Much has been said about Marvel Animation's plans for more Marvel Zombies, and Brad Winderbaum, the Head of Streaming, Television and Animation at Marvel Studios, has now confirmed that Season 2 is officially moving forward.
Talking on The Escape Pod, the executive confirmed that he's already watched an animatic for the second season, suggesting that scripts are written and work on the TV-MA series is already well underway.
"I don't think this is a spoiler, but I saw the first animatic of the first episode of Marvel Zombies season 2 this morning. It was crazy," Winderbaum teased. "I can't say anything about it, but it delivers not just on zombies, but also on an MCU thing that has never really happened before that we're very excited to do."
That's an intriguing hint about what's to come, and it will be interesting to see how Marvel Animation pushes the boundaries when Marvel Zombies returns to our screens. Season 1 certainly took some big swings, but could only do so much when it was planned as a feature and split into four episodes somewhere along the way.
Marvel Zombies wrapped up on a grim, somewhat confusing note. The Scarlet Witch utilised the power of Infinity Hulk and Ms. Marvel to reshape reality, leaving Kamala Khan trapped in a world that, while seemingly normal on the surface, is now ruled by the undead.
The ending did leave the door open to telling more stories in this alternate reality, as Ironheart was revealed to be alive and attempting to get through to her best friend...who we assume is supposed to be sitting there in a trance, surrounded by zombies. Again, it was a little ambiguous.
While Marvel Zombies didn't receive the warmest reception—it has a so-so 66% on Rotten Tomatoes and 69% on the Popcornmeter—it has since been reported that it was a hit for Marvel Animation in terms of streaming viewership.
"We always knew it was going to be this. The question was how much to show at the end of the bleakness," director Bryan Andrews previously said of the Marvel Zombies finale. "At first, we had a version that was really subtle, but when we were putting it up on reels and getting editor feedback, they said, 'Hey, maybe go for it a little bit more, so people feel more of a gut punch.'"
"I was totally cool with that, but I was very protective of not making it feel too overdone or too cliffhanger-y. I think we found the perfect balance," he continued. "There’s a bleakness to it, and yes, we know what happens after. So if enough people watch this and yell loudly enough, maybe we get to do the next one."
In Marvel Zombies, after the Avengers are overtaken by a zombie plague, a desperate group of survivors discovers the key to bringing an end to the super-powered undead, racing across a dystopian landscape and risking life and limb to save their world.
The series features the voices of Elizabeth Olsen (Scarlet Witch), Paul Rudd (Ant-Man), Florence Pugh (Yelena Belova), David Harbour (Red Guardian), Tessa Thompson (Valkyrie), Simu Liu (Shang-Chi), Awkwafina (Katy), Hailee Steinfeld (Kate Bishop), Wyatt Russell (U.S. Agent), Randall Park (Jimmy Woo), Iman Vellani (Ms. Marvel) and Dominique Thorne (Ironheart), among others.
All episodes of Marvel Zombies are now streaming on Disney+.