Marvel Studios has unveiled its next group of programming, an even balance between live-action and animated offerings. In total, the Kevin Feige-led outfit announced five new shows for the streaming service: two live-action offerings from Marvel Studios proper, and three from Marvel Studios Animation, the new arm of the company led by Marvel veteran Brad Winderbaum.
Two of the projects announced we had previously learned of. Echo (Alaqua Cox) is receiving her own self-titled series spinning out of the events of Hawkeye, while Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn) gets her own series as well after becoming a fan-favorite character in WandaVision.
Echo
The first new Marvel show announced at Disney+ Day was Echo. The series is a spinoff from Hawkeye and will see Alaqua Cox return as Maya Lopez aka Echo. Cox is scheduled to make her MCU debut in Hawkeye alongside Jeremy Renner's Clint Barton and Hailee Steinfeld's Kate Bishop. Rumors about Echo's development surfaced in 2021 with reports noting that Etan Cohen and his wife Emily Cohen were writing and producing the show. Their involvement in the Hawkeye spinoff show is not yet confirmed by Marvel Studios. Echo's announcement did not come with news of when it will release on Disney+ either, but it should arrive in the next few years.
Marvel's decision to put Alaqua Cox's MCU character at the forefront of her own Disney+ show is a big deal. Echo is a deaf Native American hero who is best known for her role in Daredevil stories. In the comics, she is trained to be an assassin after her father's death, whose bloody handprint became the inspiration for Maya's handprint face painting. She has photographic reflexes that aided her in training to be an assassin under Wilson Fisk's watchful eye. He framed Daredevil for the death of Echo's father, leading to her hunting him down initially. If the MCU adapts a similar origin story for Maya Lopez after Hawkeye, then this could be a project that utilizes Vincent D'Onofrio's Kingpin and Charlie Cox's Daredevil.
Agatha: House Of Harkness
The next new Marvel show announced during Disney+ Day was Agatha: House of Harkness. The show is a spinoff from WandaVision that will bring Kathryn Hahn back to play the powerful witch. Agatha: House of Harkness is created by WadnaVision's Jac Schaeffer and was previously reported to be in development. The spinoff comes after Kathryn Han received an Emmy nomination for her performance in WandaVision, which left Agatha Harkness' MCU future up in the air. It is not currently confirmed what part of her life the show will explore, though.
Based on the title Agatha: House of Harkness, it sounds like the show will explore the history of Agatha's magical life. This could include going back to her origin before the Salem Witch Trials and providing more information on the other witches in her coven. Those other witches could be the House of Harkness the title refers to. Of course, it is also likely that Marvel's new show will play a role in advancing Agatha's story forward. This could allow Agatha: House of Harkness to bring back Elizabeth Olsen as Scarlet Witch and answer some lingering questions from WandaVision's finale.
X-Men '97
Disney+ Day also came with the announcement of a non-MCU Marvel show, as Marvel Studios is rebooting X-Men: The Animated Series. The new show coming to Disney+ in 2023 is known as X-Men '97 and will directly continue the X-Men: The Animated Series story after its cancelation. Furthermore, Marvel is bringing back many of the original voice actors. This includes Cal Dodd (Wolverine), Lenore Zann (Rogue), George Buza (Beast), Adrian Hough (Nightcrawler), Christopher Britton (Mr. Sinister), Catherine Disher (Jean Grey), Chris Potter (Gambit), Alison Sealy-Smith (Storm), and Alyson Court (Jubilee).
Story details for X-Men '97 have yet to be revealed, but the decision to continue the continuity from X-Men: The Animated Series sets up some intriguing options. The show's finale saw Professor X leave Earth to go be with the Shi'ar empire and Lilandra. Since Cedric Smith is still alive but not confirmed to be returning to his role, that could mean Charles Xavier is not involved. X-Men '97 could also move forward without Magneto or Cyclops since David Hemblen and Norm Spencer have both passed away. Ultimately, the series will now have the chance to adapt more classic X-Men comic storylines, including some more modern tales, and add other new characters to the world.
Spider-Man: Freshman Year
Marvel also announced plans for a new show centered around Tom Holland's Spider-Man. The new animated Disney+ series is titled Spider-Man: Freshman Year and will show Peter Parker's journey to becoming Spider-Man. Spider-Man: Freshman Year comes from Craig the Creek writer Jeff Trammel and does not have a release date. The show is a prequel to Peter's MCU journey so far, as his freshman year predates Captain America: Civil War and Spider-Man: Homecoming. It is not currently known if Tom Holland will return to voice the role or if someone like Marvel's What If...?'s Spider-Man voice actor Hudson Thames will continue voicing Peter in animation.
Marvel Zombies
Another new Marvel show announced during Disney+ Day was Marvel Zombies. The upcoming animated series is being developed by two individuals associated with Marvel's What If...?. Bryan Andrews will direct the show, which is written by Zeb Wells. Both of them will also serve as Executive Producers on Marvel Zombies. Details on the show's connectivity to Marvel's What If...? are not confirmed. It has been officially described as a show centered around "a new generation of heroes battle against an ever-spreading zombie scourge." This could mean a continuation of What If...? episode 5 and Spider-Man, Black Panther, and Ant-Man's quest to find a cure. If that is the case, then Marvel Zombies will give the MCU a chance to pay off the tease of zombie Thanos overtaking Wakanda.