Disney Cruise Line welcomed its newest ship, the Disney Adventure, to its rapidly expanding fleet in a dazzling entertainment showcase that celebrated the beloved Disney stories, characters, and music that come to life onboard. The elegant artistry of the christening ceremony punctuated the introduction of the cruise line’s first ever ship to sail in Southeast Asia.

In the Walt Disney Theatre aboard the ship, guests witnessed the magic of Disney storytelling come to life through regional vocalists and musicians, incredible video effects, and star-studded surprises, including special appearances from Captain Mickey Mouse and Captain Minnie Mouse. A 23-piece orchestra, Hollywood Performing Arts Hall of Fame inductee Jed Madela, and international recording artist of Eurovision fam Dami Im guided the show through classic Disney, Pixar, and Marvel melodies accompanied by stunning visuals that sprung to life on screens that surrounded the stage and seemed to engulf the audience.

Chairman of Disney Experiences and incoming Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company, Josh D’Amaro, and President of Disney Signature Experiences, Joe Schott, joined the artists on stage to mark the momentous occasion.

“The Walt Disney Company has always been built on the power of storytelling and innovation – and Disney Cruise Line brings those values to life in extraordinary ways. Our cruise ships are ambassadors of our brand that carry joy, wonder and enchantment to destinations around the world,” said D’Amaro. “As our first ship to homeport in Asia, the Disney Adventure represents a new chapter for Disney Cruise Line and will introduce Disney to audiences who may be experiencing our magic for the very first time. It offers fans across this region an opportunity to immerse themselves in unforgettable ways and create memories that are uniquely Disney.”

The Godparent of the Disney Adventure, Robert Downey Jr., lent his voice to the ceremonial blessing for good fortune for the ship and all its guests.

“I’ve had the privilege of getting to know the team at Walt Disney Imagineering, and I can tell you Adventure is the perfect name for what they’ve created,” he said. “Being the Godparent of this majestic vessel is an honor, and I have some serious duties to perform, so let’s make it official, shall we?”

Downey Jr. cued the orchestra, saying, “You bring the theme and I’ll bring the thunder,” followed by the official blessing, “I christen thee, Disney Adventure, may God bless this ship and all who sail upon her.”

The Christening Ceremony culminated with a confetti burst and a multitude of beloved Disney characters in a rousing rendition of “Let’s Set Sail,” a Disney Cruise Line tradition the builds excitement for the journeys that lie ahead onboard the Disney Adventure.

Drawing on more than 100 years of storytelling from Disney, Pixar, and Marvel, the Disney Adventure is filled with epic experiences and beloved characters waiting to be discovered. The ship features seven immersive themed areas, each transporting guests into iconic stories and worlds including San Fransokyo Street from Disney’s Big Hero 6. On board, guests can enjoy a brand-new Broadway-style musical, “Remember;” immersive dining experiences; signature fireworks at sea; imaginative clubs for kids of all ages; a dynamic collection of bars and lounges for adults; and thrilling attractions, including Disney Cruise Line’s first-ever roller coaster at sea, Ironcycle Test Run.

The Disney Adventure marks Disney Cruise Line’s eighth ship and its largest to date. The ship embarks on its maiden voyage on March 10, followed by an inaugural season of three- and four-night itineraries at sea. The Disney Adventure is part of a multi-year expansion of the award-winning Disney Cruise Line fleet, which currently includes eight ships, with five more planned to join the fleet by 2031.

To learn more about Disney Cruise Line or to book a vacation, guests can visit disneycruise.com, call Disney Cruise Line at 888-325-2500 or contact their travel agent.

The Walt Disney Company has won 22 Children’s & Family Emmy^® Awards across its content brands and studios: Disney Branded Television and The Walt Disney Studios (including Lucasfilm, Marvel Animation, National Geographic, and Pixar Animation Studios). Disney+ is the ultimate streaming destination for kids and families, home to 21 awards.

Descendants: Rise of Red and Win or Lose tied for the most wins, with five each, while Star Wars: Skeleton Crew — this year’s most-nominated program — won Outstanding Young Teen Series.

A complete list of all The Walt Disney Company wins follows:

Descendants: The Rise of Red (Disney+/Disney Channel/Disney Branded Television)
Streaming on Disney+
5 Wins

• Outstanding Fiction Special
• Outstanding Art Direction / Set Decoration / Scenic Design
• Outstanding Hairstyling and Makeup
• Outstanding Original Song for a Children’s or Young Teen Program – “Red Christmas”
• Outstanding Choreography

Win or Lose (Disney+/Pixar Animation Studios)
Streaming on Disney+
5 Wins

• Outstanding Children’s or Young Teen Animated Series
• Outstanding Writing for a Children’s or Young Teen Animated Series – “Pickle”
• Outstanding Directing for an Animated Series – “Home”
• Outstanding Editing for an Animated Program – “Mixed Signals”
• Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation – Storyboard – Esteban Bravo, Storyboard Artist

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew (Disney+/Lucasfilm)
Streaming on Disney+
4 Wins

• Outstanding Young Teen Series
• Outstanding Editing for a Young Teen Live Action Program – “The Real Good Guys”
• Outstanding Sound Mixing and Sound Editing for a Live Action Program – “You Have a Lot to Learn About Pirates”
• Outstanding Visual Effects for a Live Action Program

A Real Bug’s Life (National Geographic)
Streaming on Disney+
2 Wins

• Outstanding Informational Program
• Outstanding Editing for a Preschool or Children’s Live Action Program – “Love in the Forest”

BUNK’D: Learning the Ropes (Disney Channel/Disney Branded Television)
Streaming on Hulu
1 Win

• Outstanding Cinematography and Technical Arts for a Multiple Camera Live Action Program – “Happy Trails”

Dream Productions (Disney+/Pixar Animation Studios)
Streaming on Disney+
1 Win

• Outstanding Casting for an Animated Program

Rise Up, Sing Out (Disney Jr./Disney Branded Television)
Streaming on Disney+
1 Win

• Outstanding Original Song for a Preschool Program – “Grow Your World”

RoboGobo (Disney Jr./Disney Branded Television)
Streaming on Disney+
1 Win

• Outstanding Voice Performer in a Preschool Program – Ana Gasteyer

Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures (Disney+/Lucasfilm/Disney Jr.)
Streaming on Disney+
1 Win

• Outstanding Sound Mixing and Sound Editing for a Preschool Animated Program – “The Battle of Tenoo”

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man (Disney+/Marvel Animation)
Streaming on Disney+
1 Win

• Outstanding Voice Directing for an Animated Series – “If This Be My Destiny…”

Today, Disney announced Academy Award-winning actor Robert Downey Jr. will be the godparent for the Disney Adventure, the newest and largest ship in the Disney Cruise Line fleet. Disney shared the news ahead of the vessel’s maiden voyage next month out of its home port in Singapore.

“Our new ship continues Disney Cruise Line’s tradition of bringing great stories to life at sea, and we are honored that Robert Downey Jr., who has guided audiences through unforgettable Marvel stories, is the official godparent for the Disney Adventure,” said Josh D’Amaro, Chairman, Disney Experiences and incoming Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company.

Downey’s portrayal of Tony Stark/Iron Man was the cornerstone of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the highest-grossing film franchise of all time. His unparalleled decade-plus cinematic journey as the iconic character culminated in Avengers: Endgame, which amassed more than $2.79 billion at the global box office. Downey was named an official Disney Legend in 2019 and will now star as Doctor Doom in Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Doomsday, in theaters Dec. 18.

“It’s impossible to describe the majesty of the Adventure, and to be its godparent is an honor. As the largest ship in the Disney fleet, a gargantuan blessing must be bestowed … I’ll do my darndest,” Downey said.

The Disney Adventure brings more than 100 years of Disney storytelling to life across seven themed areas, including several Marvel experiences. At Marvel Landing on the top decks, guests can have the ultimate Super Hero adventure on Tony Stark’s Ironcycle Test Run, the first roller coaster on a Disney Cruise Line ship and the longest of its kind at sea. In the open-air Disney Imagination Garden area, the “Avengers Assemble!” live stage production will feature jaw-dropping stunts and special effects during an action-packed battle of Marvel Super Heroes and Villains. And inside Disney’s Oceaneer Club, the Marvel WEB Workshop invites young recruits to try out new Super Hero suit prototypes and conduct training simulations using top-secret Avengers technology.

The new ship offers signature Disney entertainment and hospitality: character encounters; Broadway-style shows; themed stateroom and concierge accommodations; and more than 20 dining and lounge venues featuring world-class international and Asian-inspired cuisines and beverages.

The maritime tradition of appointing a godparent to bless a new ship is a centuries-old custom believed to bring good fortune before a maiden voyage.

Marvel Television’s Wonder Man — premiering Tuesday, January 27, with all eight episodes on Disney+ — introduces Simon Williams (Emmy^® Award winner Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), an aspiring actor looking for his big break. Though he’s ambitious, resourceful, and talented, Simon can’t get out of his own head. During a chance meeting with Trevor Slattery (Oscar^®, GRAMMY^® Award, and two-time Golden Globe^® Award winner Sir Ben Kingsley) — an out-of-work actor haunted by his infamous role as the terrorist known as the Mandarin — Simon learns that legendary director Von Kovak (Zlatko Burić) is remaking the superhero film Wonder Man. It would be the role of a lifetime for Simon, and he works hard to get cast as the titular hero — all while keeping his own superpowers hidden.

In the Q&A below, Wonder Man series co-creator and head writer Andrew Guest opens up about what inspired his take on Simon Williams; fleshing out Trevor’s backstory following appearances in Iron Man 3 (2013) and Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings (2021); and giving fans a peek behind the curtain of the entertainment industry while showcasing the different facets of Hollywood.

What sets Wonder Man apart from other films and series in the MCU?

We really tried to make a show that felt different, that is still in the umbrella of the MCU, that still has a lot of the same DNA at its heart in terms of storytelling, comedy, and character, but is accessible to a different kind of audience. Hopefully people who love the MCU will still love this show, but people who think maybe the MCU is not for them might find Simon Williams as somebody they can root for and fall in love with. That’s the hope.

What inspired you to introduce Simon to the MCU in this way?

We’re trying to tell stories about the entertainment industry, really. And, to me, that’s about people who have stories to tell, who are facing the odds of a very difficult industry and still pursuing their dream — no matter what. I like the idea of Simon being an outsider, because Trevor’s an outsider, and seeing how they find each other and find a friendship in spite of everything.

Speaking of Trevor, what made you want to revisit and elevate that character?

One of the great resources we had was Sir Ben Kingsley, both in terms of him committing to being in the show, and in his understanding of this character that he’s lived with for 13 years. [Wonder Man co-creator and director Destin Daniel Cretton] and I had conversations with Sir Ben about who Trevor was, about what Trevor’s mother was like, about where his love of acting came from. The more I talked to him about it, the more I wanted to put all that into the show. I felt a real sense of responsibility writing for someone like Sir Ben; I wanted to give him material that was up to snuff and wouldn’t disappoint. Any page of dialogue you give him, he’s going to knock it out of park. We all raised each other’s game.

Trevor also finds himself mixed up with the Department of Damage Control…

Trevor often seems like the victim of circumstance. In Iron Man 3, he got caught up in this big cabal of bad guys who were using him. In Shang-Chi, he got caught up with the good guys — but he was still caught up. I liked the idea that we could take this character who — the moment he gets off the plane in LA — once again gets caught up in something big. But, for the first time, we see him decide to take ownership and action and realize that he can’t just blame circumstance anymore. He needs to step up and figure out what’s important to him and make some sacrifices. Even though he’s not putting on a cape and flying around, Trevor’s doing something selfless and sacrificing. And, to me, that’s heroism.

Why was it so important for you to set Wonder Man in real and recognizable Hollywood locations, whether it’s in restaurants like Clark Street Diner and Mother Wolf or at locations like the TCL Chinese Theatre?

Our incredible production designers, Cindy Chao and Michele Yu, are LA natives. When they presented to us, they showed us not only the kind of Hollywood that many people are familiar with, but they showed pictures of Thai Elvis and the House of Davids — all these quirky, eccentric sides of LA that aren’t often explored. That was really fun for us in the writer’s room. So, getting to shoot in LA, for LA, with an LA-based crew was really a gift. It really made the show feel different, and I don’t think you could replicate it in any other way.

You have Josh Gad and Joe Pantoliano playing versions of themselves, and there are also references to Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Glenn Howerton. Between casting and locations, how else did you ensure that the series would feel authentically Hollywood?

Part of making things feel real is being specific and using touchpoints that we all understand. I don’t want Simon acting on a random TV show in the pilot; I want it to be American Horror Story. I want to mention actors we all know. That’s hard to do in the MCU, because there’s so many people who are already in it… We tried hard. The tentacles of the MCU are all over this town.

Speaking of American Horror Story, Wonder Man includes countless other references and story points that span the various studios and content brands within The Walt Disney Company. As a writer, what was it like having that wealth of IP at your disposal?

Well, one of the tricky things we came up against in the pilot was which show that Simon was going to be on. Luckily, when we reached out to Ryan Murphy, he was on board. We had full agreement with him — and we even got to name check him, which was really fun. That’s an iconic show, and we felt confident would still be in the zeitgeist. All those things make it feel real.

What are you most excited for fans to take away from Wonder Man?

I’m excited for audiences to hopefully relate to and root for these two weirdos. And I’m excited for all the people who put so much time and effort into this project — our crew, every department head, every accountant — to finally see all the fruits of their labor onscreen, because that’s what we’re all in it for. We all work really hard, and we want people to see the work and appreciate the work. Hopefully, people connect with the show.

As Disney Cruise Line prepares to launch its newest ship, the Disney Destiny, on November 20, a bold new chapter in immersive storytelling is unfolding — one that brings Disney, Pixar, and Marvel’s most iconic heroes and villains to life on the high seas in ways only Disney can.

Through a dynamic collaboration between Disney Cruise Line, Walt Disney Imagineering, and Marvel, guests will step into the Marvel Universe like never before, surrounded by characters, environments, and innovative experiences that are beloved across generations.

“The cruise environment is such a unique canvas to play in,” Brian Crosby, Executive, Marvel Experiences Development, said. “We have our guests staying with us for multiple days, and [they] come with the expectation of being fully immersed in these stories with the opportunity to spend some quality time with our characters.”

Hear from Brian Crosby, Executive, Marvel Experiences Development

And fully immersed they will be: from the Wakandan-inspired Grand Hall to multi-day narrative arcs featuring Spider-Man and Loki, the Disney Destiny is more than a cruise ship — it’s a floating stage for epic adventures.

Creating the World at Sea

The Disney Destiny is a heroes- and villains-themed ship, and with part of the inspiration coming from Marvel — complete with Spider-Man and his Spider-bots as the ship’s stern characters — selecting which of the brand’s vast universe of over 8,000 characters to bring onboard was no small feat.

As Crosby noted, the priority is always the story and experience — choosing characters that resonate widely and offer rich storytelling potential. For the Disney Destiny, Marvel focused on iconic figures such as Black Panther, Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, and Loki.

“When I think about those characters… I recognize that we get Wakanda, Asgard, the Sanctum, the Mystic Arts, trickery, heroism, sometimes even some villainy,” Crosby said.

Jen Bascom, Creative Director for Disney Cruise Line Creative, added, “Inspired by the Grand Hall design, we developed exciting new shows that pay tribute to the music and stories of King T’Challa, the Black Panther… And when it came to choosing a villain, we were energized by developing material for Loki. Who better to explore the concept of ‘destiny’ than this villain in search of his ‘glorious purpose?’”

And it’s not just about having the characters onboard.

“Guests who sail on the Disney Destiny will be surrounded by incredible design and architecture from the lore, myths, and films,” Bascom said.

Guests stepping aboard the Disney Destiny are immediately welcomed into the Wakandan Grand Hall — a striking space that sets the stage for total immersion.

“Imagine a villain like Loki walks into the Grand Hall,” Beth Burkhardt, Manager of Interior Design at Walt Disney Imagineering, suggested. “We can completely change the look and feel of the space with lighting and color so the whole space is washed in his iconic green palette… As a hero like T’Challa or Spider-Man enters the space, we can have the lighting and color feel more optimistic and strong.”

From there, guests can explore a variety of themed environments, including the Sanctum inspired by Doctor Strange, the Saga lounge echoing Black Panther’s throne room, Marvel Super Hero Academy, and the Worlds of Marvel restaurant.

Crosby added, “I’m always blown away by the innovation and creativity [Imagineers] bring to the table… I often present them with seemingly impossible characters, stories and magic to bring to life, and they never disappoint!”

A Unique Canvas for All Ages

Marvel’s enduring appeal lies in its ability to connect across generations.

“Parents and even grandparents grew up with these characters… and then a new generation was introduced to them through the lens of the Marvel Cinematic Universe,” Crosby said. “We always try to stay true to [Walt Disney’s] goal by finding experiences that will entertain all audiences regardless of age and depth of knowledge of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.”

Entertainment experiences were designed for all ages in mind: interactive youth programs, immersive theatre shows, surprising spectacles, sophisticated intimate villain engagements, and adults-only comedy shows. This way, kids can go off on their own adventures, parents and adult friends can share a laugh, and the whole family can come together and create memories on board they’ll cherish for years to come.

Marcus Gibson, Disney Signature Experiences Producer of Shipwide Entertainment, explained that bringing these experiences to life connects with him personally, much like many others who worked on turning the dream of the ship into reality.

“Marvel stories have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember,” Gibson shared. “Our goal was to craft experiences that are exciting, immersive, and meaningful for guests of all ages — whether they’re longtime fans or encountering these heroes for the first time.”

A Marvel Experience Only Disney Could Create

The Disney Destiny offers 4- and 5-night sailings, and as Bascom explained, “we have an incredible opportunity to create durational stories. On the Disney Destiny, we’ve created some multi-day narrative threads for guests to follow along or catch up on.”

Jay Abruzzese, Production Designer Principal, Walt Disney Imagineering, added, “Whether it’s one evening rounding the corner after dinner and coming face to face with Loki, or another day taking a family photo with the powerful sculpture of T’Challa in our Grand Hall, each one of our guests will experience their own stories in their own unique way.”

These may be unique and innovative storytelling experiences, but for guests onboard, they’re also memories that last a lifetime.

The Disney Destiny is more than a cruise ship — it’s a storytelling platform that brings Marvel’s rich universe to life in ways that are immersive, emotional, and unforgettable. Through the combined efforts of Disney Cruise Line, Walt Disney Imagineering, and Marvel, guests will not only witness the stories of heroes and villains — they’ll live them.

In Marvel Zombies, the Avengers may be dead — but hope is alive.

Premiering September 24 on Disney+, the first TV-MA series from Marvel Animation follows a desperate and disparate group of heroes — including Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian (David Harbour), Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), Shang-Chi (Simu Liu), Katy Chen (Awkwafina), Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld), Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani), and Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne), among others — as they navigate a dystopian landscape, risking life and limb to save the world.

While the four-part event series expands the dystopian world first seen in Marvel Studios’ What If…? (2021–2024) it is not a direct continuation of the cliffhanger from the Season 1 episode that inspired this new series.

“The first season of What If…? hadn’t even dropped, but based on the internal feedback to the zombies episode, we were already having conversations about it becoming its own, bigger thing at some point,” said Marvel Zombies director, writer, and executive producer Bryan Andrews, who also directed and executive produced What If…?. “It just sounded fun.”

Part of the fun was that Brad Winderbaum, Head of Marvel Television and Marvel Animation, empowered Andrews and writer Zeb Wells to make the series as adult-oriented in its action as the story necessitated. And while this unflinching adventure marks a first for Marvel Animation, it’s anything but a first for the Marvel brand.

“If you look at the comics — the breadth of genres and tones, the types of story and characters — some are for kids, some are extremely mature. It’s all right there on the page,” Winderbaum said. “Marvel has never been about just one thing, but the characters follow certain archetypes. Tony Stark will always be Tony Stark. Peter Parker will always be Peter Parker. The fun comes when different artists and filmmakers play with different scenarios and tell different types of stories — from the most innocent to the most mature.”

A Series of No-Brainers

Without TV-14 restrictions in place, Andrews and Wells let their imaginations run wild, zombifying established heroes like Captain Marvel and Hawkeye. In doing so, new and supporting characters, like Khonshu and Rintrah, were given the chance to step up.

Among the surviving heroes is Kamala Khan, aka Ms. Marvel, who makes a pivotal discovery that could be the key to saving humanity. But with the dangerously powerful Wanda Maximoff/The Red Queen (Elizabeth Olsen) commanding an army of the dead, Kamala needs all the help she can get.

“When we were developing this, Kamala was relatively new to the MCU,” Andrews said. “Based on the timeline of What If…? and Avengers: Infinity War, she was in a perfect spot. She’s young enough, naïve enough, and she hasn’t quite gotten a hold of all of her powers just yet, so we realized she could be a good foil in the zombie universe. How will she deal with all this? Will she maintain her hope, or will she lose it all? That makes her interesting.”

From Kamala and Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Hudson Thames) to Blade Knight (Todd Williams) and Namor, Marvel Zombies marks the first time some characters from the comics ever interact onscreen. “The beauty of Marvel is seeing these characters collide and the strange alchemy that occurs when they find themselves in the same situation,” Winderbaum said. “You let the characters lead the way, because they are such different people that they make sparks.”

For that reason — among countless others — Marvel Zombies has broad appeal.

“It stands alone as an epic adventure set inside a greater lore,” Winderbaum said. “You don’t need to know the lore to enjoy it; you’ll get what you need from just watching this one story, which makes it inviting. You can come to it completely blind… and still get it.”

Reimagining beloved IP for younger audiences is nothing new for Disney Branded Television. With Disney Jr. under its helm, series such as Marvel’s Spidey and his Amazing Friends, Disney Jr.’s Ariel, and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse+ have connected these viewers with iconic franchises and characters hailed by their parents’ generations and beyond.

Marvel’s Iron Man and his Awesome Friends, Disney Jr.’s latest incarnation of age-appropriate IP, is a conduit for this brand synergy, with characters like Iron Man, Ultron, and Black Panther coming to life for kids (and some as kids themselves). As youngsters, the dynamic trio — Iron Man, Ironheart, and Iron Hulk — join forces to save the day, fight baddies, and make friends while promoting values of play, problem-solving, teamwork, and imagination.

“It’s such a beautiful show — the animation is such eye candy — but you’re watching these kids work together as a team when faced with challenges and gain from each other’s differences,” said actor Tony Hale, who voices Ultron in the series. “What a great lesson for kids to learn early on.”

These sentiments aside, Hale loves playing the bad guy, whom he portrays with animated flare and a high-pitched cackle that verges on maniacally playful. “Ultron is so fun and kind of a callback to old classic villains — a little twisting of the mustache and a bit of a foil,” he said.

Iconic characters like Ultron can bridge generations, nodding to the past while creating something new for kids; while others, like newcomer Dottie Doubleday, create possibility and open doors for young viewers. ESPN sportscaster and analyst Jessica Mendoza guest stars as the voice of Dottie Doubleday, the friendly owner of Dottie Doubleday’s Batting Cages, where the heroic trio practice hitting balls.

Beyond bringing the enthusiasm and upbeat vocal projection inherent to announcers, Mendoza hopes to instill inspiration and change through a character like Dottie Doubleday. “It can’t be overlooked how important it is having a female character who is an owner involved in a sports space that has oftentimes generationally been for men and boys, empowering these young superhero characters,” said Mendoza.

She hopes her character and the show will inspire a love of sport and play, much like the initiative behind the global, multiplatform “Disney Jr. Let’s Play!” campaign designed to inspire preschoolers to experience the joy of play through Disney Jr.’s beloved characters and stories, including those in Marvel’s Iron Man and his Awesome Friends. Disney Jr. also collaborated with ESPN and national nonprofit Every Kid Sports on the “Take Back Sports” initiative, offering sports grants to families with preschoolers who are facing financial hardship.

Play and sports are key themes throughout the show, depicting the joy and necessity to go outside and share these activities with others while also instilling important life skills in kids. “When you’re in preschool, you’re learning how to handle things when they don’t go your way, or you strike out,” said Mendoza. Through the adventures and challenges the three superheroes face, they create a safe space to model to young audiences the power of problem-solving and learning from mistakes with curiosity, humility and camaraderie — all while having fun with “totally awesome” friends.

“The Iron Man world is larger than life, which is great, but when kids see characters their age empowered and facing challenges, it doesn’t feel so far from them,” said Hale. Reimagining franchises like Iron Man for younger audiences is an entryway into these worlds and the lessons that can be learned from them.

“At Disney Jr., we know our stories are often a preschooler’s first introduction to the adventure and magic of Disney, and we take that responsibility to heart,” said Alyssa Sapire, head of Disney Jr., Original Programming and Strategy. “Our goal is to spark imagination, inspire joy, and create lasting connections that grow into a lifelong love for Disney.”

Disney Jr. not only connects kids to these characters from a young age but builds generational glue in families that fuels connection through fandom. This is true in Mendoza’s family, whose husband is a big Marvel comic collector.

“He knows these characters like they’re family members and grew up watching the cartoons and reading comic books,” she said. Now, her kids are experiencing the Marvel universe and get to watch their mom be a part it.

“Let’s be real: I cover Major League Baseball and college football, which they love, but when you enter the space of Marvel and Disney, it’s like a whole other level of ‘mom’s cool,’” said Mendoza. “I’m able to be on a screen with all of these characters they’re so familiar with. That’s been fun for me.”

From connecting families through timeless IP, instilling life skills, and inspiring kids to play and work together, Disney Jr. has created a uniquely synergistic space from which younger generations can thrive and grow. Marvel’s Iron Man and his Awesome Friends further expands this world, brought to life by talent like Hale and Mendoza, who understand the lasting impact these characters will have on the young adults of tomorrow.

Marvel’s Iron Man and his Awesome Friends premieres Monday, August 11, on Disney Jr., at 8:30 a.m. ET/PT and later on Disney Channel, with the first 10 episodes available Tuesday, August 12, on Disney+. Also debuting in October is the 22-minute special Marvel’s Spidey and Iron Man: Avengers Team Up! — and in 2027, Marvel’s Avengers: Mightiest Friends, the first-ever preschool Avengers series.

For decades, filmmakers and Imagineers have worked together to perfect the art of taking the company’s iconic characters and stories beyond the silver screen.Major acquisitions like Pixar (2006), Marvel Studios (2009) and Lucasfilm (2012) have spurred even more opportunities to deliver classic and new stories to fans in incredible ways.As new stories are created and films produced, Disney teams around the globe come together to bring those stories to life. The years or months long process often culminates with the collective story and experience hitting theaters, the parks, cruises and products on the same day — giving fans a multitude of ways to be part of the story.This is connective storytelling that only Disney can create. Marvel Studios’ The Fantastic Four: First Steps is no exception.

Beginning with the film’s release in July 2025, Disneyland Park guests have stepped into the 1960s-inspired, retro-futuristic world to meet Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, and The Thing, along with their robot assistant H.E.R.B.I.E. Guests at Hong Kong Disneyland Resort and Disneyland Paris also can see members of Marvel’s first family.We spoke to David Lightbody, who heads up Disney Live Entertainment, and Kyle Laughlin, leader of Walt Disney Imagineering Research & Development (R&D), about how teams across the company came together to take The Fantastic Four: First Steps from the big screen to the parks.  How early do park teams begin to work with filmmakers to bring the characters to these parks day and date with the movie premiere? Lightbody: It’s incredibly exciting to collaborate with the filmmakers to bring to life the stories and characters they create for the big screen in our parks. We partner with them early on, while they are still in development or in production, to ensure we can deliver the most authentic guest experience that translates from the set to the parks. As is often the case, Imagineers and Disney Live Entertainment cast members got the chance to visit the set of the film to get a feel for the environments, sets, props, and more, providing amazing inspiration to design and create experiences true to the source material.What is the most important factor in creating a seamless transition from the big screen to the parks? Lightbody: The partnership with the filmmakers is so key, as we want guests to have similar emotions with the parks experience as they do when they see the film — through the story, characters, themes, or even music. With The Fantastic Four: First Steps, we had the opportunity to lean into all of these with these parks’ experiences. For example: in Disneyland and Hong Kong Disneyland it was essential to bring these characters to Tomorrowland, which felt more in line with the design and aesthetic of the film. Music plays such an important role in our experiences, and Michael Giacchino’s score for this film is the perfect fit for our parks and experiences worldwide.

What did it take to bring H.E.R.B.I.E. to life? Laughlin: Just like in the film, H.E.R.B.I.E. started as an experiment — only this time, the experiment was ours. The R&D team jumped at the chance to bring this character to life using the latest in robotic self-balancing technology. We collaborated closely with the film’s design team to make sure every detail translated from screen to real-world and even partnered with the original voice talent to keep things as true to character as possible.What’s wild is how quickly it all came together — from concept to park-ready in just 90 days. Fastest we’ve ever done it. And honestly, seeing H.E.R.B.I.E. roll through the parks in real life? It’s just plain cool.How many cast members did it take to bring The Fantastic Four: First Steps to life in these parks?  Laughlin: It was an amazing collaboration across Disney Experiences to bring these characters and experiences to Disneyland Resort, Disneyland Paris, Hong Kong Disneyland, and Disney Cruise Line. So many talented individuals joined together fromWalt Disney Imagineering, WDI R&D, Disney Live Entertainment, Operations, Food & Beverage, Merchandise, and Disney Photo Imaging to create these experiences for our guests, and we have amazing partnerships with our marketing and synergy teams across the company. So, it would not be an exaggeration to say that hundreds of people had a part in this incredible effort.For more details on all the ways to see Fantastic Four heroes in our parks, see theDisney Parks Blog story.

Marvel’s first family has blasted off in fantastic fashion with $218 million in its opening weekend at the box office.

Marvel Studios’ The Fantastic Four: First Steps — which is the iconic Super Hero team’s introduction to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) following The Walt Disney Company’s 2019 acquisition of 21 Century Fox — grossed $118 million at the domestic box office this weekend, with an additional $100 million on the international side.

This makes it the 37 consecutive title from the MCU to open No. 1 at the box office.

And, The Walt Disney Company has now passed $3 billion at the box office in 2025. This is the fourth consecutive year that Disney achieved this milestone, currently sitting at $3.19 billion globally in ticket sales.

The unique, 1960’s-inspired, retro-futuristic look of The Fantastic Four: First Steps lends itself to being seen on the big screen, and domestic audiences took advantage of that opportunity, with 46% of the total box office coming from Premium Large Format, IMAX, 3D, or specialty formats (4DX, D-Box, ScreenX). The film showed in 4,125 locations domestically.

The Fantastic Four’s introduction to the MCU has been welcomed by critics and fans alike, as The Fantastic Four: First Steps is Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes with an 88% Critics Score and a 93% Verified Audience score.

It’s also holding a strong A- CinemaScore, while PostTrak reports 4.5 out of 5 stars across all segments, with 86% Total Positive reviews and 62% reporting that the new film is “Excellent.”

“Every big storyline that we’ve adapted to make our films, the Fantastic Four appeared in some version of them in the comics, from the Avengers to the Infinity Gauntlet to Civil War,” Kevin Feige, producer and President, Marvel Studios said. “But they weren’t in any of the movies because we didn’t have the rights to them. [Once we gained the rights to the characters], that gave us a huge opportunity to establish them, on their own, in an alternate universe.”

Fans of The Fantastic Four can also see the super team beyond the big screen. Guests visiting Disneyland Park currently have the opportunity to encounter the first family of Super Heroes as they make select appearances in Tomorrowland. They’re joined in the area alongside their cute, faithful robot assistant H.E.R.B.I.E., with select appearances also coming soon to Disneyland Paris and Hong Kong Disneyland Resort.

Set in a 1960s-inspired, retro-futuristic world, the movie begins four years after Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal), Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby), Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn), and Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) were exposed to cosmic rays that gave them extraordinary abilities and powers. Known individually as Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, and The Thing, respectively, the team is collectively known as The Fantastic Four.

In this alternate universe — Earth-828, to be precise — they are celebrities and leaders who inspire and protect the people of Earth. But, first and foremost, they are a real family with real problems. They stretch themselves too thin. They don’t always feel seen. They can be hotheaded. Things can get under their rock-hard skin. But at the end of the day, they always have each other’s backs — and that’s never truer than when a cosmic entity, Galactus (Ralph Ineson), threatens to devour Earth and steal Reed and Sue’s son, Franklin.

Marvel Studios’ The Fantastic Four: First Steps isn’t an origin story.

Set in a 1960s-inspired, retro-futuristic world, the movie begins four years after Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal), Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby), Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn), and Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) were exposed to cosmic rays that gave them extraordinary abilities and powers. Known individually as Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, and The Thing, respectively, the team is collectively known as The Fantastic Four.

In this alternate universe — Earth-828, to be precise — they are celebrities and leaders who inspire and protect the people of Earth. But, first and foremost, they are a real family with real problems. They stretch themselves too thin. They don’t always feel seen. They can be hotheaded. Things can get under their rock-hard skin. But at the end of the day, they always have each other’s backs — and that’s never truer than when a cosmic entity, Galactus (Ralph Ineson), threatens to devour Earth and steal Reed and Sue’s son, Franklin.

“They’re joined by an experience that we can’t fathom, and they suffer the consequences of that and the responsibility of that every single day,” Quinn said in the video (above). “When you know someone knows the way that you feel, that’s a very sacred thing. So, of course, they would do anything for [Franklin]. I think it’s also symbolic of their love for each other.”

Once Franklin is threatened, the stakes become considerably more personal.

“There’s an existential threat that’s going to wipe out the whole world. You go, ‘OK, but we’re one family against that. How on Earth do we [stop him]?’” Kirby said. “It helped that there is a baby at the center of it… You think about protecting what that child represents.”

Despite the very real threat Galactus poses, The Fantastic Four: First Steps is rooted in optimism. Production designer Kasra Farahani created a retro-futuristic world filled with vibrant colors and geometric shapes, pulling inspiration from the visuals in Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 science-fiction masterpiece 2001: A Space Odyssey, as well as the work of Disney Legend Jack Kirby, who created the Fantastic Four with Disney Legend Stan Lee.

“I think one of its strengths is its aesthetic,” Pascal said of the film. “The world is very intentionally devoted to the original comics. It’s a nostalgia and a kind of fantasy fulfillment of the future, with flying cars and a disarming kind of charm. It also helps author our characters. The soul of the movie is built with so much clarity in the visual experience. I know that it helped me understand the person that I was playing and the movie I was in.”

Moss-Bachrach added, “[Director] Matt [Shakman] created a world and then our job was to populate it. And it was so detailed, like Pedro said. It was so specific — like you could smell the year, in a way.”

When The Fantastic Four: First Steps opens exclusively in theaters on Friday, July 25, the film will mark the beginning of a new era for Marvel Studios — and for its First Family.

“We want everyone to have a very good time,” Pascal said. “We want people to be moved. We all were very moved by the experience that we had together making the movie… We’re very close and had a lot of rich things to do together, on- and off-camera, and asked ourselves to put everything that we have — our whole hearts — into it and into each other. It’d be an amazing thing to share that with everyone and for everyone to feel that.”

According to Kevin Feige, there would be no Marvel Studios without the Fantastic Four.

In 1961, Disney Legends Stan Lee and Jack Kirby revolutionized the comic book industry with the release of Fantastic Four #1, starring Marvel’s first super hero team: Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic, Sue Storm/Invisible Woman, Johnny Storm/Human Torch, and Ben Grimm/The Thing. Unlike their contemporaries, the Fantastic Four were a real family with real problems. Their relatability was revolutionary, paving the way for the creation of even more iconic characters, from Iron Man and Black Panther to Thor and Captain Marvel.

The Fantastic Four have appeared in hundreds of comic book issues, in addition to four animated series and three feature films (the latter being produced by 20th Century Fox). Now, 64 years later, Marvel’s First Family is finally joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) in Marvel Studios’ The Fantastic Four: First Steps, opening in theaters Friday, July 25.

“Every big storyline that we’ve adapted to make our films, the Fantastic Four appeared in some version of them in the comics, from the Avengers to the Infinity Gauntlet to Civil War,” Kevin Feige, producer and President, Marvel Studios said. “But they weren’t in any of the movies because we didn’t have the rights to them. [Once we gained the rights to the characters], that gave us a huge opportunity to establish them, on their own, in an alternate universe.”

Set against the vibrant backdrop of a 1960s-inspired, retro-futuristic world, The Fantastic Four: First Steps stars Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm/Invisible Woman, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm/Human Torch, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm/The Thing. Forced to balance their roles as heroes with the strength of their family bond, the Fantastic Four must defend Earth from a larger-than-life cosmic being, Galactus (Ralph Ineson), and his enigmatic Herald, Silver Surfer (Julia Garner).

“We’ve gotten to a point in our storytelling where people understand that there are multiple universes in the MCU,” Feige said. “We can simply introduce these characters, instead of having to explain why they weren’t at any of those other events. They’ve been in their own world, in their own universe, being the biggest celebrities on the planet. That also really allowed us to tap into one of the things so fun about the early Stan Lee and Jack Kirby Fantastic Four comics, which is that optimism for future — that space-age optimism.”

In the Q&A below, Feige discusses bringing Marvel’s First Family into the MCU:

The Fantastic Four are a family; they’re not a pantheon. Amid all the action and adventure, how does this movie show that their humanity is also its own super power?

When we meet them in the movie, it’s four years into them being the Fantastic Four. We wanted them to be settled into their fame and their powers so we could really focus on them as a family. As amazing as the outer space and the action sequences in this movie are, it’s those small character moments [that define them]. They live in a home together. They get ready for bed together. We see Ben shave! That is what makes them Marvel’s First Family. That was the genius of Stan and Jack, and that’s what led to what we know as the Marvel Universe: relatable, flawed, characters who happen to have extraordinary abilities. How is the family tested when Galactus sets his sights on Reed and Sue’s son, Franklin?

The Fantastic Four think of everyone in their city as family, and they’re willing to make sacrifices for them. That’s the definition of family, and it’s one of the reasons why we wanted to tell this story. But what happens when it doesn’t seem like you can save both? What happens when you’re faced with a seemingly impossible problem? It’s not powers. It’s not strength. It’s the ability to find a way through the impossible that makes a Marvel hero a Marvel hero.

What makes Galactus an atypical threat?

Well, he eats planets, first of all! He also doesn’t twist his mustache. He is not evil. He is a constant. He is, as Shalla-Bal [Garner] says in the movie, “as necessary as the stars.” He’s like a great white shark. A great white shark doesn’t hate you; it’s doing what it has to do to survive. Without a great white shark, the ecosystem of the ocean falls away. We don’t get into this in the movie, but we just scratched the surface of how important Galactus is to the nature of the universe. And there’s something scary about the inevitability of a herald telling you to “count your days” and giving you the greatest ticking clock in movie history.

Matt Shakman previously directed WandaVision on Disney+, which utilized both practical effects and cutting-edge technology to tell the story. Was his work on that series what made you realize that he should also direct The Fantastic Four: First Steps? 

Absolutely. We knew he had that desire and that ambition on WandaVision, and he handled it so well. He also handled the tone so well with WandaVision, and we wanted to ride a similar tone for this film — to embrace what some people might call “the silliness” of a “stretching guy” or a “rock guy,” but present it in a way that is not kitschy — that feels real.

Casting for a film like this is crucial — and when it’s Marvel’s First Family, there’s added pressure to get it right. How did you land on Pedro, Vanessa, Joseph, and Ebon? It felt like casting the best actors for these roles. Look at the work that Pedro, Vanessa, Joseph, and Ebon have done. We knew that they were going to bring it. However, we can’t take for granted that at the first table read, they were a family.

From Paul Walter Hauser as Mole Man to Natasha Lyonne as Rachel Rozman, the supporting cast is fantastic. Was everyone in Hollywood clamoring to be a part of this?

That’s a testament to Matt and a testament to the story he is telling and the way he is telling it. Once we cast the Fantastic Four with those four amazing actors, other people wanted to work with them. It’s great privilege to have a cast that is so talented, whose reputations are so good, that people want to come in for a few days here, a few days there.

This movie features many references to Jack Kirby, from being set on Earth-828 to including his quote in the credits. Why was it important to honor him so prominently?

I think he’s one of the most influential and greatest artists and creators of the 20th century and is not as well-known as he should be. This movie is a step in the direction to fix that. The artistry that came out of his pencil is what created the Marvel Universe, and his imagination that has inspired millions since then. Galactus’ look is based right off Kirby’s designs. If you look inside Galactus’ world ship, there are reference lines from the comics that we kept tinkering with and saying, “Not Kirby enough. We need more Kirby here.” There are little easter eggs throughout the movie leading up the quote that we all love, which is basically him saying, “I put a bit of myself in every character I make.” People who sit through this experience will hopefully fall in love with these characters and will know that there’s a reason they fell in love with these characters — and that reason is Jack Kirby.

• Marvel’s Iron Man and his Awesome Friends, the first animated Iron Man preschool series, premieres Monday, Aug. 11, on Disney Jr. (8:30 a.m. ET/PT) and later that day on Disney Channel. The first 10 episodes will be available on Disney+ in the U.S. and select international markets and Disney Jr. on Demand the following day, Tuesday, Aug. 12, and will continue rolling out globally throughout 2025 and 2026.
• GRAMMY^® Award-nominated musician Mark Hoppus, bassist, vocalist and founding member of pop-punk band blink-182, wrote and performed the series theme song, “Totally Awesome.” A sneak peek of the main title theme song was released today, with Walt Disney Records releasing the digital single on all major streaming platforms tomorrow, Friday, June 27.

• Leading up to the series premiere, a batch of animated shorts titled Meet Iron Man and his Awesome Friends will begin rolling out Monday, July 14, across Disney Jr., Disney Jr. YouTube, and Marvel HQ YouTube, with all 10 shorts available, Tuesday, July 15, on Disney+. The shorts will introduce young audiences to the stories and main characters featured in the series, as well as the newly announced Captain America (Sam Wilson), Black Panther (T’Challa) and Iron Spider (Aña Corazon), whom the Iron Friends call on when they need a helpful hand in taking on super baddies or just want to have a fun adventure.

• Series Synopsis: Marvel’s Iron Man and his Awesome Friends follows the adventures (and misadventures) of best friends and super geniuses — Tony Stark, Riri Williams and Amadeus Cho — as they work together to solve problems, both big and small, and protect their city. In order to help them save the day, the Iron Friends each have their own Iron Suits that allow them to fly and give them enhanced super-strength.
• Cast: The series stars Mason Blomberg as Tony Stark (Iron Man), Kapri Ladd as Riri Williams (Ironheart), Aidyn Ahn as Amadeus Cho (Iron Hulk), Tony Hale as Ultron, Vanessa Bayer as Swarm, and Talon Warburton as Absorbing Man.

• Credits: From Disney Branded Television, the series is executive produced by Sean Coyle and Harrison Wilcox. James Eason-Garcia is co-executive producer and story editor; Alex Cichon is supervising producer; Ashley Rideout is producer; and Michael Dowding is supervising director. Matthew Margeson is the series’ composer. The series is produced by Disney Jr. and Marvel Studios in association with Atomic Cartoons.
• Brand Extensions: Marvel’s Iron Man and his Awesome Friends is part of the “Disney Jr. Let’s Play!” global campaign designed to inspire preschoolers to experience the joy of play through Disney Jr.’s beloved characters and stories. Brand extensions for the series include an assortment of children’s books and products including an array of toys from Hasbro as well as apparel, footwear and more. The original soundtrack for Marvel’s Iron Man and his Awesome Friends, featuring seven songs, will be released Aug. 15.

The time has come for Riri Williams to meet her mettle.

In Marvel Television’s Ironheart — the first three episodes launch today at 6 p.m. PT on Disney+ — Riri (Dominique Thorne) is more determined than ever to make her mark on the world. Forced to leave M.I.T., she moves back to her hometown of Chicago, where she plans to build a state-of-the-art iron suit that will rival those of her idol, Tony Stark aka Iron Man. But her ambition is greater than her resources, and the scrappy, genius inventor soon finds herself entangled in a dangerous world pitting magic against technology.

“When we first meet Riri in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, she’s selling homework assignments and bending the rules here and there,” executive producer Sev Ohanian said. “She goes on a whole journey over the course of that movie… but she still has room to grow.”

That said, Riri isn’t trying to be Iron Man 2.0.

“Iron Man inherited a lot of wealth, similar to T’Challa,” said executive producer Ryan Coogler, who directed Black Panther and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and whose company, Proximity Media, produced Ironheart in association with Marvel Television. “Think about Iron Man and what he built when he was in a cave with a box of scraps. Riri is always working with scraps. She’s always trying to make a way out of no way.”

Building high-tech armor requires a lot of money, and the fastest way for Riri to get some is by agreeing to work for the charming and mysterious Parker Robbins aka The Hood (Anthony Ramos). He and his crew of misfits — Cousin John (Manny Montana), Clown (Sonia Denis), Slug (Shea Couleé), Jeri (Zoe Terakes), and Roz (Shakira Barrera) — are trying to take control of the city by any means necessary, putting Riri in a morally gray area.

“Riri has a heart of gold and very good intentions, but she is also deeply ambitious,” executive producer Zoie Nagelhout said. “What is she willing to do to achieve those ambitions? And how far will she take it? It was fun to explore all the consequences of that.”

And Riri isn’t the only character whose ambitions may get the best of her. Although his backstory is cloaked in mystery (for now), Parker also wants to make a name for himself.

“Riri and Parker both come from nothing. They are self-starters who are consistently being told, ‘Not yet. Not you. Not now,’” head writer and executive producer Chinaka Hodge said. “But Riri and Parker’s ambitions are slightly different. If they had been given the proper resources early on, they would have already changed the world. But the circumstances of our story might push Riri and Parker to be ‘badder’ than they would have been otherwise.”

The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has previously explored how both magic and technology can be used for good or evil. Ironheart takes it a step further by showing what happens when the two are fused — creating a potent, potentially dangerous combination.

“That is the essence of the MCU,” Ohanian said. “You put two things that almost feel disparate together, and somehow, it works. I remember watching The Avengers in theaters. You had a billionaire in a tin suit with a Norse god and a green giant monster; they don’t make sense together. I thought, ‘How could this ever work and be a consistent, proper, thematic story?’ But it is. With Ironheart, it felt like this was a territory we hadn’t quite explored just yet, which is fun, because there are more tech and magic stories to be told.”

And in Ironheart‘s final three episodes (streaming July 1 on Disney+), Riri faces many “twists and turns,” Ohanian added. While she doesn’t always get it right, “She never stops.”

“We don’t often get the luxury of falling on our faces, so it was very rewarding and healing for me to see Riri mess up and not be dismissed,” Coogler said. “The show doesn’t judge her. She gets the opportunity to fall on her face, learn from it, and go out and maybe make another mistake. I think there are a lot of people who will be able to relate to that journey.”

Some Super Heroes aren’t born — they’re made.

That’s certainly true of Robert Reynolds, aka Bob, the mild-mannered mystery man played by Lewis Pullman in Marvel Studios’ Thunderbolts* (now in theaters). But who is he, really?

Warning: Spoilers Ahead

Midway through the film, it’s revealed that Bob, depressed and down on his luck, had volunteered for an illicit, secret Super-Soldier experiment, orchestrated by CIA director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus). The result? Bob gets godlike powers that, according to Valentina, make him “stronger than all of the Avengers rolled into one.”

So, in an attempt to solidify her own power, Valentina decides to rebrand Bob as Sentry, giving him a classic costume and a blonde dye job. But it isn’t long before Bob’s dark side manifests as the Void, a deadly alter ego that threatens the Thunderbolts — Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), John Walker (Wyatt Russell), Red Guardian (David Harbour), and Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen) — and the rest of the world.

Thunderbolts*, which topped the global box office in its opening weekend, not only introduced audiences to Bob and the Thunderbolts, but to a new team: the New Avengers. Following the film’s release (and retitling), Pullman shared an unfiltered look at the many facets of Bob — and teases what might be in store for his character in Avengers: Doomsday.

What excited you most about joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)?

I think it was the possibility of living in and inhabiting a character, potentially over the course of many years. Unless you’re doing television, there’s a clear arc in the beginning and end of your relationship with a character; you can only go so deep. There’s something really intriguing about [continuing with] a character who’s as complex and versatile as Bob.

How do the film’s themes of grief and worth — coupled with intense action and dark humor — work together to create something that feels bold and different for the MCU?

After seeing it, what I really appreciate is that it has all the momentum and action that is so intoxicating about previous Marvel films — but it also has patience. Our director, Jake [Schreier], lets the tempo of the story slow down in moments when it’s earned and it’s deserved. It was invigorating to see [the Marvel Studios team] allow themselves to do that.

Performance-wise, how were you able to juggle Bob’s different personas?

Jake and I spent a never-ending amount of time talking about it over the weekends. We’d have phone calls late into the night after we’d finished shooting, because he understood him so well.

We were always very clear on the fact that we couldn’t have them be so separate that you could root for one and not for the others — that the audience understood that these were all derivatives of the same spirit and of the same person. It was about finding those ties and those bridges between them. Once you have those, you can stretch in any direction that you want to, as long as you really remain true to those things that are always going to be a commonality, no matter which facet of his personality is in the driver’s seat in the moment.

What was it like the first time you saw yourself in the Sentry suit with blonde hair?

It was bizarre. One of the kind of challenging things to ride was that he’s supposed to look like he’s a Super Hero, but something’s off. There’s something that’s not true to himself, because Valentina had gotten her talons into him. When I finally saw myself fully formed [as Sentry], I was like, ‘I think it’s good that I don’t feel comfortable like this.’ It goes to show that we did it right in terms of how it’s supposed to be a little dissonant and almost a little disturbing. It’s like seeing somebody wearing somebody else’s clothes and trying to act like somebody else. It always looks a little off-putting, so it was really fun to play into.

It wasn’t until the fight sequence when I really felt like I was able to own the suit and not let it own me. There are so many parts about this movie that were meta, and it just kept revealing itself. Even my own imposter syndrome — it was so helpful to have all of that emotional information at the ready for the character. I was lucky that it was so applicable.

What’s it been like to see the asterisk revealed in the post-release marketing?

That was an easy secret to keep, because it’s unprecedented to change the title of a movie right after it’s already been released. It was hard to imagine how it was going to be pulled off. When they were first talking about it, I was like, ‘How is this going to happen? Has it ever been done? No?’ And, honestly, I still have questions about it! Going forward, should I say that I played Sentry in Thunderbolts* — or in The*New Avengers? What do you think?

I guess we’ll find out.

I guess we’ll find out!

Marvel Studios assembles an unconventional team of antiheroes — Yelena Belova, Bucky Barnes, Red Guardian, Ghost, Taskmaster, and John Walker — in Thunderbolts*, opening exclusively in movie theaters on Friday, May 2. The action-adventure is directed by Emmy Award winner Jake Schreier and produced by Kevin Feige, the president of Marvel Studios.

Kicking off the summer box office season, the film stars Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, Wyatt Russell, Olga Kurylenko, Lewis Pullman, Geraldine Viswanathan, Chris Bauer, and Wendell Pierce, with David Harbour, with Hannah John-Kamen, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

In a Q&A, Schreier reveals what sets the Thunderbolts* team apart in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), shares the benefits of working in the Marvel Studios ecosystem — and much more.

What intrigued you most about directing an MCU film — and why Thunderbolts*?

I’m friends with Jon Watts [director of Spider-Man: Homecoming, Spider-Man: Far From Home, and Spider-Man: No Way Home] — who was my roommate in college — so I got an inside look at what it is to work in this world and to see what he pulled off.

Especially with this group of characters… because they’re not as familiar, there’s an opportunity there; there’s a little bit more freedom and a little less expectation. There is room to take [the story] in different places and do some different things with it.

The MCU is one of the strongest brands in entertainment. How did that help guide you as you were making Thunderbolts*? 

The main thing is just Kevin guiding [us]. He’s so good at this… When you have a [studio] that has been so successful for so long, to still try new things and push things forward, there’s so much freedom in that encouragement. Kevin and [executive producer Louis D’Esposito] earned that. That trust really protects you. When you’re working with them, and you’re collaborating, there’s room to take chances and go places that seem interesting.

What differentiates the Thunderbolts* in the MCU, and how do the events of this film support storytelling in future films? 

I think they’re sort of your least anticipated group of Marvel heroes [laughs]. But in that way, they’re like us. There’s something that everyone can relate to in all of these characters. They’re people who have found themselves in a place they didn’t expect to be, or maybe things didn’t work out for them quite in the way that they thought. I think anyone can relate, certainly. Then, the question is: What do you do from there? Where do you go? Do you retreat into yourself, or do you find connection in others and move forward through that?

How were you able to successfully balance the storylines of so many disparate characters into a cohesive, compelling narrative that also fits into the larger MCU?

It really starts with this incredible group of actors and how much they care not only about their work, but also about the characters that they’ve built and have come to care about and feel protective of. We obviously tried to build that into the script, but [it also came through] conversations with the actors when they showed up in early rehearsals talking about what felt honest to their characters, what they felt like could be adjusted, and what they could bring of themselves and their interpretation to make [things] feel more earned.

In your opinion, what makes someone a hero? Considering all the bad things they’ve done over the years, would any of the Thunderbolts even classify themselves as heroes?

It’s interesting. Other than Alexi [Harbour] — who is so invested in this meta idea of heroism, of being appreciated, and of the glory side of it — we didn’t talk so much about heroes and villains in this movie. We really tried to treat it more on a character level. It’s about being in a place and how you get out of it; in this world it’s really about saving yourself and saving each other. Yes, they’re saving the world. But it starts from an internal place, and that felt like a really rich thing to explore with actors of this caliber who can really bring that to life.

Each of these characters is coming into this film battling their own personal demons. How do their complex emotions color the story amid all the action and adventure?

When we’re stuck in our own thought loops and reflecting on our shame, there’s often a tendency to feel like we’re alone in that place, that no one else can understand it. While they all have their individual traumas and their different perspectives on how they feel, if they open themselves up to that connection, they [begin] see that there are others who can understand them, even if they haven’t gone through another’s specific experience.

Look, we want to have a lot of fun in this movie. There’s a ton of action. We’re in IMAX, we’re blowing things up, cranes are falling, limos are exploding — but you never want that stuff to get ahead of where the characters are along the story. You want to feel like that action is coming from a story perspective and it’s all working together to build a narrative.

Avengers fans assembled this week — and smashed records.

Wednesday’s Avengers: Doomsday cast announcement was the biggest-ever Marvel Studios livestream, generating 275 million digital views and 3.1 million social interactions across all platforms. It produced over 55 distinct trending terms on X (formerly known as Twitter) throughout the day, with #AvengersDoomsday holding the No. 1 trending spot for over seven hours.

Not only that, but hour over hour, the audience continued to grow — and, after 24 hours, the official Marvel YouTube livestream reached No. 2 on trending.

The multiplatform livestream, which began at 11 a.m. ET/8 a.m. PT, lasted five hours and 27 minutes, and 27 cast member chairs were unveiled in total.

Cast members from Marvel Studios’ next two films — Thunderbolts*, which kicks off the summer May 2, and The Fantastic Four: First Steps on July 25 — will play key roles in Avengers: Doomsday. The all-star cast of Avengers: Doomsday includes Chris Hemsworth, Vanessa Kirby, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Letitia Wright, Paul Rudd, Wyatt Russell, Tenoch Huerta Mejía, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Simu Liu, Florence Pugh, Kelsey Grammer, Lewis Pullman, Danny Ramirez, Joseph Quinn, David Harbour, Winston Duke, Hannah John-Kamen, Tom Hiddleston, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Alan Cumming, Rebecca Romijn, James Marsden, Channing Tatum, Pedro Pascal, and — as previously announced at San Diego Comic-Con in 2024 — Disney Legend Robert Downey Jr.

So, is that the entire cast? As Marvel Studios teased, “There’s always room for more…”Avengers: Doomsday opens exclusively in theaters on December 18, 2026.

Marvel Studios announced Wednesday that production has begun on the film Avengers: Doomsday, in theaters May 1, 2026. In a multi-hour global livestream, Marvel also revealed several of the film’s all-star cast, teasing the return of some familiar heroes.

The Avengers: Doomsday cast includes Chris Hemsworth, Vanessa Kirby, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Letitia Wright, Paul Rudd, Wyatt Russell, Tenoch Huerta Mejia, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Simu Liu, Florence Pugh, Kelsey Grammer, Lewis Pullman, Danny Ramirez, Joseph Quinn, David Harbour, Winston Duke, Hannah John-Kamen, Tom Hiddleston, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Alan Cumming, Rebecca Romijn, James Marsden, Channing Tatum, Pedro Pascal, and — as previously announced — Disney Legend Robert Downey Jr.

Four-time MCU directors Anthony and Joe Russo return to direct Avengers: Doomsday, as well as Avengers: Secret Wars (in theaters May 7, 2027).

At San Diego Comic-Con 2024, the Russos revealed that Downey — who starred in 10 films as Tony Stark/Iron Man — will return in a new role, this time as Victor von Doom.

“Being able to create stories and explore characters within the Marvel Universe fulfilled a lifelong dream of ours, and we discovered a powerful connection with audiences in each film that we made,” the Russos said in a statement last year. “We’re thrilled to collaborate once again with [Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito], and the entire Marvel team to bring this epic adventure in storytelling to new and surprising places for both the fans and ourselves.”

Daredevil leaps back into action Tuesday on Disney+ with Marvel Television’s Daredevil: Born Again. In the new series the story of Matt Murdock/Daredevil (played by Charlie Cox) and Wilson Fisk/Kingpin (played by Vincent D’Onofrio) continues in pulse-pounding fashion.

Murdock, a blind lawyer with heightened abilities, is fighting for justice through his bustling law firm — rather than as Daredevil — and former mob boss Fisk is pursuing his own political endeavors in New York. When their past identities begin to emerge, the two men find themselves on an inevitable collision course.

Filled with Daredevil’s signature gritty action and street-level drama, the series features familiar faces, such as Karen Page (played by Deborah Ann Woll), Foggy Nelson (played by Elden Henson), and Frank Castle/The Punisher (played by Jon Bernthal) — as well as new characters, including former NYC DA Kirsten Mcduffie (played by Nikki James) and therapist Heather Glenn (played by Margarita Levieva), who’s Matt Murdock’s new love interest.

“We’ve all had one goal in common: to do a show that the fans are waiting to see, and we’ve put a lot of effort into doing that,” D’Onofrio said.

Brad Winderbaum, Head of Television, Streaming, and Animation at Marvel Studios, echoed D’Onofrio’s sentiment for producing the new series. “I really approached it as a fan, as something I would want to see,” he said.

Watch Charlie Cox, Vincent D’Onofrio, and Brad Winderbaum discuss Daredevil: Born Again

“It’s All Born Out of Character”

Born Again finds the characters having “come up in the world,” as Fisk says to Murdock in the first episode. Cox noted that their come up also means the characters have “a lot more to lose.”

“The idea of losing it can make you feel like you’re backed into a corner,” Cox continued. “That’s when behavior becomes questionable.”

That questionable behavior often reveals itself as one of Daredevil’s signature characteristics — gritty, realistic, hand-to-hand action.

“It’s all born out of character,” Winderbaum said of the stunts and action. “Nothing is done arbitrarily. It’s a violent world, and these are characters that use violence in order to trade power.”

Scenes are written so that action doesn’t come out of nowhere. Rather, characters will interact in a way that creates tension that is wound tighter and tighter.

“And then you have these explosive releases in the action sequences,” Cox said.

That pressure is kept simmering throughout the episodes to ensure that the action is used sparingly, and therefore when it’s most impactful.

“There’s So Much Stuff to Explore”

What drives the narrative to those explosive moments comes from the characters and the situations they find themselves in.

“They’re such layered characters. There’s so much stuff to explore,” Cox said.

Both Cox and D’Onofrio have inhibited these roles for a decade, and the richness of the writing keeps them coming back. “I haven’t gotten bored of playing this character,” D’Onofrio said. “Like, not even a bit.”

While the series is a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe — which has captivated audiences with heroes saving not just the world, but at times the entire galaxy — Daredevil: Born Again intentionally keeps its preoccupation on the streets of New York City.

“It’s really like the comics where you would pick up an issue of Daredevil and you want to stay in a grounded, street-based ecosystem,” Winderbaum said.

That grounded basis makes space for the series to dig deeper and find the dramatic potential within street-level storytelling in one city.

“It looks at New York as being kind of this medieval kingdom filled with power struggles and deceit and unexpected acts of loyalty. It’s an amazing tapestry that [showrunner] Dario Scardapane and team have built,” Winderbaum said.

Exploring Tones

Working with Marvel Television creates the opportunity for a show like Born Again to capitalize on storytelling that can take risks as well.

“If you look back at the comic books, there’s an array of tones and genres and comedy and drama and action to choose from. But it’s never tonally one thing,” Winderbaum explained. “Being able to explore that darker tone that many of the comics live in is an important part of the storytelling process for the studio, but also something that Disney has really been supportive in helping us explore.”

D’Onofrio concurred that Marvel and Disney have been supportive of ensuring that Daredevil: Born Again was made with trust in their creative partners.

“They really trust us and they’ve been really great with us about everything when it comes to Daredevil. And we couldn’t ask for better people to work for,” D’Onofrio said.

“The Best Part of Television”

With a TV-MA rating, Daredevil: Born Again caters to an older, more mature audience. And as Winderbaum explains, that makes it a fit on Disney+.

“Disney+ has really become a service that has all sorts of content on it,” Winderbaum noted. “To me, it feels like the best part of television where you can sit down and watch anything you want.”

Disney+, of course, features beloved programming not only for fans of all ages, but also from the most beloved brands in the world — whether that’s Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, Hulu, Disney Animation, National Geographic, ESPN, and so much more.

“It’s all this amazing stuff on the service, and there’s all these echelons of content,” Winderbaum said. “And TV-MA content, which we’ve been able to explore as part of the Marvel brand and the Marvel identity.”

Steve Rogers was right — stars and stripes really do suit Sam Wilson.

At the end of Marvel Studios’ culminating blockbuster Avengers: Endgame, Steve chose Sam (Anthony Mackie) to succeed him as the next Captain America. As the Disney+ Original series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier later explored, carrying the shield — and the responsibility that comes with it — proved to be more complex than either envisioned.

Opening in theaters Friday, February 14, Captain America: Brave New World finds Sam having fully embraced his new identity. After he meets with U.S. President Thaddeus Ross (Disney Legend Harrison Ford), an international incident of epic proportions forces Sam to face an emerging threat that, if not contained, will soon have the whole world seeing red.

“When President Ross says, ‘You’re not Steve Rogers,’ Sam recognizes and understands that, because he doesn’t have the serum. He doesn’t have the backup and the facilities that Steve had,” Mackie said in the Spring 2025 issue of Disney twenty-three, available soon to D23 Gold Members. “When we first met Sam, he was a counselor. He was a soldier. He was a veteran. His brute force is his humanity, his mind, and his compassion — not his muscles.”

While Sam may not have Super Solider serum coursing through his veins, he does have a superpower: empathy. “Sam’s got so much heart. That makes him a great Cap, but he’s also very formidable,” director Julius Onah said. “I’m excited to take him on this journey in this paranoid thriller that is full of twists, turns, and surprises… It’s really emotionally satisfying.”

Luckily, Sam isn’t in this fight alone, thanks to U.S. Air Force intelligence officer Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez). As the new Falcon, he wants to spread his wings — literally and figuratively. “Anthony and I got to know each other in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, but in this film, we get to play at our pace,” Ramirez said of their characters’ brotherly dynamic. “What you see on-screen is what stems organically from our personal relationship.”

Ruth Bat-Seraph (Shira Haas), a former Black Widow and security advisor to President Ross, also joins Sam and Joaquin on their quest to discover who is manipulating world leaders. Wary of spoiling any plot points, Haas teased, “She is a big force on their journey.”

As for President Ross? According to Ford, he couldn’t have gotten into the character’s mindset without studying the “wonderful performance” that the late William Hurt gave across five Marvel Cinematic Universe films. “There are things that are happening to President Ross that were happening to him but hadn’t reached the point where they were transformative, if you will,” Ford explained. “The complications of his life — his relationships with people — were formed without the knowledge of what was committing him to the choices he was making.”

Also joining the fray is Seth Voelker/Sidewinder (Giancarlo Esposito), who leads a group of mercenaries called SERPENT. “He used to be a military man, like Sam, but he chose a different route in terms of how he decided to move through the world,” Onah said. “He became a mercenary, taking his expertise and using it as a soldier of fortune. Sam, meanwhile, uses his expertise for the benefit of other people — not the benefit of himself.”

After a 15-year hiatus, Tim Blake Nelson returns to the MCU as Samuel Sterns — albeit a different, somewhat altered version of the character he originated in The Incredible Hulk. “It’s so incredible to see him again, but in a very different way,” Haas said. “There’s a psychological aspect to this villain, because his power is in his brain. It’s exciting and scary.”

Mackie, meanwhile, can’t wait for audiences to see how his own character has evolved.

“I was never offended when people said Sam was a sidekick, or that Falcon was secondhand to Captain America, because that was only one facet of reality you got to see,” he told Disney twenty-three in an exclusive interview. “You didn’t get to see Sam’s day-to-day life; you got to see how Sam was affected by Cap’s reality and how he was a part of the Avengers’ lives. It’s really cool and exciting to see a character like Sam grow and get his due. It’s rewarding and humbling — not so much for me, but for Sam Wilson. I’m excited for people to finally see him be the soldier and the patriot that he is outside of the Avengers.”

Marvel Studios’ Captain America: Brave New World soars into theaters this weekend, and with it comes the next chapter in the adventure of the Star-Spangled Man.

The new film continues the story of Sam Wilson (played by Anthony Mackie), as he battles enemies both home and abroad as the new high-flying Captain America. Wilson also has to deal with the newly-elected President Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross (played by Harrison Ford) and his bright red alter ego.

Nate Moore, producer of the film, is excited for audiences to see it, noting that one of the reasons to see Brave New World in theaters is because “as much as it is a grounded tale about Sam Wilson grappling with being Captain America, it also has some of our most stunning visual effects and action sequences to date.”

“I’m not sure there is anything like the shared experience of seeing a film with an audience, together, projected on a big screen,” he said. “As much as technology has brought a lot of these stories into our homes, or even into our hands with the phones that we look at constantly, to be able to put your phone down, sit with friends, and to see images projected larger than life in front of you really allows yourself to be immersed into the story.”

We spoke with Moore about the new film, the evolution of the Captain America franchise, and what it was like to have Disney Legend Harrison Ford join the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

There’s been multiple Captain America films. What makes this one different?

It’s the first time we’ve had a Captain America who is not a super-solider, which is what I think makes the character Sam Wilson so interesting. He can’t rely on his incredible strength or stamina like Steve Rogers could, he has to rely on his humanity and the way that he connects with people to solve the problems of this movie. I think in some ways that makes this film the most grounded Captain America film we’ve ever made — which is ironic to say considering there is a Red Hulk in the middle of it — but it really is about people, and how Sam can solve the problems that people have in this movie to diffuse a global situation.

The Falcon is a character you’ve followed for most of your time at Marvel. What makes the character special to you?

The new Falcon, much like Sam is taking a step up into the role of Captain America, Joaquin Torres — who we met briefly in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier — gets to try out the moniker of the Falcon. What I think is cool about the Falcon is that even back in Winter Soldier he gets to be a true partner to Captain America, he gets to be a friend beyond a comrade, or a brothers-in-arms. I think the dynamic between Sam and Joaquin is like that, kind of for the first time of mentor-mentee, but also Joaquin gets to serve to some degree as Sam’s conscience in the movie. It’s really interesting because I think the Marvel heroes who resonate the most with audiences are the ones who are the most human and their relationship I feel like is incredibly grounded in a dynamic that most audiences can recognize.

Harrison Ford is joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe. What does his inclusion mean for Marvel both in story and from an external perspective?

From a story perspective Harrison Ford joining the MCU as Thaddeus Ross allows us to complete the arc of a character that started back in The Incredible Hulk. Thaddeus Ross has always been sort of a hard case obsessed with Hulks, and over the course of his time in the MCU we’ve gotten to see different sides of him, whether that be the Secretary of State version in Civil War or the man who is chasing Natasha across the globe in Black Widow. But what’s interesting about Thaddeus Ross in this movie is he’s trying to come to grips with how the actions of his past have affected how he’s perceived in the present, including his relationship with his daughter Betty Ross. Getting to see this character kind of come full circle from that first film and to some degree — no spoiler here — become the thing that he hated the most in the beginning is really interesting and I think gave Harrison something really cool to play.

And look, as far as Harrison Ford the man, whenever you get to work with a Hollywood icon there is something special about that. And he is as advertised: he is charismatic, he is funny, he is an incredibly hard worker, and I think he brought new facets to the character that we didn’t even see on the page, so we couldn’t be more excited to have him join the MCU.

What do you hope audiences take away from the new film?

This movie thematically, to some degree, is about finding common ground with people who are different from you, or who have had different experiences that have led them on trajectories that are not healthy. What I think the movie wants to be about is finding the common ground with people you don’t agree with, and I think Sam Wilson, who started in the MCU as a counselor, is the right character to deliver that message, if there is such a thing. So I think if people take away that theme that we’re more the same than different, but also have a really good time watching action sequences that are unlike anything they’ve ever seen before, that would be the perfect sweet spot for this film.

As the charming smuggler Han Solo, he made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs (and maybe shot first). As the academic adventurer Indiana Jones, he recovered the Ark of the Covenant and the Holy Grail (briefly, at least). And soon, as venerable U.S. President Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, he’ll have the entire world seeing red. In essence, Disney Legend Harrison Ford — the actor behind those beloved and iconic characters — has the range.

In an exclusive interview for the Spring 2025 digital cover story of Disney twenty-three, Ford said each role has revealed something about himself and, to a greater degree, the human experience. “We’re all made from the same common clay. It’s moment in time. It’s opportunity — all of these inexplicable, unpredictable elements, plus our own drive and search for something useful to do in life,” he explains. “All of it counts. Fantasy counts. Science counts. Reality counts. But being able to dream into and out of the world you’re living in? That’s important stuff.”

Last year, Ford was honored as a Disney Legend during D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event presented by Visa, a rarefied distinction that both “flattered” and “bemused” him. While delivering his acceptance speech in front of fellow Disney Legends such as Angela Bassett, James Cameron, Miley Cyrus, and Frank Oz, Ford said “nobody does anything in this business alone” — a sentiment he echoes in his interview with Disney twenty-three.

“The work that an actor, frankly, gets credit for is the work of many people who have come before him and laid in the groundwork for him to walk. The George Lucases, the Steven Spielbergs, the Kevin Feiges in my life are really responsible for the opportunities that I’ve had,” Ford said. “Their passion for the ideas they’re working with and their commitment to the craft and to the quality and integrity of their work has been fundamental to the success of my career. You don’t do this alone. You stand on the shoulders of many people.”

“For instance, I’m standing on the shoulders of [the late] William Hurt, who created the character that I’m playing in this Marvel film,” Ford said of his role in Marvel Studios’ Captain America: Brave New World, in theaters February 14. “I had an opportunity to see the foundations he established for the character, and it gave me a wonderful place to start with the responsibilities that I have storytelling-wise in this Captain America movie.”

Throughout his his decades-long career, Ford himself laid the groundwork for actors like Anthony Mackie — who plays Captain America — to become a movie star in his own right.

“I got to see the full-blown Anthony Mackie, and it is a considerable presence,” Ford said. “I’d seen him outside of the Marvel Universe, and as an actor, he’s formidable. He’s a very powerful presence onscreen. Our scenes together were scenes of conflict, in most cases; I met him on the field, so I knew the steel he was made of as an actor. But he has more than steel in his quiver: he’s got sensitivity, understanding, and intelligence about what he’s doing.”

In the Spring 2025 issue of Disney twenty-three, Mackie is equally effusive about his co-star, going so far as to say he learned “what it really means to be a movie star from Harrison Ford.”

What is Ford’s reaction to hearing such a compliment? “[I feel] a mixture of embarrassment and secret pleasure,” Ford said, smiling. “I’m grateful for his words.”

Read more about Captain America: Brave New World in the Spring 2025 issue of Disney twenty-three, available soon only to Gold Members of D23: The Official Disney Fan Club. Not a Gold Member yet? Sign up here.

Who is Spider-Man without the mask?

Marvel Animation’s Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man follows Rockford T. Bales High School freshman Peter Parker (voiced by Hudson Thames) on his exciting journey to become a hero. According to head writer, executive producer, and showrunner Jeff Trammell, the all-new original series — streaming exclusively on Disney+, with new episodes premiering every Wednesday — puts a fresh spin on the beloved Marvel Comics character that first appeared 62 years ago.

“We spend a lot more time with Peter in our series,” Trammell said. “A lot of the previous Spider-Man shows have been very Spider-Man focused, but for this, I felt like it was important to see who’s behind the mask and how that influences who Spidey is as a hero.”

While Aunt May (voiced by Kari Wahlgren) “has always been a constant,” the people in Peter’s life “often change,” Trammell said. “The people around him color Peter’s viewpoint.”

In Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, Peter finds a mentor in Norman Osborn (voiced by two-time Academy Awardnominee Colman Domingo) and friends in Nico Minoru (voiced by Grace Song), Lonnie Lincoln (voiced by Eugene Byrd), Pearl Pangan (voiced by Cathy Ang), and Harry Osborn (voiced by Zeno Robinson). As Spider-Man, he crosses paths with heroes such as Doctor Strange (voiced by Robin Atkin Downes) and Daredevil (voiced by Charlie Cox) and enemies such as Otto Octavius (voiced by Hugh Dancy) and Dmitri Smerdyakov/Chameleon (voiced by Roger Craig Smith).

In the Q&A below, Trammell and Thames tease what’s in store for the wall crawler:

What makes Peter Parker — and Spider-Man — such a compelling character?

Jeff Trammell (JT): He has a lot of heart. He cares a lot. He feels like the awkward kid or the class clown, but at the end of the day, he’s always looking to do what he can to help people. I’m always trying to figure out, What is going to make Peter feel the most realistic? It’s how much he cares about these people in these situations and about doing the right thing. Even if someone is doing the wrong thing, he has the heart to see that they’re a victim of circumstance or of a bad decision, but it doesn’t necessarily make you a bad guy.

Hudson Thames (TH): It’s very refreshing to play a character who sees the best in everyone and everything all the time — who is just so hopeful. I think that reminder really resonates with people. He tries to look at the glass as half-full, and that challenges people to do the same. We all know Peter is always being dealt the most brutal of hands — but I think the fact that he always tries to be really good to the people in his life is very inspiring.

Hudson, you first voiced Spider-Man in a 2021 episode of What If…?, Marvel Animation’s first series for Disney+. What’s it been like to get to voice the character in a full season?

HT: Spider-Man was always my favorite Super Hero growing up; he’s who I resonated with the most. When I did What If…?, I remember thinking, ‘How do I semi-copy what Tom Holland did [in live-action] and honor what people know his Spider-Man to be to be?” Before this show, there was a moment where I thought I needed to rewatch what Tom, Tobey Maguire, and Andrew Garfield ­did — their game tapes. But, pretty quickly I realized, “No, that’s not [the best approach].” Everyone did a great job of making their Spider-Man as personal as possible performance-wise, because it’s really about bringing it back to how optimistic and helpful Peter Parker is. And with this show, I was lucky enough to have the time to dive in and figure out how to add my own voice to Peter’s. It was such a privilege.

Jeff, how did you push the limits of animation to create the series’ aesthetic? It clearly draws inspiration from Disney Legend Jack Kirby, but there are other creative choices — like a long tracking shot normally only seen in live-action — that feel fresh and new. 

JT: Our lead character designer, Leonardo Romero, has a knack for taking that very classic art style and modernizing it. There are so many talented people on our team and on the Marvel Studios Vis Dev team, too. We also worked with our vendor studios, Polygon Pictures in Tokyo and CGCG in Taipei, to create a really interesting mixture of 3-D, CG with a 2D look. It’s given us the opportunity to sort of bring the comic books to life. They’ve been really innovative, and we’ve been able to work together to make something really special. And I think it stands out amongst 60 years of different Spider-Man incarnations.

Throughout the season, audiences will see Spider-Man encounter a handful of other New York City-based heroes, from Doctor Strange to Daredevil. What were your conversations with Marvel like regarding which characters you could include and how?JT: It was really just about following where the story took us, knowing what we wanted to do, and seeing who fit that story. There are so many characters that we could have used, but no one at Marvel ever said, “Don’t use this character.” No one ever said, “We’re reserving this person.” Marvel has been very open and supportive in terms of using its characters. Yes, Doctor Strange and Daredevil have a lot of history with Spider-Man, but our show is adjacent to the main Marvel Cinematic Universe timeline, so it’s a kind of perfect mixture of being one universe over. We’re able to tell these stories but still have touchstones of what’s happening in the wider world.

HT: And I have to say, I’ve had so much fun getting to work with people like Colman Domingo and Charlie Cox. I have been trying not to fanboy out the whole time, basically.

The series has already been greenlit for more episodes, and the Season 1 finale sets up surprising storylines for nearly every character. Which are you most excited to explore?JT: A lot of those teases are there because they’re all so exciting to explore. I look at Season 1 like we’re building this world and we’re setting the board. In Season 2 and future seasons, now we’re playing the game. That’s really exciting to me — to dig into those stories and see where we can push this universe even further now that we’ve earned the trust and the love of the fans with these characters. We can take them on a bigger journey.

Marvel Animation has an illustrious year ahead.

Following the series finale of What If…? — and with Season 2 of X-Men ’97 currently in production — Marvel Animation will debut three new series on Disney+ in 2025. Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man will premiere first on Wednesday, January 29, followed by Eyes of Wakanda on Wednesday, August 6, and Marvel Zombies on Friday, October 3.

“Everybody who works on these shows is so passionate and works so hard,” Brad Winderbaum, Head of Marvel Television and Marvel Animation, said. “To feel so much love from Marvel fans — before any of these shows is even out— is really affirming.”

Before each series premieres, here’s a look at what audiences can expect:

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man

Streaming January 29, 2025, on Disney+

From head writer Jeff Trammell, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man follows Peter Parker (voiced by Hudson Thames) on his way to becoming a hero. It’s a journey unlike audiences have ever seen with a style that celebrates the character’s comic book origins.

Trammell — an avid comic book reader who fell in love with the animated series Spider-Man (1994–98) as a young child — is excited to tell a new story set outside of the MCU.

“We have the privilege of following the movies and shows, so we pay homage to them as well as the comics,” he said. “We build on things we’ve seen before but present them in new ways. We use those expectations to our advantage and turn things away from where you might expect. I’m excited for people to see new twists on classic characters, and I’m also excited to introduce characters that aren’t normally featured in Spider-Man stories.”

One of the most exciting twists is the series’ take on Norman Osborn, the self-made, ruthless industrialist (voiced by Academy Award nominee Colman Domingo) who plays a big role in Peter’s evolution.

“It was Jeff Trammell who had the idea to cast Colman Domingo as Norman Osborn,” Winderbaum said. “The character is such a rich and complicated mentor for Peter, so we really needed an actor who could deliver many different dimensions. You can see in his work that he’s so multifaceted, so I can’t wait for the world to see his version of Norman.”

Rounding out the voice cast of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man are Eugene Byrd, Grace Song, Zeno Robinson, Hugh Dancy, and Charlie Cox (reprising his role as Daredevil).

“You’re going to see some familiar faces — and if you’re a fan of Chameleon, you’re going to see a few of his faces,” Trammell joked. “You’re also going to see Scorpion, as well as a few characters who may seem new, like Speed Demon or Butane. We have a huge rogues gallery to play with, and so we’re looking forward to putting some of them in the forefront.”

Winderbaum added, “There’s a reason why we changed the title to Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. It’s about the neighborhood. It’s an ensemble show. Every character is well-defined and has amazing arcs, from Peter and Nico to Lonnie and Pearl.”

Eyes of Wakanda

Streaming August 6, 2025, on Disney+

The four-episode series Eyes of Wakanda tells the stories of brave Wakandan warriors throughout history. In this globe-trotting adventure, the heroes — the Hatut Zaraze — must complete dangerous missions to retrieve Vibranium artifacts from Wakanda’s enemies.

“This has been a long time coming,” showrunner Todd Harris said. “The story has been stewing for a long time in my head. I’m a big believer in what Wakanda represents to mankind as a place that’s untethered by expansion. It has drawn a line — a line it won’t cross and it won’t let anybody else cross.”

Think of the Hatut Zaraze “like Wakanda’s CIA,” Winderbaum explained. “They often have to venture out to regain stolen Vibranium, but they also have to keep secrets well-hidden so that Wakanda can ward off invaders and stay safe. The Hatut Zaraze are challenged in different ways to stay loyal to Wakanda as they discover the rest of the world around them.”

Only through the medium of animation could these ambitious, centuries-spanning stories be told, Harris added. “Animation is the ultimate equalizer of locations,” he said “Egypt costs just as much as New York City, and the moon costs just as much as Ohio. Filming around the globe has inherent limitations that we just don’t have in animation. That freedom allowed us to reimagine an idealized version of an era that’s unaffected by human history.”

Eyes of Wakanda features the voices of Winnie Harlow, Cress Williams, Patricia Belcher, Larry Herron, Adam Gold, Lynn Whitfield, Jacques Colimon, Jona Xiao, Isaac Robinson-Smith, Gary Anthony Williams, Zeke Alton, Steve Toussaint, and Disney Legend Anika Noni Rose. Academy Award nominee Ryan Coogler, the filmmaker behind Marvel Studios’ Black Panther (2018) and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2023), executive produces alongside Winderbaum, Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Zinzi Coogler, Sev Ohanian, Kalia King, and Dana Vasquez-Eberhardt.

Harris said, “Everyone working on this all loves the same thing: Wakanda.”

Marvel Zombies

Streaming October 3, 2025, on Disney+

The fifth episode from Season 1 of What If…? pondered the possibility of an alternate reality in which the MCU films Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018) and Avengers: Infinity War (2018) ended differently — resulting in a zombie apocalypse that left a few surviving heroes in search of a cure. That episode inspired the new series Marvel Zombies.

“Brad and Kevin loved the What If…? episode so much. They were like, ‘We need more zombies!’” showrunner Bryan Andrews recalled. “They said, ‘Let’s do a sequel to that episode — but let’s do four episodes, like a mini-movie event.’ So, we’re upping the ante.”

“It’s TV-MA, so we don’t have to pull punches,” Andrews continued. “We can be a little bit more hardcore. We go for the throat — no pun intended. It’s pretty wild, pretty out there.”

Perhaps ironically, Marvel Zombies also has a lot of heart.

“In many ways, animation is the most direct access you’ll ever have to a filmmaker’s imagination. If you can conjure it in your mind, you can put it onscreen. Marvel Zombies is proof of that,” Winderbaum said. “It’s not just a zombie story, it’s a sweeping adventure — one with themes of hope and despair, and that’s what you want from a rich zombie story.”

Marvel Zombies features the voices of MCU stars Awkwafina, David Harbour, Simu Liu, Elizabeth Olsen, Randall Park, Florence Pugh, Hailee Steinfeld, Dominique Thorne, and Iman Vellani. “An old favorite also shows up: Zombie Cap makes an appearance,” Andrews teased. “He has quite a scuffle with another main character, and I think fans will love it.”

To celebrate Marvel Television’s Agatha All Along finale, Disney+ unveiled an eye-popping “Look Ahead” teaser that reveals upcoming 2024-2025 Marvel Studios’ titles that will launch exclusively on the streamer in the months ahead.

The teaser features first looks at the following content:

• Marvel Studios’ Deadpool & Wolverine, the highest grossing R-rated movie of all time, comes to the small screen on November 12.
• Marvel Animation’s What If…? returns for its highly anticipated third season with daily episodes beginning on December 22.
• Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man joins Marvel Animation’s lineup on January 29, 2025.
• Marvel Television’s Daredevil: Born Again original, live action series launches on March 4, 2025.
• Ironheart, an original, live action series from Marvel Television, debuts on June 24, 2025.
• From Marvel Animation, Eyes of Wakanda launches on August 6, 2025.
• Also from Marvel Animation, Marvel Zombies comes in time for Halloween in October 2025.
• Marvel Television’s Wonder Man original, live-action series is poised to release in December 2025.

New York Comic-Con kicks off on Thursday, and Marvel will have a sizable presence at this year’s event. That includes activations, booth, and panels, which brings Marvel and its loyal fanbase closer together on its home turf.

As New York Comic-Con begins, we spoke to C.B. Cebulski, Marvel Comics’ Editor-in-Chief, to find out more about the brand’s connection to NYC, how Marvel Comics works alongside Marvel Studios, and what’s next for a brand that turned 85 earlier this year.

With Marvel having a presence at New York Comic-Con, what does New York City mean to Marvel Comics? How has it impacted the storytelling of Marvel for the last 85 years?

New York City is of the utmost importance to Marvel Comics, not only as it’s where we’re based as a company, obviously, but where the majority of our heroes live and most of the stories across our 85-year history have taken place. We always say that New York City is a Marvel character itself, it lives and breathes in the pages of our comics just like Spider-Man or the Fantastic Four.

For 85 years, Marvel Comics has entertained billions of people around the world. After more than eight decades and hundreds of characters, how does Marvel keep its storytelling fresh?

The Marvel universe is the “world outside your window” and a lot of our success lies in the relatability that our fans feel with the characters. It’s about getting them to connect with the human side of our heroes first and foremost. While the titles of the movies and comics may be Iron Man, Captain Marvel, and Black Panther, at their core, our stories are about Tony Stark, Carol Danvers and T’Challa, and that has always been key to Marvel’s continued success.

How do you and the publishing side work with the team at Marvel Studios?

I take great pride in how closely Marvel’s publishing team works with Studios and all the other Marvel divisions, offering advice on anything our colleagues need, from character personalities to costume designs to power sets, just to name a few. And one of the things we love most is taking ideas that the other creatives around Marvel come up with and incorporating them back into our comics, like Agent Coulson, Alligator Loki or Kahhori: The Shaper of Worlds from Marvel Animation’s What If…? on Disney+, who we’re excited will be making her comics debut this November.

What does the next 85 years of Marvel Comics look like?

Without an Immortus Engine (check out Ultimate Invasion No. 2 to find out what that is) or a TemPad (check out Loki on Disney+) it’s hard to know where Marvel is going next: we’re constantly surprised and inspired by the incredible creativity of our editors, artists, and writers. They’re always finding new twists, stories, and characters in the Marvel Universe. Coming next year in our comics, I can say I am very excited for One World Under Doom crossover event, and an upcoming new Daredevil arc we’re excited for.

Who’s been pulling every evil string? It’s actually been the Lopezes all along.

In the seventh episode of Marvel Studios’ WandaVision, “Breaking the Fourth Wall,” the nosy neighbor Agnes revealed her true identity through the catchy, vampy musical number “Agatha All Along“—a viral sensation that would later win songwriters Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez the Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics. The ditty proved so popular, in fact, that in 2024, it would become the namesake of Marvel Television’s spinoff centered on Kathryn Hahn as the wonderfully wicked Agatha Harkness.

“We didn’t even know what the show’s title was at first, because they kept changing it,” Lopez says of Agatha All Along, which had previously—and playfully—been titled Agatha: Coven of Chaos, Agatha of Westview, Agatha: Darkhold Diaries, and Agatha: The Lying Witch with Great Wardrobe. “They told us they were going to keep changing it, but they didn’t say what it was going to be. I could almost tear up thinking about it. And the fact that they named each episode using lyrics from ‘The Ballad of the Witches’ Road’ song is an honor.”

Down, Down, Down the Road

“The Ballad of the Witches’ Road” is more than just a “stupid song,” as protection witch Alice Wu-Gulliver (Ali Ahn) tells Agatha and Teen (Joe Locke) in the second episode, “Circle Sewn With Fate / Unlock Thy Hidden Gate.” It’s an instruction manual for navigating the Witches’ Road, which puts Agatha’s coven through a series of treacherous trials. Make it all the way to the end, and they will receive the one thing they desire most.

“The song ‘Agatha All Along’ added a lot of color and texture to WandaVision, whereas in the show Agatha All Along, ‘The Ballad of the Witches’ Road’ is more central to the story,” says creator, showrunner, director, and executive producer Jac Schaeffer. “I see the ballad as the spine of the show. And any excuse to work with the Lopezes, I’m going to jump all over.”

Schaeffer and the writers outlined specific plot points for the Lopezes, who then worked their magic to conjure multiple iterations of the ballad in order to fit an episode’s narrative.

“Jac and the writers gave us so many wonderful pieces that needed to be incorporated,” Anderson-Lopez recalls. “We knew we had to start with the version that contained the most components, which is the ’70s ballad [as seen in the fourth episode, ‘If I Can’t Reach You, Let My Song Teach You‘]. The whole song is about peeling back layers. The ’70s ballad had to contain a protection spell that had been added by Lorna Wu, Alice’s mother; it had to be a hit love song from the ’70s, with sort of a ‘Silver Springs’ quality; and it had to contain all of the witch elements, all of the plot points, and all of the rules to the road. That was the trickiest puzzle to write. Then, with each subsequent genre, we’d peel back another layer.”

Marching Ever Forward

Unlike past projects — including Frozen, Frozen 2, and Coco — the Lopezes were excited to write music for something that wasn’t a musical. “We were lucky enough to not have to think about the plot,” Lopez explains. “That was a nice break, because that’s the hard part.”

“At the time, we were working on another TV show for Hulu called Up Here, and we didn’t have a lot of spare time,” Anderson-Lopez recalls. “Bobby would read all the Agatha scripts to me while I was driving back and forth to the studio — and it was already, like, my favorite TV show! It had the camp, the joy, and the fun, and it was incredibly smart. I loved the sisterhood. We got the feeling and the tone for it right away. When Bobby made this one vamp, I was like, ‘That sounds like a ’70s hit song to me.’ We listened to Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and the Eagles, and Fleetwood Mac, and I found a playlist on Spotify called ‘Witchy Vibes’ or something. We were downloading as much of that feeling as we could.”

Then, as the music was taking shape, divine inspiration struck Anderson-Lopez.

“When we had to peel back some layers from the ’70s version to write the sacred version, I happened to be on a college tour with our daughter,” Anderson-Lopez says. “We were visiting a campus that had traditionally been all women. I went and sat on this balcony in the science center that overlooks this haunted, sunken forest. It was in October 2022: leaves were falling down around me, the wind was blowing, the sun was starting to set. I was consulting old Wiccan texts and scripts — putting it all together, feeling very witchy.”

To Glory at the End

Lopez’s favorite version of “The Ballad of the Witches’ Road” is the sacred chant. “This person commented online saying, ‘Well, I am a witch, and this is a very authentic chant — and I will be using it in my practices,’” he says, laughing. “I just thought that was amazing.”

But there’s another reason Lopez says that version holds a special place in his heart. “I don’t think either of us knew how powerful it was going to feel when we wrote it,” he confesses. “Once we had the ladies standing in a circle, looking each other in the eye, feeling the tension of whether this magic is going to work, it was the most chills I’ve ever felt on a set. It was almost as if a green flash was going to occur and magic was going to really happen.”

Anderson-Lopez shared her partner’s sentiment, saying, “Magic was really happening that day, because for many of them, it was the first time they had been in costume with each other. I think they even drew tarot cards before singing, too. It was like watching a coven form, because they were going to walk down this scary road of doing a series together — out of town, far from their families — for the next three months. There was a meta quality.”

“At the risk of sounding silly, I do believe that music is magic — and this is an example of it,” Lopez adds. “Music has the power to change the way you feel, to change your heart — especially when it’s in a powerful story. This was a successful application of that principle.”

With a new episode of Agatha All Along streaming every Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT on Disney+, fans have been poring over the Lopezes’ lyrics in search of clues and Easter eggs. “One thing that I so appreciate about Marvel fans is how they scrutinize every bit of every song,” Lopez says. “They’re hungry for information, so they pay very close attention to the work we put into it. And I love when that happens, because when we put that much work into everything we do, it’s nice when fans put just as much effort into listening to it.”

Who was the breakout star of WandaVision? It was Agatha all along.

Premiering Wednesday, September 18, with two episodes on Disney+, Marvel Television’s Agatha All Along finds Emmy Award nominee Kathryn Hahn reprising her role as Westview’s resident witch (albeit a powerless one). A mysterious goth Teen, played by Joe Locke, helps break Agatha free from a distorted spell and begs her to take him on The Witches’ Road—a magical gauntlet of trials that, if survived, will reward them with what they most desire. Before they can go down, down, down The Witches’ Road, they’ll first need to convene a coven—which is easier said than done for a longtime loner like Agatha.

Agatha All Along hails from Jac Schaeffer, who served as the head writer on Marvel Television’s WandaVision. “I had probably an unhealthy fixation on Agatha following WandaVision,” Schaeffer admits. “That was such a fulfilling creative experience for me; it’s a wholesome story, but it’s also an angsty story. Wanda was very torn. There was a lot of trauma with Wanda, whereas Agatha is so unabashedly witchy! She’s so proud of being a witch. She’s obviously hiding so much in her past, and that creates a fabulous segue from WandaVision.”

As showrunner and executive producer of Agatha All Along, Schaeffer wanted to incorporate some of the elements that made WandaVision so critically and commercially successful. “A lot of the ways in which WandaVision was exciting, we have endeavored to recapture some similar magic,” she says. “Agatha All Along is a puzzle-box show. There are lots of mysteries, lots of reveals, lots of unexpected moments. We wanted to dip back into that pastiche of the genre play but do it in a totally different way. We’re leaving the sitcoms behind, but there are a lot of films and television shows that we allude to inside of the show. It was really a fun for us to create, and I hope it will be fun for audiences to watch.”

“There’s a bit of an expectation that a WandaVision spinoff should have a lot of the same pedigree, which it does—but this is Agatha Harkness. She is a wildly different protagonist than Wanda,” she continues. “This show is darker. We lean very hard into the horror. I think that by itself is unusual for the MCU. The ‘witchiness’ is something we haven’t really seen.”

Likewise, Hahn says she was eager to explore a darker, more mystical side of Agatha—particularly given that her character masqueraded as a nosy neighbor named Agnes for much of WandaVision. “The character I had played in WandaVision was its own specific bird, and it became really important to all of us that she didn’t lose that,” she says. “That is who she is, with her nasty magic, her masochism, her performative quality, her assertiveness, her being so sarcastic and mean. You’re not ever sure of her intentions; they keep switching. We really wanted to keep that. But this show gave us an opportunity to dig into a side character and see what lies beneath all that. There’s so little about witches—and the origin of witches—in the MCU, so I was very excited to dig into that whole world.”

Stronger Together

At its core, Agatha All Along “is a story of a coven-less witch who is forced to form a coven,” Schaeffer explains. Joining Agatha and Teen on The Witches’ Road are potions witch Jennifer Kale (Sasheer Zamata), protection witch Alice Wu-Gulliver (Ali Ahn), divination witch Lilia Calderu (Patti LuPone), the Green Witch Rio Vidal (Aubrey Plaza), and… non-witch Sharon Davis (Debra Jo Rupp). “A lot of what the story is about is the power of community, the power of tribe. All of these characters are loners to various degrees, and they are people who are disconnected from their own internal sources of power,” Schaeffer continues. “Through the circle of togetherness and through harmonizing—both literally and figuratively—they are able to reconnect with their naturally existing internal power.”

It’s no secret that Agatha—who was cast out of her own coven in 1693 for practicing forbidden magic—does not play well with others. “At the beginning she’s kind of a twisted ringleader,” Hahn says. “If this was a circus, she would definitely be the Barnum or Bailey. She’s got the smarts—maybe an almost Tin Man quality, if Tin Man had major character energy. And I think that she has to be the most confident one who gets all these little scared witches running behind her. She has to show a lot of bravado and kind of fake it ’til she feels it. Remember, she still has no powers, so she has to manifest power through her actions and her words. She’s leaning a lot on appearing powerful to these other witches.”

But in fairness to Agatha, the others aren’t exactly team players, either.

“In the coven, there’s a lot of sniping at each other,” Schaeffer says. “But underneath it all, there is a really strong thread of respect, which I think is really satisfying to see teased out.”

If Agatha wants to reach the end of The Witches’ Road, she’ll have to work with the others and get out of her own way. “She’s her biggest obstacle,” Schaeffer says. “She’s always after the shortcut, the instant gratification. She’s always looking out for No. 1. She is impatient and self-serving, and cutting corners just gets her into trouble—especially on this journey.”

Practical Magic

Like WandaVision, Agatha All Along relies heavily on practical effects.

Kevin Feige, president of Marvel Studios, “was really excited about the practical side of this project,” Schaeffer says. “On a larger corporate studio level, to get the okay to do practical effects for this project felt very special and very unique. On a creative level, a lot of the inspiration and the touchstones for this show are older properties that were trailblazers in the world of practical effects—classic movies like The Wizard of Oz, The NeverEnding Story, The Goonies, The Dark Crystal, The Princess Bride. We wanted Agatha All Along to have that texture. Our version of witchcraft is very connected to the earth, so we wanted it to feel like it was something you could touch, that felt real rather than CG or ephemeral.”

Schaeffer discovered the magic of practical effects during her first MCU series. “On WandaVision, we did a lot of practical effects in the early episodes that were inspired by Bewitched and The Dick Van Dyke Show. We filmed the pilot episode in front of a studio audience, and that’s where I learned what those kinds of choices can do for an actor’s performance,” she says. “On Agatha All Along, our cast got to walk on the actual Witches’ Road. I can’t even quantify what that did for them and their performances.”

Hahn, for one, can’t wait for these witches to cast a spell on audiences.

“Oh, I am so ready for them to laugh, for them to be surprised, for them to have some actual jump scares, for them to fall in love with all these witches, and for them to realize that in order to get one’s power back, you can’t do it alone,” she says. “That was, I think, the hardest lesson for this witch. It took a long time.”

“I’m so proud to be a part of this,” she adds. “I could not be happier with how it turned out.”

In celebration of 85 years of Marvel, The Walt Disney Company released a new brand spot hat takes a look back at Marvel storytelling through the years as well as gives a sneak peek at what’s to come with new clips from upcoming projects that are debuting as part of this spot.

Earlier this month during the historic D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event presented by Visa®, Marvel debuted the heartwarming brand spot celebrating Marvel’s 85 anniversary and the incredible storytelling legacy they have created both on screen and in comics. From the Avengers and X-Men to the Fantastic Four and Spider-Man, Marvel characters have resonated with fans of all ages around the world. Marvel moments from the comics, movies, games, and beyond have captured the hearts of generations — moments that continue to inspire, connect, excite, and ignite a sense of awe.

From “I am Iron Man” to “Avengers assemble,” these moments are woven throughout popular culture and have created a phenomenon unlike any other. The brand spot includes archival footage of the iconic Disney Legend Stan Lee, as well as Kevin Feige, producer and President of Marvel Studios, and some of the incredible talent who have brought favorite heroes to life, such as Disney Legend Angela Bassett and fan-favorite Tom Hiddleston. Interwoven with notable scenes from various films across the Marvel Cinematic Universe — including first looks from the highly anticipated upcoming films and series such as Red Hulk in Captain America: Brave New World, Daredevil: Born Again, Ironheart, and Thunderbolts* — this brand spot showcases not only the remarkable legacy of the company, but the excitement for all of the groundbreaking storytelling to come.

Marvel Studios’ Deadpool & Wolverine has slashed its way through the box office to become the highest-grossing R-rated film in history.

The film — which has Ryan Reynolds’ loudmouth Deadpool teaming up with Hugh Jackman’s iconic Wolverine — has brought in $1.086 billion over just 23 days, which gives it the title for highest-grossing R-rated film of all time at the global box office.

With the success of Deadpool & Wolverine, in addition to Pixar Animation Studios’ Inside Out 2, Disney now has the top two movies of the year and back-to-back $1 billion hits — making it the only studio to ever achieve that feat in a given year.

Deadpool & Wolverine is now the 31 film from The Walt Disney Studios (including 3 Fox films pre-acquisition) and the 11 title in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (including 2 for Sony) to reach this milestone.

Disney is now home to over half of the 55 films that have ever grossed $1 billion at the box office. In fact, Marvel Studios is responsible for the second most $1 billion films of any studio — behind only The Walt Disney Studios itself.

Deadpool & Wolverine started off mightily upon its theatrical release by shattering records when it opened to $444 million globally in July. That gave the movie the highest-grossing global opening for an R-Rated film ever, surpassing Deadpool in 2016.

Deadpool & Wolverine also helped Marvel Studios achieve a mighty feat at the box office last month. The Walt Disney Company’s Super Hero studio has collectively grossed over $30 billion at the global box office.

As one of the most anticipated films of the year, Deadpool & Wolverine lived up to the hype, garnering acclaim from critics and audiences. The action-packed buddy film received an “A” CinemaScore, is Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, and holds a stellar audience score of 95%.

Kevin Feige — Producer and President, Marvel Studios — said the secret to integrating Deadpool into Disney was to “let Deadpool be Deadpool.”

“People thought when Disney bought Marvel, ‘They’re going to shave off the hard edges. They’re going to make it all G-rated,’” Feige said. “Of course, that was never the intention.”

However, thanks to Disney’s dynamic portfolio of businesses, Deadpool and Wolverine have also popped up away from the movie theater.

The duo can be found at Avengers Campus in Disney California Adventure Park for a limited time. Deadpool will also be at Disneyland Paris, showcasing Disney’s ability to bring popular stories and characters to life, and in real-time, like no other company can.

It was a record-breaking weekend for Marvel Studios’ Deadpool & Wolverine.

The film — which has Ryan Reynolds’ chatty Deadpool teaming up with Hugh Jackman’s iconic Wolverine —shattered records around the world making $444.1 million globally, including $211 million domestically.

That makes Deadpool & Wolverine the highest-grossing global opening for an R-rated film in box office history, surpassing Deadpool in 2016.

Domestically, it was the 6th highest-grossing opening of all time, the highest July opening weekend of all-time (surpassing 2019’s The Lion King), the biggest opening since 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home, and the second largest opening for a third installment behind only 2019’s Avengers: Endgame.

The Walt Disney Company has released the No.1 title for May (Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes), June (Inside Out 2), and July (Deadpool & Wolverine)Disney now holds 5 of the top 6 opening weekends of all time.

As one of the most anticipated films of the year, Deadpool & Wolverine lived up to the hype garnering acclaim from critics and audiences. The action-packed Super Hero buddy film received an “A” CinemaScore, is Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, and holds a stellar audience score of 97%.

Director Shawn Levy said that the film gives fans want what they want in terms of action and laughs, but it will also include a warmth that ties everything together.

“I know people are expecting the funny; they’re going to get it. They’re expecting the action; they’re going to get it,” Levy — who is also a writer and producer on the film — said. “But the movie has a warmth as a result of the story we tell between these two guys where this unlikely friendship is built. That’s the piece I think people aren’t expecting.”

Kevin Feige — Producer and President, Marvel Studios — has crafted a universe of films that collectively have made more than $30 billion at the worldwide box office. The secret? Making great movies.

“Nothing strengthens the Marvel Cinematic Universe or perhaps any cinematic universe like a great movie,” he said. “A great movie is the answer to many cinematic universe issues, and Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman and our director, Shawn Levy, have made a great movie.”

However, Deadpool and Wolverine are not just showing up in theaters this weekend.

Starting Friday, the duo can be found at Avengers Campus in Disney California Adventure Park for a limited time. Deadpool will also be at Disneyland Paris, showcasing Disney’s ability to bring popular stories and characters to life, and in real-time, like no other company can.

Marvel Studios returned to Hall H Saturday at San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC), giving fans a first look at what’s next for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)—including huge news about Marvel Studios’ next two Avengers films, including the return of Disney Legend Robert Downey Jr. in a new role as Doctor Doom.

Flanked by others dressed as Doctor Doom, Downey unmasked himself onstage at the end of the presentation. “New mask, same task,” said the Academy Award winner, last seen in the MCU as Tony Stark/Iron Man. “What can I tell you? I like playing complicated character.”

Deadpool & Wolverine

The Hall H showcase kicked off with a celebration of Deadpool & Wolverine. A choral performance of Madonna’s “Like a Prayer” welcomed the crowd with dancing Deadpool variants, which ended when Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige looked for Peterpool amongst the variants and called Rob Delaney, who stars in the film as Peter, to the stage.

Delaney joined Feige as the showcase’s MC, mentioning the surprise Deadpool & Wolverine screening for SDCC fans Thursday, and the massive drone and fireworks show over San Diego’s Petco Park that followed. Deadpool & Wolverine has already broken box office records for an R-rated theatrical release, and the film’s opening officially pushed the MCU over the $30 billion box office mark with 34 movies. Starring Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, and directed by Shawn Levy, Deadpool & Wolverine is now playing in theaters.

Captain America: Brave New World

With Sam Wilson about to make his big screen debut as Captain America in Captain America: Brave New World, Delaney welcomed to the stage star Anthony Mackie. Joining them were Tim Blake Nelson, Danny Ramirez, and Giancarlo Esposito, who confirmed he is playing Sidewinder. Together, they revealed exclusive footage and invited Disney Legend Harrison Ford to take the stage. Ford makes his MCU debut as President Thaddeus Ross.

Releasing in theaters on February 14, 2025, Captain America: Brave New World follows Sam Wilson, who after meeting with newly elected U.S. President Thaddeus Ross, finds himself in the middle of an international incident. Sam must discover the reason behind a nefarious global plot before the true mastermind has the entire world seeing red.

Thunderbolts*

Highlighting Thunderbolts*, Delaney welcomed director Jake Schreier to the stage alongside stars Geraldine Viswanathan, Lewis Pullman, Hannah John-Kamen, Wyatt Russell, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, and David Harbour. The latter showed up in full Red Guardian garb, earning laughs and applause from the crowd, who were treated to a scene from the movie.

Marvel Studios (and a crew of indie veterans who definitely sold out) present Thunderbolts*, an irreverent team-up featuring depressed assassin Yelena Belova alongside the MCU’s least anticipated band of misfits.

Thunderbolts* also stars Olga Kurylenko and opens in theaters on May 2, 2025.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps

Feige returned to the stage to share details of the upcoming The Fantastic Four, which begins production Tuesday. Joining Feige on stage were director Matt Shakman and Marvel’s first family together onstage for the first time: Pedro Pascal (Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic), Vanessa Kirby (Sue Storm/The Invisible Woman), Joseph Quinn (Johnny Storm/The Human Torch), and Ebon Moss-Bachrach (Ben Grimm/Thing). They all shared some cosmic details about the upcoming feature film that sees Galactus and Silver Surfer target Earth for destruction—and revealed the movie’s full title: The Fantastic Four: First Steps.

“We’re doing a retro-future ’60s. [Industrialist] Syd Mead was an inspiration. The ’60s, to me, is all about optimism,” Shakman told fans in Hall H, adding, “I love the Fantastic Four. I love their power set. We want to be true to the comics, but we want to be true to life.”

Hall H was then overtaken by none other than the Fantasticar soaring over the crowd, drawing massive cheers as the screens were taken over by a retro-futurist vision of New York City. Featuring music by Oscar-winning composer Michael Giacchino, Fantastic Four: First Steps will be released in theaters on July 25, 2025.

Avengers

Just when the audience thought the showcase was over, Feige announced he had another update: Anthony and Joe Russo, the team behind four of the most successful MCU movies and the studio’s highest-grossing directors with over $6 billion in global earnings, will return to helm Avengers: Doomsday in May 2026 and Avengers: Secret Wars in May 2027.

But who could possibly play Doctor Doom?

“If we’re gonna bring Victor Von Doom to movie theaters worldwide, then I think we’re going to need the greatest actor in the world to play that character,” Joe said. “As proof of the unimaginable possibilities in the Marvel multiverse, we give you the one person who could play Victor Von Doom.”

Robed figures dressed in Doctor Doom masks took the stage and then parted so that Downey could reveal himself. Hall H erupted in thunderous applause, chanting “RDJ!”

The Russos’ company, AGBO, is set to produce both films alongside Marvel Studios. Stephen McFeely, known for his work on the Captain America trilogy and Avengers: Endgame, will handle the script.

“Being able to create stories and explore characters within the Marvel Universe fulfilled a life-long dream of ours, and we discovered a powerful connection with audiences in each film that we made,” the Russo brothers said. “We’re thrilled to collaborate once again with Kevin, Lou and the entire Marvel team to bring this epic adventure in storytelling to new and surprising places for both the fans and ourselves.”

Marvel Studios has achieved a mighty feat at the box office: $30 billion.

Thanks to the amazing start of Deadpool & Wolverine — which has already made $211 million worldwide — The Walt Disney Company’s Marvel Studios has now collectively grossed over $30 billion at the global box office. The Marvel Cinematic Universe — which has produced blockbusters such as Avengers: Endgame, Black Panther, and Iron Man — is the highest-grossing film franchise of all time.

But the achievements for Marvel Studios don’t stop at the $30 billion number. Some of the other accomplishments for Marvel at the box office are:

• Each of its 33 feature films have opened No. 1 at the weekend box office domestically, with Deadpool & Wolverine poised to be the 34th.
• 10 films have grossed over $1 billion globally, while two films have grossed over $2 billion.
• Marvel holds the No. 2, No. 6, No. 7, and No. 10 spots on the list of highest-grossing films of all time worldwide.

Kevin Feige — producer and president of Marvel Studios — said this week that the one thing he’s learned over the course of 34 films in the MCU is to ensure each film has a moment that fills the audience with excitement and enthusiasm.

“To me, continuing to learn and to think as a fan and as an audience member is the key to being a great creative producer,” he said.

On the eve of Marvel Studios’ Deadpool & Wolverine releasing in theaters around the world, stars from across the Marvel Cinematic Universe—including Emma Corrin, Chris Evans, David Harbour, Kathryn Hahn, Hugh Jackman, Brie Larson, Simu Liu, Ke Huy Quan, Ryan Reynolds, Sebastian Stan, and Chris Pratt—assembled to celebrate producer and Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige receiving the 2,785th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

“Usually, we think it’s a place for movie stars,” Feige said, “and I’m not a movie star.”

Indeed, the sidewalks on Hollywood Blvd. are lined with names of stars that span motion pictures, radio, television, and beyond—and Feige has been admiring them since childhood visits to Los Angeles. “These are people who made an impact. These are people who literally have become a part of the foundation of Hollywood history,” he said. “There were names I recognized that I would take pictures of, and there were names I didn’t recognize that I then wanted to learn about. I feel proud that maybe I’ll be of those names people walk across and don’t recognize but look up and see our part in the history of Hollywood.”

One of few producers to receive a star, Feige added, “It really does mean a lot to me. It goes back to things you didn’t even dare dream about—and yet, there it is for all to see.”

Feige is the driving creative force behind dozens of blockbuster feature films and series, from Iron Man (2008) to Deadpool & Wolverine (2024). As the chief architect of the MCU—the highest-grossing film franchise of all time—he has overseen all of Marvel Studios’ feature film productions. All 33 films have opened No. 1 at the domestic box office, collectively grossing nearly $30 billion, with 10 of the films grossing more than $1 billion worldwide, and two of those films, Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019), earned more than $2 billion—with the latter being the fastest film to ever do so.

During Thursday’s ceremony in front of Disney’s El Capitan Theatre, Reynolds praised Feige’s creativity and leadership, saying, “He is quite literally an anchor being in real life, and he keeps the Marvel Universe alive and well and vital. Without him, none of this works. In his wake, I think people will remark on his career achievements over his character. And if you ask me, you genuinely can’t have one without the other. His character is the reason he makes magic—and his character is the reason many of us have stars on the Walk of Fame.”

Louis D’Esposito, Co-President of Marvel Studios, has worked with Feige since the MCU began with Iron Man. “Since then, Kevin and I spend approximately 95 percent of our working day together. We go from meeting to meeting, morning ’til night, day in and day out. This has been going on for the past 18 years. And after all this time, I can honestly say… we don’t have very much in common,” D’Esposito said, eliciting a big laugh from Feige and the crowd. “…Even though I’ve been with him a very long time, he impresses me every day.”

Following a touching speech by Jackman—who befriended Feige while making 2000’s X-Men and reprises his role as the mutant Wolverine in Deadpool & Wolverine—it was time for Feige to address the audience. “Producing is all I’ve ever really wanted to do, ever since I knew it was a thing that a person could do,” he said. “And to be able to do it [with] the most talented actors and storytellers in the business is more than I could’ve ever asked for.”

After sharing fond memories of film premieres and shoots that took place on Hollywood Blvd. throughout the years, he took a moment to celebrate his collaborators’ contributions.

“Obviously, I’m not up here because of anything I did by myself… I had all this help along the way,” Feige said. “I really think that is why filmmaking is the greatest art form, because it is a collaboration, each and every day. It’s why we put tags at the end of our movies. I like them because it encourages people to sit and watch all of the names of the people who made the movie, and learn what the positions are, and learn who the people were—much like walking on this boulevard encouraged me to learn, and to grow, and to enter this business that I love so much and I look forward to being a part of for the rest of my life.”

“Getting a star on the Walk of Fame seemed about as likely as Disney releasing an R-rated film with Marvel characters in it, but here we are today,” he added. “Both are happening.”

“The secret to integrating Deadpool into the Disney company is to let Deadpool be Deadpool,” Kevin Feige, Producer and President, Marvel Studios, said when discussing the studio’s latest film opening this weekend, Deadpool & Wolverine.

In the video below, Feige and Shawn Levy — the film’s Producer, Writer and Director — discuss how to welcome Deadpool into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, what to expect from the new film, and what the X-Men now being under the Disney umbrella means for the future of Marvel.

Kevin Feige — Producer and President, Marvel Studios — has crafted a universe of 34 films, numerous blockbusters (totaling roughly $30 billion worldwide), and countless box office records. However, one thing that Feige never imagined was creating a Deadpool film for The Walt Disney Company.

That changes this weekend when Deadpool & Wolverine — bringing together Ryan Reynolds’ “Merc with a Mouth” and Hugh Jackman’s iconic Wolverine — hits theaters around the world.

We spoke with Feige to learn more about the film, what it means to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and how Deadpool & Wolverine represents a full circle moment for him.

How does Deadpool & Wolverine strengthen the MCU brand? 

Well, I will tell you, nothing strengthens the Marvel Cinematic Universe or perhaps any cinematic universe like a great movie. A great movie is the answer to many cinematic universe issues, and Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman and our director, Shawn Levy, have made a great movie.

This is a full circle moment for you. You were a producer on the original X-Men film 24 years ago. What was it like to work with Hugh and Wolverine again after all this time? 

It was amazing. The very first producer credit I ever received was on the first X-Men film as an associate producer — sort of a lower level on the on the producer ladder — and I couldn’t have been more excited to have been a part of it from start to finish. In many ways, I thought, “This is the peak of my career now. I’ve done it. I’m an associate producer on an X-Men movie.” And I’ve been very lucky to have been able to grow and evolve and to bring even more of our characters to life.

We didn’t have the rights to the X-Men characters for a very long time, and so we had to focus on what people know as the MCU now, with Iron Man and everybody in The Avengers. I hadn’t thought a lot about the X-Men until The Walt Disney Company purchased 21Century Fox, and one of the many, many amazing things they received out of that was all the X-Men characters. So, suddenly our toy box that we had access to finally represented almost all of the comics, because there were giant sections of our classic comics that were X-Men that we couldn’t translate into the MCU. Now, we can. 

So, looking back after 25 years and being on a set with Hugh again for the first time in over 20 years was absolutely an emotional full circle moment… And now with the rights to all those characters, I look at the journey ahead, and how amazing it is for the Marvel Cinematic Universe to get an injection of thousands of new storylines and characters.

The Walt Disney Company bought Marvel in 2009. How has Disney helped you make the MCU what it is today? 

I don’t think it’s any secret: The MCU would not be what it is today if Disney hadn’t purchased Marvel. We’d had a lot of success with the first Iron Man film, and that really set the tone for the way we wanted to make films. But the size of the undertaking of what the MCU became would not have been possible without the support of Bob Iger and The Walt Disney Company saying, “We like what you did with Iron Man, and we believe in your vision for the future.” At every step they’ve made the MCU what it is.

What was the approach to helping Deadpool fit into the Disney universe, but remain Deadpool? 

The secret to integrating Deadpool into the Disney company is to let Deadpool be Deadpool.

You know, [he’s] the Merc with the mouth, [as] he’s called in the comics. You can’t take away his mouth unless you’re that movie he debuted in many years ago, X-Men Origins: Wolverine… People thought when Disney bought Marvel, “They’re going to shave off the hard edges. They’re going to make it all G-rated.”

Of course, that was never the intention. Bob Iger said in one of his first press conferences dealing with the acquisition of Fox, somebody asked, “Are you going to let Deadpool be R-rated?” And he said, “Yes. Next question.” So, we always knew that we were going to be able to be absolutely authentic to who Deadpool is.

What excites you most about the future of the MCU? 

What I’m most excited about is people seeing Deadpool & Wolverine and seeing how emotional and poignant that relationship is, and that story is as it relates — not just to the two of them — but to the history of those Fox characters and of the X-Men characters. I think people are going to get at least hints at how we plan to build on that mutant saga going forward.

Deadpool & Wolverine is the 34th Marvel Studios film. What is the one thing you’ve learned throughout the years as the president of Marvel Studios? 

If there’s a secret to 34 Marvel movies, it’s a secret that I learned on set of X-Men in 2000. When I saw the actors in full costume for the first time, and the rush that I felt and the enthusiasm that I felt and the chemical reaction that happened in my bones, saying, “If we can give the audience this feeling, we may be on to something.”

And at every turn in every movie, you need to have that moment where it feels like that and where you can take that experience you had reading a comic or that experience you had on set, and translate it onto a big screen with an audience, with as many people as possible. To me, continuing to learn and to think as a fan and as an audience member is the key to being a great creative producer.

You’ve been making these movies since 2008 — numerous blockbusters, countless box office records. Did you ever foresee making a Deadpool movie for The Walt Disney Company? 

You know, there are some things where you don’t even dare to dream. When I saw Deadpool and Deadpool 2, I loved them, I thought they were great, and I thought that’s going to be a section of the world were never going to be able to play in — and now that we are, it just reminds me that that dreams do come true.

As a character, Deadpool is known for a lot of things. He’s, of course, the “Merc with the Mouth” aka a mercenary who is a loudmouth. He’s also sarcastic, breaks the fourth wall… and did we mention he likes to talk?

But one thing that wouldn’t immediately come to mind when thinking of Deadpool is… warmth.

Yet, that’s what director Shawn Levy is bringing to Marvel Studios’ Deadpool & Wolverine — the movie event of the summer, which opens in theaters this weekend.

“I know people are expecting the funny; they’re going to get it. They’re expecting the action; they’re going to get it,” Levy, who is also a writer and producer on the film, said. “But the movie has a warmth as a result of the story we tell between these two guys where this unlikely friendship is built. That’s the piece I think people aren’t expecting.”

That said, as much as this film — which has Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool teaming up with Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine for the first time — is different, it still has all the hallmarks audiences have come to love about the blockbuster franchise.

“The tone is all Deadpool. The audacity and the subversive humor is all Deadpool. The way that we are self-aware and commenting on culture, even from inside the movie, that’s pure Deadpool DNA, and that is in every frame of the movie,” Levy said. “But by virtue of being the first with Wolverine and Deadpool truly together, the movie is inherently completely different than Deadpool and Deadpool 2. It’s a real odd couple, buddy cop movie.”

Levy — who has helmed blockbusters such as Night at the Museum and Free Guy — wanted to direct Deadpool & Wolverine for a number of reasons.

“I’m a fan of these movies, and I just love collaborating with Ryan Reynolds… We just have this creative brotherhood, and I love Deadpool,” he said. “So, I get to work with my buddy, I get to do a Deadpool movie, and I get to join the MCU. And that was all before I knew Wolverine was going to be in the movie.”

Deadpool & Wolverine follows two hugely successful films, 2016’s Deadpool and 2018’s Deadpool 2, which brought in $784 million and $734 million at the global box office, respectively.

With the new film coming in at No. 1 on Fandango’s list of Most Anticipated Summer Movies of 2024, Levy made sure to put together a great theatrical experience.

“This is built for movie theaters, the visuals are epic-scaled,” he said. “The spectacle is a combination of practical effects and digital effects. The sound, which was mixed with an incredibly attentive, rigorous ear is layered and complex. The songs are raucous, and all of it combines into hopefully an immersive experience. It is really only best delivered in a movie theater.”

But away from all the spectacle, action scenes, and jokes, Deadpool & Wolverine is ultimately a story about two people trying to make their way in the Multiverse.

“If you’re working at Disney, if you’re working with the MCU, you have access to the greatest toy chest there is. The difficult part is being disciplined so that you’re not just saying yes to every cameo, yes to every Easter egg. If you do too much of that, the audience isn’t going to invest in the story,” he said. “The challenge and the only difficult thing was resisting temptation, so that we were always adhering to the central story, which is these two characters.”

Marvel Studios and ILM Immersive announce What If…? – An Immersive Story, the first-ever interactive Disney+ Original story coming exclusively to Apple Vision Pro on May 30.

Fans will be invited to step inside the Multiverse like never before and have the chance to dive into an immersive, narrative-driven and innovative story in mixed reality. Connected to the critically acclaimed Disney+ Original animated series What If…?, Marvel.com was given a first look at the hour-long experience, diving into what fans can expect when it is released soon as a new app for Apple Vision Pro.

“As a kid, my favorite stories were about worlds beyond my own, advanced technologies, and heroes traveling across space and time. What If…? – An Immersive Story is the next evolution in how we tell our stories, where fans across generations can experience them and live out the adventure alongside their favorite heroes,” director and executive producer Dave Bushore said. “This experience kicks the door open to the Marvel Universe, and it’s a glimpse of what I’ve been waiting for my whole life.”

What If…? reimagines events from across the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) in unexpected ways.

Now, fans have been chosen to step into the leading role of an all-new immersive story that transforms the space around them as they traverse across realities. Throughout their journey, they will come face-to-face with Multiversal variants of their favorite characters, learn the mystic arts, and be tasked with harnessing the power of the Infinity Stones.

“What If…? the animated series as well as the comic book has always been about looking over the horizon into realities that have yet to be conceived,” executive producer Brad Winderbaum said. “What If…? – An Immersive Story takes this one step further and actually allows you to visit these strange new worlds, not as a Watcher but as an actual participant. The creative work on this project is nothing less than stellar and we could not be more excited for fans to interact firsthand with some of their favorite Marvel heroes.”

Utilizing the revolutionary spatial computing capabilities of Apple Vision Pro, What If…? – An Immersive Story will deliver a technologically advanced and engaging experience to fans. They will cross between augmented and virtual reality as they live out their narrative adventure, interacting with the world around them by using their eyes and hands.

Fans will step into breathtaking environments that place them in new and iconic MCU locations, and feel completely immersed with stunning visuals and spatial audio. Together, these features will remind fans that time, space, and reality are more than a linear path.

“This experience is truly groundbreaking and unlike anything we’ve done before,” executive producer Jamie Voris, EVP/Chief Technology Officer at The Walt Disney Studios, said. “It’s an exciting new way to become a part of the MCU through a deeply emotional and compelling story.”

What If…? – An Immersive Story is directed by Dave Bushore at Marvel Studios and produced by Shereif M. Fattouh at ILM Immersive. The experience is written by David Dong and Phil McCarty (The Learning Curve), with music by Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning composer Laura Karpman (American Fiction, The Marvels). What If…? – An Immersive Story is executive produced by Bushore, Fattouh, and Brad Winderbaum (What If…?, X-Men ‘97), with Bryan Andrews (What If…?, Primal) serving as consulting producer. Vicki Dobbs Beck, VP of immersive content at Lucasfilm and ILM Immersive, Mark S. Miller, VP of creative development and production at ILM Immersive, and Jamie Voris, EVP/Chief Technology Officer at The Walt Disney Studios, all serve as executive producers.

Additional details about What If…? – An Immersive Story will be revealed soon. Fans looking to stay up-to-date on all news as it happens can follow the official social media handles from What If…?, Marvel Studios, and ILM Immersive.

Two of the mightiest brands in pop culture are assembling for an unprecedented global campaign.

On Monday, The Walt Disney Company and Coca-Cola launched Coca-Cola x Marvel: The Heroes — an innovative collaboration featuring some of Marvel’s most popular characters.

In the limited-time campaign, the two beloved brands are bringing the world of Marvel to life with a brand-new TV commercial, as well as a never-before-seen consumer experience featuring exclusive, limited-edition Coca-Cola pack designs featuring 38-character illustrations.

The new line of exclusive cans and bottles will feature heroes and villains from across the Marvel Universe. Illustrated with a balance of white, red, and black tones that highlight the characters, each can is scannable and brings its character to life through an AR extension on Coca-Cola’s website.

In addition to the collectable cans and innovative AR experience, Coca-Cola x Marvel: The Heroes offers fans a chance to win exciting prizes from Disney and Marvel, including the Ultimate Fan Experience, Disney Cruise, Marvel movie screenings, collectable influencer boxes, movie tickets, autographed memorabilia, and Disney+ subscriptions.

“Our corporate alliance with Coca-Cola uniquely positioned us to develop something remarkably innovative within the industry,” Mindy Hamilton, Senior Vice President of Global Marketing Partnerships at The Walt Disney Company, said. “We took the traditional marketing paradigm and redefined it in the best way possible.”

Hamilton added that the result is “an unprecedented campaign that taps into the power of the Marvel Universe” and “tells stories in a way that can only be done when Coca-Cola and Disney come together.”

The collaboration kicks off with a new TV spot that showcases a woman, who accidentally puts an entire comic book world in danger. Then, the real magic of Coca-Cola unites the Marvel Universe to save the day.

For nearly 85 years, Marvel has inspired millions of fans with diverse characters and timeless stories and now Coca-Cola is bringing these heroes to its iconic bottles while continuing its relationship with Disney that began more than 60 years ago.

“Coca-Cola has a long history with Disney, and it’s exciting to have a relationship that encourages and enables us to continue to push ourselves and our relationship to new heights creatively,” Islam ElDessouky, Global Head of Creative Strategy and Content for Coca-Cola TM, added. “This latest collaboration with Marvel allows us to tap into the legacy and affinity for both brands to deliver consumers new and unexpected experiences.”

The Marvel characters featured in 38 designs across the limited-edition products include:

• Coca-Cola: Blade, Cable, Colossus, Daredevil, Deadpool, Elektra, Juggernaut, Kingpin, Loki, Moon Knight, Negasonic Teenage Warhead, Wolverine, Nick Fury, Storm (US Only), Super Skrull, War Machine
• Coca-Cola Zero Sugar: Ant-Man, Black Panther, Black Widow, Captain America, Captain Marvel, Doctor Strange, Groot, Hulk, Iron Man, Ms. Marvel, She-Hulk, Rocket, Scarlet Witch, Shang-Chi, Star-Lord, Thanos, Thor

Starting today, fans can collect characters from this exciting new collaboration in stores globally. Coca-Cola x Marvel: The Heroes will be available in more than 50 countries worldwide across North America, Latin America, Europe, China, Japan, and Asia Pacific.

The Coca-Cola x Marvel: The Heroes collaboration marks the latest way fans can express their Marvel fandom, as Marvel remains one of the world’s most prominent character-based entertainment companies — built on a library of more than 8,000 characters featured in comic books, consumer products, films, series, theme park attractions & lands, and more.

If Marvel Studios Head of TV, Streaming, and Animation Brad Winderbaum wanted to make a continuation of X-Men: The Animated Series, his boss—Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige—told him he needed two things to secure a greenlight: the original theme song and original cast.

According to Winderbaum, getting them both “was the easiest thing in the world.”

“Everyone was thrilled to come back,” said Winderbaum, “and we were thrilled to have them back.”

The result is X-Men ’97, streaming exclusively on Disney+ on Wednesday, March 20.

X-Men ’97 isn’t a reboot, nor is it a remake of the original show. Rather, it’s a continuation, picking up immediately after the final events of X-Men: The Animated Series.

The series begins after the death of the X-Men founder, Dr. Charles Xavier. “Even though Xavier is no longer with the team, his message and his influence looms large,” said Winderbaum.”

“Much of the story in those early episodes is about characters wrestling with how to fulfill Xavier’s dream of coexistence in his absence,” Winderbaum explained. “Scott [Cyclops] certainly struggles with that. Magneto certainly struggles with that, and everyone’s got a different point of view on how to how to best continue his legacy.”

But, why was 2024 the right time to bring these characters back to the screen?

“Because it was the first opportunity we had to do it,” quipped Winderbaum.

Following the success of What If?, Marvel saw an appetite for more animated series. Winderbaum jumped at the opportunity to reunite the X-Men with audiences.

“The original X-Men: The Animated Series has been secretly influential for so many creators of our generation,” voiced Winderbaum. “It comes up all the time, comes up as often as Star Wars comes up if you were born at a certain time.”

According to Winderbaum, “The plan was never going to be ‘Let’s make a new X-Men show that takes places in 2024 and we’re going to redesign them and make them cool for today.’”

Instead, the more exciting opportunity was to work within the parameters of the nineties, which “makes it feel like new, even though it’s old. It’s fun to have superhero stories told in a time before the Internet, before cellphones,” said Winderbaum. “It’s just a different rulebook that the players have to abide by.”

“We spent all of our time and all of our creative effort trying to emulate our memory of this thing, which is why it was so important not only to get the cast back, but to get [original series co-creator] Eric Lewald back and [original series director] Larry Houston back to tell us how the original show was made and to help us come up with our parameters,” said Winderbaum.

The benefits of technological advancements in animation over the last three decades were actually a challenge in producing the show. “We needed to create our own rulebook based on the limitations that Larry and Lewald were under when they made the original show,” noted Winderbaum.

For Winderbaum, that meant “staying in a nineties aesthetic locked in flat space storytelling with big bold colors, staying on the x/y axis as much as possible.”

“Now, we broke those rules,” noted Winderbaum, “but we broke those rules in really specific times when the drama of the story demanded it.”

Part of the rule breaking meant fulfilling some of the ambitions that the original creators wanted to achieve but couldn’t due to hand-drawn technological constraints of the time.

For instance, in the opening credits there is a shot “where Rogue flips that bad guy over her that—if you watch the original opening—that’s a much shorter shot,” Winderbaum explained. “We extended it and did this shot that matched [Houston’s] original storyboards from the nineties.”

“One of the things that makes Marvel storytelling unique is that we’re always standing on the shoulders of giants,” said Winderbaum.

Winderbaum namechecked Chris Claremont, John Byrne, Jim Lee, and of course Eric Lewald and Larry Houston as among those who have expertly stewarded the X-Men across the page and screen.

“This is our opportunity with our new team to carry that torch,” stated Winderbaum.

Winderbaum also found the parallels between his team and the characters carrying on Xavier’s legacy: “In a way, the narrative kind of mimics the creation of the show. There’s this idea of upholding legacy that’s inherent to the DNA of the project.”

And as for what Winderbaum is most excited for fans to experience in X-Men ’97?

“I’m excited for fans to… be reminded about the dramatic depths that the X-Men can go to. And I’m excited for new audiences to be surprised at how impactful some of these stories may be when you see [them] on screen.”

The upcoming Disney+ debut of Marvel Animation’s X-Men ’97, which features 10 episodes, begins streaming March 20.

X-Men’97 revisits the iconic era of the 1990s as The X-Men, a band of mutants who use their uncanny gifts to protect a world that hates and fears them, are challenged like never before, forced to face a dangerous and unexpected new future.

The voice cast includes Ray Chase as Cyclops, Jennifer Hale as Jean Grey, Alison Sealy-Smith as Storm, Cal Dodd as Wolverine, JP Karliak as Morph, Lenore Zann as Rogue, George Buza as Beast, AJ LoCascio as Gambit, Holly Chou as Jubilee, Isaac Robinson-Smith as Bishop, Matthew Waterson as Magneto and Adrian Hough as Nightcrawler.

Beau DeMayo serves as head writer; episodes are directed by Jake Castorena, Chase Conley and Emi Yonemura. Featuring music by The Newton Brothers, the series is executive produced by Brad Winderbaum, Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso and DeMayo.

Marvel Studios gave fans a lovely Valentine’s Day gift by announcing the cast that will make up the highly anticipated film about Marvel’s first family, The Fantastic Four.

Pedro Pascal is the brilliant and elastic Reed Richards (Mister Fantastic), Vanessa Kirby is the powerful Susan Storm (The Invisible Woman), Ebon Moss-Bachrach is the clobberin’ Ben Grimm (The Thing) and Joseph Quinn is the charismatic hot head Johnny Storm (The Human Torch).

Marvel Studios announced the news on Wednesday via its social accounts by writing “Happy Valentine’s Day from Marvel’s First Family!” and posting an image of the four celebrating the holiday.

Marvel Studios’ The Fantastic Four hits theaters on July 25, 2025.

Everyone deserves a happy ending. Marvel Studios’ highly anticipated trailer for Deadpool & Wolverine broke global records following its release on Sunday, scoring 365 million views in 24 hours, which makes it the most viewed movie trailer of all time. 

Shawn Levy directs Deadpool & Wolverine, which stars Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin, Morena Baccarin, Rob Delaney, Leslie Uggams, Karan Soni, and Matthew Macfadyen.

Kevin Feige, Ryan Reynolds, Shawn Levy and Lauren Shuler Donner produce, with Louis D’Esposito, Wendy Jacobson, Mary McLaglen, Josh McLaglen, Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, George Dewey, Simon Kinberg and Jonathon Komack Martin serving as executive producers. Deadpool & Wolverine is written by Ryan Reynolds & Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick & Zeb Wells & Shawn Levy.

Marvel Studios’ Deadpool & Wolverine opens in U.S. & Canadian movie theaters on July 26, and will be available in IMAX, RealD 3D, Dolby Cinema, 4DX, Cinemark XD and premium screens everywhere.

Marvel Studios’ Echo is set after the events of 2021’s Hawkeye, in which Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox) exacted her revenge on Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio), thereby putting herself in grave danger. That climactic conflict is revisited in Echo, a self-contained five-episode series that follows Maya’s pursuit of payback and power.

Before filming began at Trilith Studios in Fayetteville, Ga., in April 2022, executive producer Sydney Freeland—who directs the series’ first two and final two episodes, with Catriona McKenzie directing the third—spent more than a year developing Maya’s story. “By far, this is the biggest project I’ve ever done,” Freeland says. “But I soon realized the process is the process—whether it’s a short film, an indie feature, or a studio-level project.”

It was important to Freeland and executive producers Kevin Feige, Stephen Broussard, Louis D’Esposito, Brad Winderbaum, Victoria Alonso, Richie Palmer, Marion Dayre, and Jason Gavin (Blackfeet) that Echo depicted the Indigenous characters with care. “Authenticity and representation are extremely important,” says Freeland (Navajo). “It’s just who I am. I don’t try to be representation; I am representation. So, when I came on board, the first thing that I wanted to do was engage the Choctaw Nation. When we traveled to Oklahoma to present the project to them, we basically asked them two things: one, for permission, and two, for a dialogue. And they were great collaborators, even now.”

To further inspire the crew during the preproduction phase, Freeland and the crew were invited to attend a powwow with members of Choctaw Nation. “I can explain to you what a powwow is until I’m blue in the face, but for you to see it in in real life is something else entirely,” Freeland explains. “I wanted my production designer to see it through his eyes. I wanted my cinematographer to see through her eyes. I want my A.D. [assistant director] to see it through his eyes. I wanted that for the costume designers, the hairstylists, the makeup artists—everyone. I wanted them to absorb all of that internally and then put it into their various areas of expertise to hopefully ground and create a more authentic story.”

Such experiences helped filmmakers better depict communities that have often been misrepresented or underrepresented onscreen. Likewise, the cast—which includes Chaske Spencer as Uncle Henry, Tantoo Cardinal as Chula, Devery Jacobs as Bonnie, Zahn McClarnon as William Lopez, Cody Lightning as Cousin Biscuits, and Graham Greene as Skully—were appreciative of such efforts. Cox, born and raised in the Menominee Indian Reservation in Wisconsin, is part Mohican—and, as a deaf and single amputee, she was excited to tell more of Maya’s story in an authentic, respectful way. She also wanted to tap into a side of Maya that had not been previously explored in Hawkeye. “I was able to connect with her rage and her sadness because she grew up with a lot of trauma in her life,” she says of playing Maya, a burgeoning antihero. “Kingpin raised her to be a fighter, and she was involved in crimes and secretive operations. I also had a lot of trauma in my life as a child. I went through a lot of surgeries, unfortunately. [The difference is that] I grew up with a very loving, very supportive family, in a great home—but Maya, obviously, did not.”

In addition to accurately portraying Indigenous culture, it was important to “have some basic level of communication and understanding of American Sign Language (ASL),” Freeland says. Filmmakers employed a variety of strategies to represent Maya and ensure ideal communication between Cox, crew members, and the cast; consulting producer and ASL master Doug Ridloff worked with the Echo production team before cameras rolled. “Week one, we all started taking ASL classes, and some really great things came out of it,” Freeland recalls. “It actually ended up dictating our entire visual style. The hands are the text, and the face is the subtext. You need to see those two things together to understand what a person’s feeling. That’s a positive consequence that came from all of our prep work.”

Echo is the first series under the Marvel Spotlight banner, which brings more grounded, character-driven stories to the screen and is rooted in Marvel Comics’ 85-year publishing history. Under the new banner, Echo can focus on street-level stakes over larger MCU continuity—i.e., viewers don’t need to watch other Marvel series to understand the plot. “Echo was always about leaning into authenticity to tell a more human story,” Freeland says. “It’s an exciting place to be, because we’re not beholden to the fate of the universe, and we’re not dealing these huge, cosmic consequences. We get to focus on a group of characters and delve into that specificity within the MCU. But it’s important to establish that Maya is a part of the MCU, and hopefully we get to see more stories at a street-level.”

Going from a supporting role in Hawkeye to a leading role in Echo was a major transition, Cox admits—but she’s grateful for the opportunity. “On Echo, I was working six days a week sometimes. It was exhausting, and I wasn’t used to that,” she says. “It’s very funny: I hated coffee during Hawkeye, but when I joined Echo, I learned to love coffee! I drink it every day now. The filming schedule was the biggest difference from a supporting role to a lead role.”

Cox especially enjoyed collaborating with Freeland, who gave her the liberty to experiment and make the character her own. “We would shoot a scene very specifically at first, but after we did that, she would allow me to do whatever I want,” Cox says. “I liked that she gave me the freedom to be more open and play her differently than I otherwise would’ve.”

Echo is now streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.

Following her dramatic debut in the 2021 Marvel Studios series Hawkeye, Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox) takes center stage in Echo, premiering Tuesday, January 9, at 6 p.m. PT on Disney+ and Hulu. The gritty, grounded, five-episode series is a self-contained story that follows Maya’s pursuit of power and revenge as she is pursued by Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) and his criminal empire.

Echo will be the first series under the Marvel Spotlight banner, which gives Marvel Studios a platform to bring more grounded, character-driven stories to the screen. Ahead of its debut, executive producer Brad Winderbaum—who also serves as Marvel Studios’ Head of Streaming, Television, and Animation—spoke about some of the series’ other firsts in the MCU, as well as what he hopes audiences take away from Maya’s journey.

This is the first time Marvel Studios will debut a series with all episodes at once, in addition to being the first series to stream on both Disney+ and Hulu. Echo is also Marvel Studios’ first series to be rated TV-MA and be housed under the new Marvel Spotlight banner. Why was it so important to differentiate Echo from previous releases?

Brad Winderbaum: In a way, Echo has almost been like a secret. It’s been fun and crazy to see all of the speculation around Echo over the last year—and in a void of any information, people’s imaginations just run wild with what it is and what it isn’t. We knew this show was going to be a real renegade within the MCU, and that’s something that excited us about it. The series is a bit of a punch in the face. Part of the binge-drop philosophy is that it just feels like you want it all there, all at once. It’s that kind of show. It’s aggressive storytelling, which makes the binge model feel appropriate. The fact that it’s TV-MA? When you when you look at a character like Maya Lopez, who was trained by Kingpin and comes from a brutal world of organized crime, there’s no soft way to tell this story. She’s a martial artist on a motorcycle who kicks a ton of ass! So, from the beginning, we wanted to be true to that. [Director and executive producer Sydney Freeland’s] vision was to create an unapologetic character who has a lot to learn—and in the course of the story, she certainly does. The fact that it’s TV-MA made us feel like a co-release could be a great way to platform it, because while Echo reaches the core Marvel audience on Disney+, it also has something to offer to the audience that’s on Hulu—to people who are used to watching shows on FX, or shows that are a little more hard-hitting.

What differentiates titles that fall under the Marvel Spotlight banner?

Brad: Marvel Spotlight is about resetting the audience’s expectations. Not everything is tied to a mainline Avengers story or is a necessary path on the road to this “big thing.” There’s no homework required. You can watch it, and we’re going to fill in the blanks. Yes, Maya was in Hawkeye, but if you never saw Hawkeye, believe me, we’re going to tell you everything you need to know so that you can start from scratch when you watch this show.

Does this prevent Maya from appearing in an Avengers movie? When a character appear in a Marvel Spotlight series, is it just about ensuring the audience knows this is its own contained story—but if you want to continue following their journeys, you can?

Brad: That’s exactly right. She is still technically breathing the same air as the Avengers, but it’s not required viewing. You can watch Echo on its own and not feel like you need to watch anything before or after. Will Maya pop up again somewhere else down the line? It’s quite possible. Could she be in an Avengers movie? You never can tell. But that’s not really what the Marvel Spotlight brand is about. The Marvel Spotlight brand is saying, “This a complete meal in and of itself.” Just like the Spotlight comics, whether it’s Captain Marvel or Ghost Rider or Moon Knight, the characters that did well under the Spotlight banner went on to have a life in the greater comic book universe. So, there’s always that potential.

What are you most excited for audiences to take away from Echo?

Brad: That’s a tough question. I can’t tell you the one thing I’m excited for fans to see, because I’m excited for them to see so many things! But if you made me decide, I would say it’s Alaqua Cox. We put her onscreen for the first time in Hawkeye, and she delivered a performance with such depth and such pathos. She’s just incredible—and so, so captivating.

Since late last week, Marvel Studios has been debuting a new episode of the award-winning animated series What If…? daily. The sixth episode in Season 2, “What If… Kahhori Reshaped the World?” premieres on Disney+ today and introduces audiences to an original Super Hero, Kahhori, a young Mohawk woman on a quest to discover her power.

Written by Ryan Little and directed by executive producer Bryan Andrews, the episode was created in close collaboration with members of the Mohawk Nation, including historian Doug George and language expert Cecelia King, to ensure cultural authenticity. As the characters speak in the Mohawk language, the episode is completely subtitled, and the story is informed by the history of the Akwesasne region in what is now upstate New York.

Wanting to do the story justice, the creative team first pitched the idea to The Walt Disney Company’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion team in April 2020. “We told them about the episode, and they said, ‘We’re going to call The Smithsonian. They have the National Museum of the American Indian, and they have a rolodex. Let’s get them involved,” executive producer AC Bradley recalled during the What If…? Season 2 screening event at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California. “From day one, we were talking to people. We brought them in for everything from design and story to costuming and music. It was really amazing and beautiful. I’m very proud we were able to pull it off.”

The episode explores what would happen if the Tesseract fell to Earth and landed in the sovereign Haudenosaunee Confederacy before the colonization of America. There, the Tesseract takes on a new life and mythology, transforming a lake into a portal to the stars. “What bigger ‘what if’ is there than, ‘What if colonialization didn’t happen? What if the Europeans didn’t come here?’” Andrews said. “That’s what I keyed into, but it needed more. Talking with our consultants and getting into their belief system, we were able to find an in that was solid and worked.”

Andrews added that Little “was instrumental” in shaping the episode. “He worked with the consultants a ton to bring this character to life,” he said. Andrews also praised the visual development team and the artists, whose thoughtful work “amazed” the consultants. “They wrote us a letter saying how they felt for the first time that their people were honestly being represented in media. That was huge, and they were no bones about it: ‘This is legit.’”

Prior to the episode debuting on Disney+, the creative team screened the episode early for “hundreds of members of the of the First Nations tribal community,” Andrews continued. “The whole episode is subtitled, and they were like, ‘That’s never been done for us before.’ From the very beginning I was like, ‘It’s going to be in their language; I’m not budging.’” Executive producer Brad Winderbaum, Marvel Studios’ Head of Streaming, Television and Animation, and everyone else at the studio was “supportive in every way,” Andrews added.

Devery Jacobs—who next stars as Bonnie in Marvel Studios’ live-action series Echo, streaming Tuesday, January 9, on Disney+ and Hulu—voices Kahhori (pronounced “KAH-HORTI”). The episode also features the voice talents of Kiawentiio as Wahta, Jeremy White as Atahraks, Gabriel Romo as Conquistador Rodrigo Alphonso Gonzolo, Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange, and Carolina Ravassa and Queen Isabella, among others.

After a second season filled with ups and downs, backwards and forwards and time shifting galore, the second season of Loki ended with a bang for Marvel Studios and Disney+.

The finale of Loki season 2 nabbed 11.2 million global views on Disney+ in its first three days — an increase from the premiere episode. The finale— which stars Tom Hiddleston as the God of Mischief—was the second most viewed season finale on Disney+ this year.

The finale of the Marvel Studios series—which concluded last Thursday—was only behind the season three finale of The Mandalorian, which wrapped up its season in April.

The popularity of Loki held steady throughout the season with every episode of the show racking up over 11 million views during their premiere weeks.

Loki is one of the most well-known and beloved characters in all the Marvel universe and has starred in major blockbusters like 2012’s The Avengers and 2017’s Thor: Ragnarok, fronts a merchandise collection on shopDisney.com, and can be found walking around Avengers Campus at Disney’s California Adventure.

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A trio of Super Heroes is about to go higher, further, faster… together.

In Marvel Studios’ The Marvels, Carol Danvers aka Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) has reclaimed her identity from the tyrannical Kree and taken revenge on the Supreme Intelligence. But unintended consequences see her shouldering the burden of a destabilized universe. After examining an anomalous wormhole linked to the Kree revolutionary Dar-Benn (Zawe Ashton), Carol’s powers become entangled with those of teenage super-fan Kamala Khan aka Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani) and S.A.B.E.R. astronaut Captain Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris)—who, of course, is Carol’s estranged niece. Together, this unlikely trio must team up and learn to work together to save the universe.

The 33rd movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), The Marvels—a sequel to the 2019 box office phenomenon Captain Marvel—opens in theaters today. In an exclusive Q&A, director and writer Nia DaCosta discusses her vision for the film, her hopes for the characters, the advice she sought from veteran directors—and much more.

As a child, you were a big fan of Marvel Comics and X-Men: The Animated Series. How did it feel to later be given the opportunity to write and direct a Marvel Studios movie?
Great! When I first started making films, this was something I always wanted to do. I felt like I could have some fun and also do something really great. It was amazing and exciting.

What did your initial conversations with Marvel Studios about The Marvels entail?
It’s interesting. From the initial outline that I got when I was pitching to now, it’s quite different. However, these three women being in the film, switching places—a lot of the thematics that were under the surface had been there from the beginning. I just wanted to pull that more to the surface. Family became a huge theme. Home became a huge theme. Figuring out the emotional underpinning of the relationships between the three of them was huge for me. That was how I’d think about it. I would think, “What can I bring to this?”

What intrigued you most about bringing Carol, Kamala, and Monica together?
They’re all so different. It was really cool to be able to represent three different female Super Heroes, and the way they relate to each other was really exciting. Having a superfan [Kamala] meet her idol [Carol], and then having a hurt young woman [Monica] meet her aunt again after decades apart was interesting. And that’s all happening while they’re trying to figure out why they’re switching and trying to save the universe. All of those things together was exciting. That I got to work with these three particular heroes was cool.

What interested you most about continuing Carol’s journey to find her place in the universe, while also showcasing more of Kamala and Monica in a bigger, cinematic way?
It was really important to me that we understood more about who Carol was when she wasn’t saving the world. I wanted to see where she lived, how she relaxed, what kind of music she listened to—all of that stuff. Who is she as a human being? If we were going to do another Captain Marvel film, I thought that was super important. In Ms. Marvel, we got to see so much of Kamala’s family, so much of her life, so much of her background, so much of her history—so much of her. It was really exciting to bring that to the big screen, but also push her into even more unfamiliar territory. And then Monica… she’s really the one whose story we had to tell the most, in the sense that we’ve seen the least of her before this film. I wanted to make sure we saw her become the hero that she becomes throughout the film. The balance of the three characters was one of the things we had to figure out in this film.

How were you able to use so many supporting characters without muddying the waters?
Trial and error! [Laughs] It really was trial and error, but also just bringing to the fore everything we loved about these characters and following the thematics of what we wanted to talk about. For me, it was family. It was home. Who represents family better than the Khans? Seeing how Kamala can go out and take on the world because her family is there supporting her every step of the way, that is something I think Captain Marvel needs to remember and to connect with. They kind of represent that theme for everyone in the film.

How did you decide to make Dar-Benn—a relatively minor, male character in the comics—the villain? Not having a backstory could almost be a double-edged sword.
Before we had a specific villain [in place], we knew what we wanted the villain to want and what we wanted them to do. And because thematically the film is about home, it had to be connected to Hala, to the Kree, and to them fulfilling a need to survive, basically, by taking from other people and being villainous about it—because that’s sort of their M.O. It was cool to reference the comics, but then also do what we wanted. We wanted to have some evil, imperialist energy, too, so that made sense for the character. And when Zawe came in, she just really had fun with it. She’s such an amazing actress, and she was so excited to leave it all on the floor, just like the rest of us did. Working with Zawe was really, really fun.

What’s the key to wrangling dozens of cats on set?
Being very fast so they don’t get away and working with the best animal trainers in the UK!

The Marvels is the biggest movie you’ve done to date. What was it like to direct a project of this scale and to gain more experience during the post-production process?
It was something I had really wanted to do, and I was given the opportunity to learn on this movie. The way I approached it was by being very honest and saying, “I’ve never done this before. So, while I’m learning how this works, I will be as clear as possible about what I want to see at the end of the day.” My VFX supervisor and my stunt coordinators would tell me what elements were required to shoot something. And as we kept going, I learned more. Eventually, I was able to do it really succinctly. We developed a shorthand. There was a lot of support and a lot of goodwill inside of Marvel to help me throughout that journey.

You consulted Ryan Coogler (Black Panther, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever), Chloé Zhao (Eternals), James Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy franchise), Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok, Thor: Love and Thunder), and Destin Daniel Cretton (Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings) while making The Marvels. What advice did they share? How did it feel to have the support of so many experienced MCU directors at your disposal?
I got so much advice. It was really great. Destin, in particular, was such a wonderful resource. I think some of the best advice I got was to just be yourself and bring everything you can to this—give everything you have creatively. And I think that’s all you can really do.

It’s nice to hear that in a film about family, you found a family within Marvel as well.
One hundred percent.

After a hit first season that brought viewers deep into the twisty world of the Time Variance Authority, Loki returned last week with a brand-new season on Disney+.

The premiere of the second season of Loki is the second most viewed season premiere on Disney+ in 2023. Loki—which stars Tom Hiddleston as the sly God of Mischief—notched 10.9 million views globally after three days streaming on Disney+.

The debut of the Marvel Studios series—which returned last Thursday—was only behind the season three premiere of The Mandalorian, which hit Disney+ in March.

The Marvel Studios series was not just popular with viewers, but also critics. Season two of Loki holds an 88% score on review site, Rotten Tomatoes, which makes it certified fresh. That goes along with a stellar 94% audience score on the site.

Since appearing in 2011’s Thor, Loki has become one of the most beloved characters in the entire Marvel Universe. He has starred in major blockbusters like 2012’s The Avengers, has a merchandise collection on shopDisney.com, and can be found walking around Avengers Campus at Disney’s California Adventure.

But Loki is just getting started on Disney+ with plenty of excitement to come.

“Everybody’s playing at the highest level,” Kevin Wright—the executive producer of Loki—said last week. “It’s just exciting to dive deeper into a world that we know people are already excited about.”

Loki is now streaming on Disney+ with new episodes premiering on Thursdays at 6 p.m. PT/9 p.m. ET

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The last time viewers saw Loki—Marvel’s favorite anti-hero—it was during the first season finale of Disney+’s hit Marvel series, Loki. The God of Mischief was a bit out of sorts after jumping multiple universes and found himself running through the halls of the Time Variance Authority—the agency in charge of keeping the Multiverse in order.

This Thursday, viewers will find themselves back in the TVA with Loki and Mobius as they try to figure out what is causing Loki’s Time Slipping—and what to do about the revelation that everyone in the TVA is a variant.

Ever since appearing in 2011’s Thor, Loki—who is played by Tom Hiddleston—has lived many lives (literally), but throughout his journey he has been a fan favorite and a sly standout in the Marvel universe. To find out more about the joyfully twisty series, we spoke with Kevin Wright—the executive producer of Loki—about how Marvel Studios crafted an exciting season two.

Loki was one of the most talked about Marvel series on Disney+ during its first season. What has you the most excited about season two?

This is the great thing with long form storytelling. Once the world is set up, once the characters are introduced—which was our season one—and audiences are into it, it allows us to just go deeper. People get the TVA, they get time travel, they get the Multiverse. All this stuff is just weird concepts that we were like, ‘are audiences even going to go for it?’ and because they buy in, it just lets us go deeper with the character conflict and drama.

And that’s what I’m most excited about because if you like Loki and Mobius in season one, you’re going to love them this season. If you like Loki and Sylvie, you’re going to like them even better because Tom and Sophia [Di Martino] are just at the top of their game. Everybody’s playing at the highest level, so it’s just exciting to dive deeper into a world that we know people are already excited about.

Tom Hiddleston was a very active producer on this season as well as its star. Can you tell me what impact Tom had on the season away from just playing Loki?

He’s the heart and soul of the show, behind the camera and in front of it. We started our conversations about what season two could be while we were finishing season one. We’re doing additional photography, and he and I were already talking about story structure, ideas, not wanting to just repeat what we were already doing. Tom will step aside, let the writers do their work, get these big ideas down, and then at a certain point he comes in and we start diving into those scripts. He’s like, ‘how do we make this tighter? How do we make this crazier?’ He is a presence, and it is always coming from a point of pure enthusiasm and joy for this character.

I think he really takes his role as a steward of the Loki character seriously, and he always wants to elevate the series… Every step of the way, he’s a true producing partner.

The marketing campaign for this season has been everywhere—especially the connection to McDonald’s. Does this show lend itself to fun, pop culture tie ins, and if so, how?

Time travel is only as interesting as the worlds that you’re going to, so being able to go to places and play with nostalgia and live in something like a classic McDonald’s—which is a completely based off a nostalgic view of the past—was something that excited us… You want to be able to look at the past and experience it with a fresh modern lens. Easter eggs and tie-ins feel like a fun way to experience that. That McDonald’s logo is instant shorthand to people’s own past and nostalgic views. So sometimes just as a storytelling device, it’s incredibly helpful.

Let’s talk about the costumes and production design. Why is it important for the series’ wardrobes and sets to have its own look and feel?

When we set out to make the show, we prioritize the cinematography, the sets, the costumes, all of that, and it’s a thing that I think can sometimes be taken for granted. Our show—which is so sci-fi—can become dislodged from reality very quickly, so being able to ground it in tactile sets, have lived in costumes and everything feel real and be there helps ground it not only from a cinematic point of view, but for our actors.

You’re reciting pages of sci-fi dialogue, but it all feels real because you’re in a real place. You’re in a real environment. Christine Wada—our costume designer—is world building with these TVA costumes and when we’re going to alien planets. So, to me, it just felt natural that if we are going to tell a fantastical story, we should find ways to ground it in reality, and that is through production design and costume design.

The Marvel brand has been huge in pop culture. How does Loki as a character and Loki as a series play its part in this franchise and in this universe?

I think he’s a reflection of our audience. Loki has been there since the beginning and as our audience has lived with our stories, seen all these different movies and now all these different shows, Loki has gone through so many different variations and story arcs.

Our audience has kind of grown up with these stories and lived with it so long, so I think there’s a constant want and need for reinvention, keeping things fresh, keeping things interesting and telling more in-depth and dramatic stories. Loki has been sort of the lens that we’ve been able to do that with over all these years working with Tom. So, just as Marvel has evolved in the culture, Loki has been able to evolve within our own storytelling.