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‘Marvel Zombies’ Boss Warns ‘Not Everyone Makes It’ in Avengers’ Alternate Timeline

Originally posted on TV Insider | Last updated Sep 23, 2025 11:59 AM ET

They’re undead, and we’re lovin’ it.

Set several years after the animated What If…? imagined an alternate timeline where Spider-Man, Bucky Barnes, and Bruce Banner led a small band of Avengers through an undead apocalypse, the four-part miniseries Marvel Zombies takes that idea and runs amok with it.

“People should know that this is a standalone story,” says showrunner Bryan Andrews, who also helmed the horrifying original episode. “It’s the same universe, but you can definitely walk in cold… if you dare.”

Andrews continues that the series will share the same vibe with the What If…? outing, as well as 2005’s five-issue comic book run that inspired the Disney+ effort. “We love that original Robert Kirkman and Sean Philips series,” he adds. “Like everything at Marvel, we’re certainly standing on the shoulders of giants. [And] just like the zombies mythology has twisted and turned throughout the Marvel comics, our series explores the idea in new ways as well.”

Courtesy of Marvel Television

Kicking off with a wave of faves — including The Marvels’ Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani), Thunderbolts’ Red Guardian, John Walker, and Yelena Belova (David Harbour, Wyatt Russell, and Florence Pugh), Hawkeye‘s Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld), and Ironheart’s Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne) — battling the infected, Andrews is quick to point out that the main arc of the storyline is as shrouded in secrecy as a S.H.I.E.L.D. super-soldier project.

“I can’t say much without giving away surprises, but it is a bit of a quest for these characters through some of the most dangerous terrain Marvel heroes have ever had to traverse,” he previews. “Spoiler alert: Not everyone makes it.”

Courtesy of Marvel Television

He’s not kidding. The only thing more surprising than the body count (especially early on) is the amount of A-list characters who prove to be less-than-adept at avoiding flesh-eating ambushes and toxic attackers who literally take a bite out of crimefighting. You may even recognize some familiar red-eyed, zombified folks in that photo up there. Thankfully, the Marvel vault is overrun with myriad do-gooders that can feed this grisly, superhero-splattered TV-MA tale because Andrews had a “ton of fun” messing with so many iconic characters. In fact, weeks before the show even premiered, he happily confessed to being ravenous for more.

“The gloves are off,” he admits. “Sometimes at Marvel, you have to put the toys back in the toy box in one piece by the end of the story, but here, things break… usually arms, legs and skulls.”

Marvel Zombies, Series Premiere, Wednesday, September 24, Disney+

This article first appeared on TV Insider and was syndicated with permission.

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