[ad_1]
The Big Picture
-
X-Men ’97
Season 2 reveals Wolverine’s return and new characters like Sabertooth and Lady Deathstrike. -
What If…?
Season 3 introduces a mech-based Avengers team, including Captain America and Shang-Chi. -
Eyes of Wakanda
expands Black Panther lore with glowing fists and a diverse warrior cast fighting for truth and justice.
Marvel Studios had a big presence at the D23 Expo this year, but Saturday was all about Marvel Animation. Following the widespread acclaim of X-Men ’97, Marvel Animation has become a major player in Disney’s entertainment zeitgeist. It’s clear that Disney+ is going to be a substantial hub for animated Marvel content, and the presentation during the “Marvel Animation Sneak Peek” panel at the D23 Expo certainly backs that up.
In addition to an early look at X-Men ’97 Season 2, the panel also showcased some other significant shows in the works. This includes the throwback Spidey series Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, the anthology-based Black Panther spin-off Eyes of Wakanda, and the third and final season of What If…? Want all the details for everything that was revealed? Read below to find out.
‘X-Men ’97’ Season 2
The showcase opened with a brief sizzle reel of everything set to come in the next year and a half. This includes a look at X-Men ’97 Season 2, which, according to Marvel Animation exec Brad Winderbaum, is still very early in development. Still, the shots they did show featured quite a bit of new info, such as the return of Wolverine (Cal Dodd) after his injuries in Season 1. The footage also showed a sneak peek of some of the new characters joining Season 2, including Sabertooth, Lady Deathstrike, and Polaris. Stars Cal Dodd and Lenore Zann also took to the stage to tease what’s next for Wolverine and Rogue, with Wolverine teaming up with Bishop again and Rogue embarking on a heroe’s journey.
‘What If…?’ Season 3
Next up is What If…?, which will be going into its third and final season. The show that was the flagship title for Marvel Animation, the next season is getting bigger and better than ever before. We mean that literally, as one of the episodes follows an arc titled “Go-Avenger: Heroes of Gamma War”, which will see your favorite heroes unite to pilot their own Gundam-style mech suits. We see a new mech-based Avengers team take on some Gamma-iradiated enemies, with the line-up including Captain America (Anthony Mackie), Red Guardian (David Harbour), Photon (Teyonah Parris), Moon Knight (Oscar Isaac), and Shang-Chi (Simu Liu).
‘Eyes of Wakanda’
A brand-new animated anthology series that will be filling the void left behind by What If…?‘s departure is Eyes of Wakanda. As the title implies, this all-new series will expand the lore and universe of the Black Panther’s home nation of Wakanda. Primarily, the show will focus on the history of Wakanda and how they intersect with the wider MCU. More specifically, Todd Harris teased that one of the characters has “a glowing fist”, teasing that Iron Fist may be returning to the MCU after a long hiatus.
An exclusive clip introduces us to Noni, who’s teased as being Wakanda’s version of a disrupter. She runs along a ship fighting warriors from different cultures, telling them, “He is no god — are you willing to die for an imposter?” Things get even more dire when one of the bad guys magically opens a fault with a lion mask and magic spear. They teased that the art style for the show took inspiration from contemporary artist Ernie Barnes and illustrator Dean Cornwell, noting that people enjoy the hand-drawn, painterly feel of animation that’s done by hand. That definitely shines through in the clip we saw, too.
‘Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man’
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man got some huge updates, including the news that Colman Domingo will be playing Norman Osborn alongside Hudson Thames‘ Peter Parker. Domingo has wanted to play a Marvel villain for awhile now and is excited to follow in Willem Dafoe’s footsteps. They teased a mentor dynamic between him and Peter Parker that operates almost like a What If…? scenario to the MCU version of things where Tony Stark was the one helping him become a hero. Though Norman’s intentions are good, there’s a more ominous side to him that makes Peter a bit less trusting. Other characters that were teased include Lonnie Lincoln, Dr. Curtis Connors, Amadeus Cho, and Nico Minoru.
Speaking of Nico, we got a first look at her in an exclusive clip that showed a horned symbiote coming down from the sky at Peter’s high school. Aunt May (who looks most like the Marisa Tomei version of the character) attempts to save Peter, but it’s not until Doctor Strange appears that it looks like they have a fighting chance. While Strange uses his powers, Peter uses his instincts by throwing a brick at the monster to protect Nico — and gets bit by a spider in the process. We then see a cool comic book-style sequence of Peter’s transformation and hear an updated version of the classic Spider-Man theme song.
A few months later, we see Peter trying to stop some bad guys with speed boots on the street. He’s struggling but gets some help in the form of Norman, who sees his predicament being streamed. Norman acts as his man in the chair, strategizing how to use his web to create a slingshot to trap and tie the bad guys together.
‘Marvel Zombies’
We got some news about Marvel Zombies, including the fact that it will be rated TV-MA and act as a four-episode sequel of sorts to the episode the concept was introduced in back in What If…? Season 1. An exclusive clip was shown, starting out in a chaotic, apocalyptic world. Shang-Chi and Katy are stuck in the middle of it trying to save civilians though Wenwu is telling them to flee. When things get really bad, Wenwu gives Shang-Chi his rings and tells him to remember what his mother taught him before sacrificing himself to the zombies. We then fast-forward five years later with Shang-Chi and Katy singing some journey in the car while being chased by Skrulls on motorcycles in a Mad Max-style sequence, with Shang-Chi using the rings to defeat them.
Stay tuned to Collider throughout the weekend for more from D23.
[ad_2]
Source link