Disney Reportedly Pulls Marvel's First Horror Release

With Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man/Tony Stark and Chris Evans’ Captain America/Steve Rogers exiting the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), the franchise has entered a new phase known as the Multiverse Saga.

Related: Marvel Poised To Make Grand Return at SDCC 2024: Report

Facing worries about “superhero fatigue” and the departure of Jonathan Majors, who played Kang the Conqueror, Marvel Studios is set to once again reshape the Marvel universe and movie landscape in the near future.

With Majors no longer part of Marvel Studios and President Kevin Feige considering a shift from the Multiverse Saga to a (likely) Mutant Saga featuring X-Men characters, Avengers 5 (previously titled Avengers: The Kang Dynasty) is reportedly in the works on a smaller scale than previous installments.

Following this will be Avengers 6, Avengers: Secret Wars, which will close the Multiverse era of the MCU. Before these events, the upcoming Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) will integrate the Fox X-Men universe into the MCU.

Related: Disney Plans To Replace Avengers With Whole New Team of Heroes: Report

Now, Disney’s Marvel Studios is looking to put out their first official horror genre project, after dipping their toes in with the somewhat horror-inspired Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) by director Sam Raimi.

What Is Marvel’s First Real Horror Venture?

Marvel Zombies is an upcoming four-episode miniseries created by Zeb Wells for Disney+ (Disney Plus), based on the Marvel Comics series of the same name. Produced by Marvel Studios Animation, it explores an alternate timeline from the What If…? (2021) episode What If… Zombies?!, where survivors battle zombified former heroes and villains.

Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel is set to star in a rather central role, fresh off her stint in The Marvels (2023) and her own Disney+ series Ms. Marvel (2022). It has the potential to bring back (a zombified) Elizabeth Olsen as Scarlet Witch/Wanda Maximoff alongside other possible zombie hero variants like Captain Marvel/Carol Danvers (Brie Larson).

Zeb Wells serves as head writer for the new animated series, with Bryan Andrews directing.

According to known Hollywood and Marvel insider source Alex Perez, however, the much-anticipated Zombies series is not even close to being ready for release, as Perez responds to user @ElectroJ11 on X/Twitter, noting that Marvel is likely to pull the anticipated release of 2024 and delay the project further:

We are closer to Marvel Zombies releasing than we were last year that’s for sure 😭

But in all seriousness, I don’t see Zombies releasing this year. Eyes of Wakanda has the highest chance of releasing this year based on what I’m hearing, followed by YFNB (Your Friendly Neighborhood) Spider-Man.

We are closer to Marvel Zombies releasing than we were last year that’s for sure 😭

But in all seriousness, I don’t see Zombies releasing this year. Eyes of Wakanda has the highest chance of releasing this year based on what I’m hearing, followed by YFNB Spider-Man. https://t.co/LHikXzNMjS

— Alex P. (@AlexFromCC) June 19, 2024

The original “Marvel Zombies” is a popular comic book series published by Marvel Comics, set in an alternate universe (Earth-2149) where Marvel superheroes and villains are infected by a zombie plague, turning them into flesh-eating zombies with their superpowers intact.

First introduced in “Ultimate Fantastic Four” #21-23 (2005) and expanded into a standalone series by Robert Kirkman with art by Sean Phillips and covers by Arthur Suydam, the storyline follows infected heroes like Spider-Man, Captain America, and Wolverine as they grapple with their hunger and dwindling humanity, alongside the efforts of uninfected characters to survive.

The series explores themes of survival and heroism in extreme circumstances, gaining a dedicated fanbase for its unique blend of horror and action.

Are you going to be watching Marvel Zombies? Share your thoughts on Marvel’s first horror project with us in the comments below!