the What If…? episode so much. They were like, ‘We need more zombies!’” showrunner Bryan Andrews recalled. “They said, ‘Let’s do a sequel to that episode — but let’s do four episodes, like a mini-movie event.’ So, we’re upping the ante.”
The four-episode mini-series will be rated TV-MA, so it will be darker and more graphic than most of its Marvel counterparts. “We don’t have to pull punches,” Andrews said, regarding the show’s rating. “We can be a little bit more hardcore. We go for the throat — no pun intended. It’s pretty wild, pretty out there.”
Marvel Zombies features the voices of MCU stars Awkwafina, David Harbour, Simu Liu, Elizabeth Olsen, Randall Park, Florence Pugh, Hailee Steinfeld, Dominique Thorne, and Iman Vellani. “An old favorite also shows up: Zombie Cap makes an appearance,” Andrews teased. “He has quite a scuffle with another main character, and I think fans will love it.”
With a new golden age of animation on our hands, Marvel Studios is really looking to push the envelope and embrace unconventional artistic styles that lend an extra dimension to the story, rather than producing standardized animation in standardized styles for the sake of a safe call. These unique looks and animation tricks that add depth to the visuals and the overall reception of the story are an invaluable tool used by conceptual artists, show-runners, and animators alike to truly impart unique and impactful experiences that change the way audiences, companies, and even the artists themselves look at the medium of animation.
“Everybody who works on these shows is so passionate and works so hard,” Winderbaum said. “To feel so much love from Marvel fans — before any of these shows is even out— is really affirming.”
With so much to look forward to in 2025, Marvel Studios certainly has a lot of heavy-hitters on their hands, with three bombshell shows set to debut across this calendar year. With the first coming out this month, the hype is definitely there, no matter which one you’re most looking forward to!
In the meantime, even if you have to wait for your fave, you can check out the trailer for Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man below, originally posted on the official Marvel YouTube channel:
