Back in 2005, The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman put a superhero twist on the idea of zombie outbreaks with the five issue limited series Marvel Zombies. That series became incredibly popular and has gotten a ton of sequels and spin-offs over the years. There was a nod to it in one of the illusions on display in Spider-Man: Far from Home, and then the Marvel Zombies concept got an entire episode of Marvel’s animated Disney+ series What If…? devoted to it. As it turns out, that episode of What If…? was only the beginning. As part of today’s Disney+ Day event, it was announced that Marvel Zombies is getting its own animated series. We have a whole lot more animated, zombified superhero action to look forward to.
Disney+ didn’t give any further information on the Marvel Zombies show, so for now we don’t know when it’s going to premiere, how many episodes have been ordered, or who’s working on the show. But they said Marvel Zombies is “coming soon”, so further information should be on the way.
Kirkman’s original Marvel Zombies limited series began when
an unknown superhero from another dimension, brought by the “Hunger”, crash lands before infecting the Avengers, X-Men, Fantastic Four and almost all other superheroes. The infection spreads by contact with the blood of the victim, usually through a bite by an infected individual. The zombie super heroes largely retain their intellect, personality and super powers, and are able to function regardless of damage to their brain, although they are consistently driven by the “Hunger” for human flesh.
The outbreak in the What If…? Zombies?! episode starts when
Hank Pym enters the Quantum Realm to retrieve his long-lost wife Janet van Dyne, but she has been infected with a quantum virus that has turned her into a zombie. She infects Pym before both return to his lab, attacking Scott Lang while their daughter, Hope van Dyne, escapes. Within 24 hours, the virus spreads across the Northwestern United States. The Avengers respond, but are infected themselves and turn the virus into a worldwide zombie apocalypse.
Marvel Zombies was just one of many Marvel projects that were discussed over the course of Disney+ Day. We have information on several of them at THIS LINK.