During day 2 of San Diego Comic-Con 2022, one of the most anticipated panels of this year came out with a bang courtesy of Disney and Marvel Animation Studios to promote some of the most looked forward to content from their Animation Creative Team. Here is a breakdown and some of the highlights that were featured during that panel.

The Marvel Studios Animation Team Creative Panel

The Marvel Studios Animation Panel was hosted and moderated by actor and comedian Paul F. Tompkins who will also be providing some voice talent to the yet-to-be released Marvel Studios Spider-Man Freshman Year. The panelists, as pictured above, featured Bryan Andrews (Director of What If…?), AC Bradley (writer and executive producer of What If…?), Brad Winderbaum (Marvel Studios’ head of streaming television and animation, Beau DeMayo (writer and executive producer of X-Men ’97), Kirsten Lepore (writer, director and executive producer of I Am Groot), Kirsten Lepore (writer, director and executive producer of I Am Groot), Jeff Trammell (writer and executive producer of Spider-Man: Freshman Year), and Ryan Meinerding (head of visual development).

Three Words: “I Am Groot”

The first reveal from the Marvel Studios Animation panel was a new poster and key art from the upcoming Marvel Studios I Am Groot. Writer and director Kirsten Lepore was present to take questions from the panel. Thereafter, fans in attendance were treated to the first short from the animated series entitled, “Groot Takes a Bath.” Marvel Studios’ I Am Groot will be a series of 5 shorts as Baby Groot takes center stage in his very own collection of shorts, exploring his glory days growing up, and getting into trouble, among the stars. Actor Vin Diesel, who voiced Groot in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films will return to voice Groot in these new and original stories. The 5 shorts are executive produced Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Brad Winderbaum and James Gunn.

In a tweet by Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 and 2 director, James Gunn, he has stated the series are “not necessarily parts of the Guardians” saga. Saying this arouses some curiosity then about what connection this might have to the Marvel Cinematic Universe since this series is under the Marvel Studios banner. What other characters might be introduced in the shorts?

In addition to the new key art introduced, the panel also announced the first official trailer for the series, which you can see below. The series will be released on Disney Plus on August 10, 2022.

Spider-Man Freshman Year

One of the biggest discussions and reveals taking place from the Marvel Studios Animation panel was some of the new content teased for Spider-Man Freshman Year.

Jeff Trammell teased the show with the cast of characters, and Ryan Meinerding showed off the new Spider-Man suit designed for the series. A fun reveal was that moderator Paul F. Tompkins will be playing a character in the series. At the same time the new content was revealed, a surprise announcement was made that there will be a sequel to the series entitled, Spider-Man: Sophomore Year. 

Spider-Man: Freshman Year is an animated series that follows Peter Parker on his way to becoming Spider-Man in the MCU, with a journey unlike we’ve ever seen and a style that celebrates the character’s early comic book roots. Fans will have to wait a while until watching it as the expected release date is not until 2024 and will be released on Disney Plus.

Marvel Studios What If…?

The return of original storytelling of the Marvel Cinematic Universe characters in animated format from alternate universes makes its return in a second season of Marvel Studios What If…? 

“What If…?” season 2 continues the journey with The Watcher as our guide through the vast multiverse, introducing brand new and familiar faces throughout the MCU. The animated series questions, revisits, and twists classic Marvel Cinematic moments with an incredible voice cast that includes actors who reprise their iconic roles. It will be directed by executive producer Bryan Andrews with executive producer AC Bradley as head writer.

Fans attending the panel were able to screen one of the episodes from the series.

Season two of “What If…?” launches exclusively on Disney+ in early 2023.

Marvel Studios Marvel Zombies

Named after the popular comic book storyline of the same name, Bryan Andrews, director, for the second season of What If…? offered background on the series and its origins spawning from the fifth episode of “What If…?” season 1, as well as concept art.

The animated series Marvel Zombies from Marvel Studios reimagines the Marvel Universe as a new generation of heroes battle against an ever-spreading zombie scourge. This will be directed by executive producer Bryan Andrews and written by executive producer Zeb Wells, who is also a writer and has written for several Marvel Comic titles as well.

Marvel Zombies will stream exclusively on Disney+ with a yet to be announced release date.

X-Men 97 Animated Series

Of all the animated projects being released and announced from the Marvel Studios Animation panel at San Diego Comic-Con, one of the most looked forward to with a huge amount of anticipation was the Marvel Studios X-Men ’97 Animated Series announcement. For fans who have grown up and known about Marvel, the original series from the 90s was a nostalgic (and still is) starting point to introducing us to Marvel characters through the X-Men and its iconic credits and theme song. So therefore, there is a great deal of hype and excitement being generated for the series.

At the beginning of the announcement of the X-Men ’97 Animated Series, cheers erupted when Brad Winderbaum spoke fondly of the legacy of “X-Men: The Animated Series” and presented a sizzle reel featuring cast and creatives from the popular ‘90s animated show. X-Men ‘97 writer and executive producer Beau DeMayo then spoke about the new series, shared artwork, and presented an animatic AV piece. DeMayo also mentioned that the show will use the original “X-Men” theme music. As an additional surprise, a second season was also announced.

X-Men ’97 is an animated series from Marvel Studios that explores new stories in the iconic ’90s timeline of the original series. Beau DeMayo is executive producer and head writer.

X-Men ’97 will begin streaming exclusively on Disney+ Fall 2023.

It was also announced post panel that for those who feel the need to re-engage with their childhood, prepare for the upcoming ’97 series, or need to be introduced into the original Animated Series, Marvel announced that the original X-Men the Animated Series that is currently streaming on Disney Plus was readjusted to place the series in timeline order. The official announcement was tweeted from the official Marvel Twitter account below:

Because you asked for it, sugar: “X-Men: The Animated Series” is now in original story order on @DisneyPlus. ❌ #DisneyPlus pic.twitter.com/lKaFaydSAV

— Marvel Entertainment (@Marvel) July 22, 2022

For more San Diego Comic Con news:

First Look at Marvel’s ‘Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur’ from SDCC

Level Up: Creating an RPG Empire – San Diego Comic-Con 2022

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