MARVEL ZOMBIES Returns With Three Specials Featuring Winter Soldier, Moon Knight, and a Mystery Guardian
The undead side of the MCU is crawling back out of the grave, and Marvel is going bigger, bloodier, and weirder this time around.
During Marvel Television’s NYCC panel, it was revealed that Marvel Zombies will continue with three new animated specials, but this won’t be a straight second season or a simple follow-up to the What If…? spin-off.
Instead, Marvel is spreading the chaos across three separate specials, each centered on a different corner of the Marvel Universe.
The first special, Marvel Zombies: The Winter Soldier, is set to arrive on Disney+ around Halloween 2027. That one will throw Bucky Barnes into the middle of the flesh-eating madness, which already sounds like a brutal fit for the character.
A former assassin with a metal arm versus hordes of infected superheroes? Yeah, that could get nasty in all the right ways.
After that, the undead outbreak heads into supernatural territory with Marvel Zombies: The Fist of Khonshu in 2028.
That title immediately raises some fun questions, especially after the last Marvel Zombies story introduced Kamala Khan fighting alongside Blade Knight, a version of the vampire hunter who had taken on the mantle of Khonshu’s warrior.
Mahershala Ali didn’t voice the character, but his likeness was used, which makes things interesting since the live-action Blade movie is pretty much dead at this point.
This could mean we’ll see Blade Knight return in some form, or maybe Marvel uses the special to bring Oscar Isaac back as Marc Spector, Steven Grant, and Jake Lockley.
Either way, Moon Knight in a zombie-infested Marvel universe is the kind of twisted, comic-book madness that animation is perfect for.
The third special, Marvel Zombies: The Last Guardian, is coming in 2029, and Marvel is keeping the identity of that Guardian under wraps.
Could it be Chris Pratt returning as Star-Lord? Could it be Rocket, Nebula, Groot, Drax, Mantis, or someone else entirely?
Whoever it is, tossing one of the Guardians of the Galaxy into this kind of horror scenario has a lot of potential for some darkly funny, gross, and chaotic sci-fi fun.
Brad Winderbaum talked about the upcoming specials and confirmed that Brian Andrews is coming back to continue playing in this undead sandbox.
“Brian Andrews, the director of Marvel Zombies, who’s also directed some of my favorite episodes of What If, is back for three more Marvel Zombies.”
Winderbaum also teased that The Winter Soldier special has “some real big surprises” in it, which should make Marvel fans start guessing who else might be showing up as either survivors, zombies, or something much worse.
He added: “I won’t tell you who The Last Guardian is, but it’s very, very exciting. We’re about halfway through Animatics. It’s like a gory, blood-splattery, but also quite beautiful show that I cannot believe Disney Plus lets us make.”
That’s the kind of quote that makes these specials sound like Marvel is actually leaning into the bloody insanity of the concept.
Marvel Zombies works best when it goes all-in on the horror, the superhero carnage, and the absurdity of watching beloved MCU characters become monsters.
A Winter Soldier survival story, a Moon Knight horror special, and a mystery Guardian fighting through the end of the world sounds like a pretty awesome way to keep this animated Marvel universe alive, or undead, depending on how you want to look at it.
Now Marvel just needs to find a way to sneak Michael Jackson’s Thriller into The Last Guardian, because come on, this is the moment.