‘Zombies’ renewed for Season 2 as Marvel Studios’ EP teases major update: ‘The first episode…’
'Marvel Zombies' is officially returning, this time with a copious dose of chaos and horror. The news was confirmed by Marvel Studios' head of streaming, television, and animation, Brad Winderbaum. Earlier this Monday, the head honcho was a surprise guest on The Escape Pod podcast, where he shed light on his initial reaction to the new season after an impressive Season 1. It is worth noting that Winderbaum's comments about the sophomore season all but seal the deal that 'Zombies' Season 2 is officially in the works, even before Marvel formally announces the new installment. The update comes as major news amid the 'Daredevil: Born Again' Season 2 and 'The Punisher: One Last Kill' buzz.
"I don't think it's a spoiler, but I saw the first animatic of the first episode of 'Marvel Zombies' season 2 this morning," Winderbaum said on the podcast. "It was crazy, I can't say anything about it, but it delivers not just on like zombies, but also on like an MCU thing that has never really happened before that we're very excited to do." Season 1 consisted of four episodes. Created by Bryan Andrews and Zeb Wells, the series is a spin-off of the animated series 'What If...?', set in the alternate timeline introduced in the first season episode 'What If... Zombies?!' (2021). Picking up from the episode, the series follows a group of survivors as they risk their lives to fight superpowered zombies and save the world. Andrews served as showrunner and director, with Wells as head writer.
Season 1 opened to mixed reviews from critics. Per Rotten Tomatoes, the critics' consensus reads, "Diverting enough to satisfy MCU fans, and wickedly cruel enough to entice horror aficionados, Marvel Zombies' sheer entertainment makes up for what it lacks in originality." At the time of writing, there is no word on the potential release date for Season 2 or which characters are in the spotlight. It featured a string of returning MCU stars lending their voices, including Elizabeth Olsen as The Scarlet Witch, Hailee Steinfeld as Kate Bishop, and Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova.
Also, David Harbour features as Alexei Shostakov, Iman Vellani as Ms. Marvel, and Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie. The new season is likely to introduce more survivors and the wider ramifications of the virus. It also remains to be seen whether it borrows from comic storylines in which the infection spreads to more characters. For now, much of the plotline is pure speculation, but Winderbaum's comments surely give a sense of hype for the new season.
