This year’s Disney+ Day was surprisingly quiet on the Star Wars front, aside from a brief peek at the Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi series. However, it was a very busy day for fans of Marvel Studios, both in terms of live-action series and some very exciting animated projects.
Several clips and images that debuted during the event offered a look at what’s in Marvel’s future on Disney+.
Moon Knight
One of the most anticipated Marvel Studios shows is Moon Knight, which features Oscar Isaac in the lead as Marc Spector and his white-clad alter ego.
In a clip that debuted on Disney+ Day, Marc suffers from dissociative identity disorder like his comic book counterpart, and his multiple personalities are not always on the same page. He has also been chosen by Khonshu, the Egyptian God of the moon, to be his “fist,” or champion, if you prefer.
Moon Knight’s familiar, stark-white outfit was only visible from a distance, but the footage gave off Daredevil vibes. And that’s a good thing.
She-Hulk
Next up is She-Hulk, a half-hour comedy series starring Orphan Black‘s Tatiana Maslany as Jennifer Walters, the cousin of Bruce Banner/Hulk (Mark Ruffalo). The preview hid the full reveal of Jennifer as She-Hulk, but the short clips of her transformed state suggest that she will resemble her classic persona.
The thing that separates Jennifer from her cousin in the comics is that she retains her intellect and personality as She-Hulk.
In the clip, we also see Jennifer with Bruce, both as the Smart Hulk and as himself, while he explains how the transformations are triggered. That’s how they are triggered for Bruce, that is.
Jennifer is her own kind of Hulk, though, and the only Hulk who can continue her legal career while in her green-skinned form. In the comics, Jennifer gains her powers after Bruce gives her an emergency blood transfusion to save her life following a botched assassination attempt. Presumably, something similar will unfold in the MCU version.
Secret Invasion
The first look at Secret Invasion didn’t offer as much to go on: It was simply a single image of Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury, minus his eye patch and looking worse for the wear compared to the last time he was seen in Spider-Man: Far From Home.
In this series, Fury and his Skrull ally, Talos (Ben Mendelsohn), are forced to contend with a full-scale Skrull invasion that has already occurred. Given the Skrull’s shape-shifting abilities, we can’t even be sure that we’re looking at the real Nick Fury.
Ms. Marvel
The Ms. Marvel series appears to be the one furthest along, since it had enough footage to give fans an idea of what to expect. Iman Vellani stars as Kamala Khan, a hero-worshipping teenager who is a big fan of Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel.
Kamala is also a girl of Pakistani decent and a practicing Muslim, both of which complicate her life even before she receives the powers that will change her life forever and give her a new code name: Ms. Marvel.
Echo and Agatha: House of Harkness
There were two new, live-action series officially announced at the event: Echo and Agatha: House of Harkness.
Echo will star Alaqua Cox as Maya Lopez, a young woman with an incredible gift that allows her to replicate any physical action after seeing it once. She is also one of Marvel’s few deaf heroines, but only the second to join the MCU. She will make her official debut in the Hawkeye series, which will premiere on Disney+ on November 24.
Agatha: House of Harkness is a spinoff from WandaVision starring Kathryn Hahn as her scene-stealing character, Agatha Harkness. While Agatha was WandaVision‘s villain, she will become the second Marvel bad guy to headline a show after Loki.
Details about House of Harkness are scarce, but it will likely explore her past and present.
Animated projects
On the animated front, Disney+ officially announced that a new season of Marvel’s What If…? is in production. And that’s just the beginning of what’s to come. There is also a Marvel Zombies animated series that will take place in an alternate world where a new generation of heroes must find a way to survive. Disney+ didn’t specify if it is a What If…? spinoff or based on the Marvel Zombies comic book.
An in-continuity MCU Spider-Man animated series was also announced. Spider-Man: Freshman Year will pick up with Peter Parker in his first year as Spidey before he met Tony Stark in Captain America: Civil War. According to Disney+, it will pay tribute to the classic Spider-Man comics. But there’s no word on whether Tom Holland will reprise his role for the series.
Finally, X-Men fans have a reason to be very happy. The long-rumored revival of X-Men: The Animated Series is real. X-Men ’97 will pick up where the original series left off. The announcement came with a cheeky image that pays homage to a popular X-Men meme. Instead of mooning over a pic of Jean Grey, Wolverine is holding a picture of X-Men ’97’s logo with a 2023 release window.
Many of the surviving cast members will take part in the series, including Cal Dodd, Lenore Zann, George Buza, Alison Sealy-Smith, Chris Potter, Catherine Disher, Adrian Hough, and Christopher Britton. But not all of them will reprise their iconic roles. The new cast members include Jennifer Hale, Anniwaa Buachie, Ray Chase, Matthew Waterson, JP Karliak, Holly Chou, Jeff Bennett, and A.J. LoCascio.
This project also marks the first X-Men adaptation since Disney purchased the assets of 20th Century Fox in 2019. It likely won’t be the last.
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