‘Spider-Man: Freshman Year’ to feature Charlie Cox’s Daredevil, Norman Osborn & some 'Runaways'

After What If…? paved the way for Marvel’s new era of animation, the studio is hard at work rolling out several more animated projects, from kid-friendly fare to gore-filled zombie adventures, with plenty of stuff in the middle.

Spider-Man Freshman Year producer Jeff Trammell was on hand at Marvel's SDCC animation panel (attended by SYFY WIRE) to bring some new intel on Marvel’s upcoming Spider-Man animated series, which marks the first time Marvel Studios proper has tried out an animated Spider-Man series. Trammell said he went back and inhaled all the old, classic Spider-Man cartoons for inspiration, then set about carving out a new path for Spidey’s next adventure.

"We're binging all the heart and charm of Peter Parker to this original series.” he said. He also revealed Spider-Man’s new suit to the crowd at SDCC, which is one of Peter’s early homemade designs with some of Miles Morales’ Spider-Verse vibes to it, as they were “looking to create something that features his technological prowess working on the web-shooters,” while still “getting into the bold style we're developing for the show."

Trammell said they went back to Steve Ditko’s classic Spider-Man art to build the look of the show, which will explore the early days of Peter’s life before Captain America: Civil War. The studio also confirmed there will be more from this version of Spider-Man, with Spider-Man: Sophomore Year already in the works. But Freshman Year won’t arrive until 2024, so we have quite a wait until we get to see more young MCU Spider-Man.

Though they didn’t bring any footage, Marvel did drag along plenty of details, including plenty of Marvel connections and Easter eggs for fans. The character Nico Minoru, from the Marvel Comics series Runaways (it’s worth noting Nico has already been in live action in the Runaways series on Hulu, though it’s likely we’ll never get any confirmation those are connected versions of the character), will be one of Peter’s close friends. Fans can also expect to meet Amadeus Cho and iconic Spidey pal (and future foe) Harry Osborn. Norman Osborn will also show up as a mentor to young Spider-Man. 

Fans can also expect to meet some A-list heroes in animated form, including Doctor Strange and Daredevil (who will be voiced by small screen star Charlie Cox, who played Matt Murdock on the Netflix series and in No Way Home, and is slated to return a few more times in live action thanks to Echo). They also confirmed plenty of villains will also show up on the series, including The Unicorn, Chameleon, Scorpion, Speed Demon, Tarantula, The Rhino, Butane, and the one and only Dr. Otto Octavius (aka Doc Ock).

Best of the rest

Marvel Zombies: Though there wasn’t much as far as footage, Marvel did confirm some new details on the mysterious Marvel Zombies animated series, which will pick up on the zombie-filled world fans got to see in What If…? last season. Some new (and old) zombie characters we’ll see include Zombie Ghost, Zombie Captain Carter, and Zombie Wanda (she survived!).  Plus new heroes to fight for this world, including Elena, Kate Bishop, Red Guardian, Jimmy Woo(!?), Shang-Chi, Kamala Khan, a post-apocalyptic team of Widows, and even a Skrull biker gang. They also promised they’re “not shying away” from the gore and splatter that made the comics so much fun.


X-Men '97: The studio also showed off an animatic from the upcoming X-Men ’97 series, which is currently in production with the original voice cast returning from the classic animated series. They confirmed characters like Jean, Gambit, Beast, Rogue, Wolverine, Storm (with an updated haircut), Jubilee, and Cyclops will all be back with their classic looks. Also characters like Bishop, Cable, Nightcrawler, and Roberto Da Costa will be around. One big twist? With Professor X away, Magneto has stepped in to lead the X-Men. It’s a whole new era, y’all. Though work is still early on Season 1, Marvel also confirmed the show will eventually return for a second season.

I Am Groot: On the kid-friendly side, Marvel also dropped a new trailer for the adorable little series I Am Groot, which finds a young Groot getting into all kinds of trouble.
 Check that out below:

Click here for SYFY WIRE’s full coverage of San Diego Comic-Con 2022.

Looking for more superhero action in the meantime? Peacock is streaming Batman, Batman Returns, Batman Forever and Batman & Robin right now.