The series features an ensemble cast including Awkwafina, David Harbour, Simu Liu, Elizabeth Olsen, Randall Park, Florence Pugh, Hailee Steinfeld, 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 premiere on Disney+ on October 3, 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), and follows a group of survivors who fight against former heroes and villains that have been turned into zombies.[1]
Simu Liu as Xu Shang-Chi: A skilled martial artist who was trained at a young age to be an assassin by his father Wenwu.[2] 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.[3]
Andrews called the series' four episodes a "mini-movie event".[14] 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.[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".[17] 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".[18][19]
Writing
Wells wrote the series' teleplays, based on stories he conceived with Andrews.[7] Winderbaum called the series "pretty intense" and compared the level of violence to the Marvel Zombies comics.[20] Andrews noted that the TV-MA rating meant they "don't have to pull punches. We can be a little bit more hardcore."[14] He said the series has humor mixed in with the action, violence, drama, and emotion,[21] 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."[14]
The series features the same cel-shaded animation style as What If...?, with character likenesses based on the actors from the films.[22][23] The animation is "2.5D", with 3D models rendered with 2D lighting to appear like flat drawings.[24] Animation was provided by Stellar Creative Lab, one of the studios that worked on What If...?.[25]
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.[6][22][26] 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.[27]
Release
Marvel Zombies is scheduled to premiere on Disney+ on October 3, 2025,[7] and will consist of four episodes.[28] In July 2022, the series had been expected to debut in 2024.[18] In January 2024, Andrews said he was unsure when the series would be released, revealing that the release date had been continually shifting,[29]: 51:00–51:08 and the series was undated at that time.[30] 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";[31][32] its October 2025 release month was announced that October.[27] The series will be part of Phase Six of the MCU.[33]
^Lee, Chris (January 13, 2023). "Inside the VFX Union Brewing in Hollywood". Vulture. Archived from the original on January 25, 2023. Retrieved February 1, 2023. Alonso heads up Marvel's dedicated "mini-studio," Marvel Studios Animation, which is behind such shows as What If ...? [...] and the summer 2022 series of Vin Diesel–voiced original shorts, I Am Groot.
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