Following X-Men '97's season 1 finale, What If...? season 3 is likely up next from Marvel Animation. Marvel Zombies updates have been few and far between, but Marvel Studios executive Brad Winderbaum has shared new Eyes of Wakanda and Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man details.
The latter was unveiled during the San Diego Comic-Con in 2022, while news of the Black Panther spin-off came our way last December.
We've previously heard that the animated series will follow brave warriors tasked to travel the world retrieving dangerous Vibranium artefacts throughout Wakandan history. Thanks to ComicBook.com (via Toonado.com), we now have some specifics.
"Eyes of Wakanda is an MCU show," Winderbaum confirmed. "This is the history of Wakanda as told through the War Dogs, and it is some of the best animation we've ever done. Todd Harris is the creator of that one. That's just such a cool show."
None of Marvel Studios' animated offerings have been set on Earth-616 up until now, making this a significant change. The importance of the series to the wider MCU remains to be seen, particularly when there's still no official word on Black Panther 3.
In live-action, the War Dogs are the central intelligence service of Wakanda, tasked with collecting information across the globe to ensure the safety of the kingdom. Noteworthy members include N'Jobu, Zuri, and Nakia.
Elsewhere in the interview, the executive shared high praise for the series formerly known as Spider-Man: Freshman Year.
"I mean, Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is amazing, to say the least," Winderbaum teased. "I think it's really going to surprise people. It is very much like a cut from that Steve Ditko era of the comics. It's Peter Parker back in high school just trying to make it work, take care of his aunt, completely broke, and having to be a superhero."
"It's so essentially Spider-Man, and what Jeff Trammell, the creator of that show, did, which I think people are going to love, is he built this ensemble of characters around Peter that you fall in love with."
"Similarly, just because it's long-form storytelling, as those relationships brew when the stakes rise in that first season, things feel really tragic and dangerous, and pretty incredible," he adds. "So, I love that show."
That sounds like exactly what fans have been hoping to see from the web-slinger on screen and, as the Marvel Animation boss suggests, brings Spidey more in line with his comic book counterpart (which hasn't always been the case in the MCU).
Unfortunately, neither Eyes of Wakanda nor Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man have confirmed premiere windows as we write this.