Marvel Zombies is an American adult animated television series created by Bryan Andrews and Zeb Wells for the streaming service Disney+, based on the Marvel Comics series of the same name. It is the 16th television series in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) from Marvel Studios and is produced by Marvel Studios Animation. The series is a spin-off of the animated series What If...? (2021–2024), set in the alternate timeline introduced in the first season episode "What If... Zombies?!" (2021). Continuing from that episode, Marvel Zombies follows a group of survivors as they risk their lives fighting superpowered zombies to save the world. Andrews served as showrunner and director, with Wells as head writer.
The series features an ensemble cast including Iman Vellani, Dominique Thorne, Hailee Steinfeld, Kerry Condon, Kenna Ramsey, Todd Williams, Kari Wahlgren, Florence Pugh, David Harbour, Simu Liu, Awkwafina, Randall Park, Feodor Chin, Wyatt Russell, Rama Vallury, Elizabeth Olsen, Hudson Thames, Paul Rudd, Greg Furman, Adam Hugill, Daniel Swain, Sheila Atim, Tessa Thompson, F. Murray Abraham, and Zenobia Shroff. 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 is Marvel Studios Animation's first series to be rated TV-MA.
Marvel Zombies was released on Disney+ on September 24, 2025, and consists of four episodes. It is a part of Phase Six of the MCU. It received generally positive reviews from critics. A second season is in production.
Premise Marvel Zombies is set in the alternate timeline introduced in the What If...? episode "What If... Zombies?!" (2021), where a virus has turned most of the world's population, including the Avengers, into zombies. The series follows a group of survivors as they discover the key to bringing an end to the zombie plague, which leads them to risk their lives traveling across a dystopian landscape and fighting superpowered zombies to save the world.
Cast and characters
Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan / Ms. Marvel:A teenage mutant from Jersey City who wears a magical bangle that unlocks her ability to harness cosmic energy and create hard light constructs. Vellani said Kamala was central to the series, with the creators describing her role as "the Frodo of the story" in reference to the character Frodo Baggins from J. R. R. Tolkien's novel The Lord of the Rings (1954–55). Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams / Ironheart: A former MIT student and genius inventor from Chicago who created a suit of armor that rivals the one built by Tony Stark / Iron Man Hailee Steinfeld as Kate Bishop: A young woman who trained to become a master archer after being saved by Clint Barton as a child Kerry Condon as F.R.I.D.A.Y.: An artificial intelligence (AI) created by Stark Kenna Ramsey as Okoye: A zombie and the former general of the Dora Milaje, Wakanda's all-female special forces Todd Williams as Blade Knight:A half-vampire "daywalker" who hunts vampires and has become the avatar of Khonshu, Moon Knight, following the death of the mantle's previous bearer, Marc Spector. Since becoming the avatar of Khonshu, Blade Knight no longer needs to consume blood. Kari Wahlgren as Melina Vostokoff: A seasoned spy and scientist trained in the Red Room as a Black Widow who is a mother figure to Yelena Belova Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova: A highly skilled spy and assassin who was trained in the Red Room as a Black Widow David Harbour as Alexei Shostakov / Red Guardian: The Soviet super soldier counterpart to Captain America and a father figure to Belova
Simu Liu as Xu Shang-Chi:A highly skilled martial artist who was trained at a young age to be an assassin by his father Xu Wenwu. In the series, Shang-Chi was bitten by a zombie on his right arm, and so he uses the mystical Ten Rings to prevent the infection from spreading to the rest of his body. Awkwafina as Katy Chen: Shang-Chi's best friend and former co-worker as a hotel valet who wields the Ten Rings alongside him Randall Park as Jimmy Woo: A former FBI agent Feodor Chin as Xu Wenwu: Shang-Chi's father who is the leader of the Ten Rings organization and the original wielder of the mystical Ten Rings Wyatt Russell as John Walker: A former captain of the U.S. Army Rangers Rama Vallury as Helmut Zemo: A Sokovian baron and terrorist Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch / Red Queen / Queen of the Dead: A former Avenger turned zombie who can harness chaos magic, engage in telepathy and telekinesis, and alter reality
Hudson Thames as Peter Parker / Spider-Man: A young man who received spider-like abilities after being bitten by a radioactive spider Paul Rudd as Scott Lang / Ant-Man:A former petty criminal and superhero. The character's still-living head was preserved in a jar after he lost his body in the same process that cured him of the infection, as depicted in the What If...? episode "What If... Zombies?!" (2021). Greg Furman as Thor: The Asgardian god of thunder and a founding Avenger, based on the Norse mythological deity of the same name Adam Hugill as Rintrah: A minotaur-like being from R'Vaal who is a former student at Kamar-Taj Daniel Swain as the London Master: A Master of the Mystic Arts Sheila Atim as Sara: A Master of the Mystic Arts Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie: The last surviving member of an all-female group of Asgardian warriors F. Murray Abraham and Piotr Michael as Khonshu: The Egyptian god of the moon. Abraham voices Khonshu in the third episode while Michael voices Khonshu in the fourth episode.
Zenobia Shroff as Muneeba Khan: Kamala's mother
Additionally, Isaac Robinson-Smith, Debra Wilson, and Alison Haislip voice the survivors Rick, Denise, and Sandra, respectively. Other actors in minor voice roles include Dave Boat, Terri Douglas, Robin Atkin Downes, Matthew Yang King, Andrew Morgado, Ashley Peldon, Michael Ralph, Fred Tatasciore, Mike Vaughn, and Matthew Wood.
Characters making non-speaking appearances include survivors Ikaris, Death Dealer, T'Challa / Black Panther, Rocket Raccoon, Groot, and Bruce Banner / Infinity Hulk, as well as the zombies of Clint Barton / Hawkeye, Steve Rogers / Captain America, Emil Blonsky / Abomination, Ava Starr / Ghost, Carol Danvers / Captain Marvel, Namor, Thanos, Hank Pym / Ant-Man, Janet van Dyne / Wasp, and Hope van Dyne / Wasp. The character Uatu / Watcher also makes a non-speaking cameo appearance.
Episodes
Production Development By June 2021, Marvel Studios Animation was developing a slate of at least three more series in addition to their Disney+ series What If...? (2021–2024). The next month, the series were said to be in various stages of development and were not expected to debut until at least 2023. A Marvel Zombies animated series was announced during a Disney+ Day event in November 2021, based on the Marvel Comics series of the same name. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige had previously expressed interest in a live-action Marvel Zombies adaptation in 2013, but was not able to accurately adapt the storyline to film due to the MCU's target demographic. Bryan Andrews returned as director from What If...? and also served as showrunner, with Zeb Wells—a writer for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022) and the films The Marvels (2023) and Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)—set as creator, head writer, and executive producer; he was ultimately credited as co-creator alongside Andrews.
The series returns to the zombie-infested alternate timeline that was introduced in the What If...? episode "What If... Zombies?!" (2021), picking up five years after its ending which saw a zombified Thanos appear with a nearly complete Infinity Gauntlet. Feige and animation head Brad Winderbaum enjoyed that episode so much that they suggested the story be continued, and development began after a positive fan response to the episode. Originally conceived as a film, Andrews called Marvel Zombies four episodes a "mini-movie event". The change from a film to a miniseries was made in part because the creatives wanted to include Peter Parker / Spider-Man, as Marvel Studios is only able to use the character in short-form animation while Sony Pictures controls the character's other film and television rights. 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. 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". 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".
In September 2025, ahead of the series premiere, Winderbaum said that Marvel Studios had plans for a potential second season, which was dependent on a strong audience response to the first season to get greenlit. He also noted that Marvel Zombies was "caught in the middle" of the studio's creative overhaul in late 2023 and was not planned to have additional seasons. In mid-October, Winderbaum stated that audiences had "showed up in a major way" for the series when asked about the viewership. Andrews explained that the creatives had planned story elements for additional characters in the world who did not appear in the first season, such as Bucky Barnes, which he hoped to feature in a potential second season. Winderbaum confirmed in January 2026 that active development on a continuation of Marvel Zombies had begun with Andrews, but said nothing was officially greenlit. That April, Winderbaum confirmed that a second season was in production and he had seen the first animatic. He also said that the season would deliver not just on zombies, but on an "MCU thing that has never really happened before" that he and the rest of the production team were excited about. In August, Seth Kearsley announced that he was working on the second season.
Writing Wells wrote the series' teleplays, based on stories he conceived with Andrews. Winderbaum called the series "pretty intense" and compared the level of violence to the Marvel Zombies comics. Andrews noted that the TV-MA rating meant they "don't have to pull punches. We can be a little bit more hardcore." He said the series has humor mixed in with the action, violence, drama, and emotion, 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." Profanity is used sparingly in moments where it "fit", and the creators "tr[ied] not to be gratuitous about it", with Andrews explaining that the violence and intense character beats were what led to the TV-MA rating.