With Spider-man: Freshman Year and Much More X-men ’97, Marvel is Fully Committing to Animation!
Even though Marvel’s live-action projects are a large part of what is getting people excited for this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, it was made abundantly clear during the studio’s Hall H showcase today that animation is going to play a significant role in the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
With Spider-man: Freshman Year and Much More X-men ’97, Marvel is Fully Committing to Animation!
Marvel Studios’ head of streaming, TV and animation Brad Winderbaum and head of visual development Ryan Meinerding took the stage in Hall H to discuss new details about Spider-Man: Freshman Year, X-Men ’97, Marvel Zombies, and upcoming seasons of What If…? in addition to announcing their new series, “I Am Groot.”
What If…second ?’s and newly announced third seasons will once again center on the Watcher (Geoffrey Wright) as he gazes across the multiverse upon the myriad various worlds that now make up the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
This was also the case with the show’s first season. Given how the Watcher became actively involved in the lives of individuals in the first season of What If…?, it is likely that the rules will become a little bit different as the series goes on and continues to reinterpret crucial scenes from earlier Marvel Cinematic Universe films.
According to a press release, following the premiere of What If…? season 2 in early 2023, there is a possibility that the universe of the original X-Men animated series will technically become a part of the MCU as X-Men ’97 debuts and explores a number of “new stories in the iconic ’90s timeline of the original series.”
X-Men ’97 has already been renewed for a second season, which doesn’t come as much of a surprise as the news that What If…? has been renewed for a second season. This is due to the series’ nostalgic appeal as well as the coming debut of the mutants in Marvel’s movies.
The news that Marvel’s upcoming animated Spider-Man: Freshman Year series will seemingly follow Peter Parker through his first few years (plural) of “becoming Spider-Man in the MCU” is similarly unsurprising but still intriguing.
The series will be executive produced by Jeff Trammell and will be produced by Marvel.
As a result of the fact that Peter’s path to becoming a full-fledged Avenger has already been pretty well documented in Marvel’s previous live-action movies, Freshman and Sophomore Year are probably set in alternate realities in which significant details play out in drastically different and fascinating ways.
Spider-Man: Freshman It is anticipated that Year will debut on Disney Plus sometime in 2024.