The box office performances of Thunderbolts* and The Fantastic Four: First Steps clearly prove that Marvel Studios is going through a rough patch, the result of its divisive content output and overall inconsistent performance over the past three years. Now, with Avengers: Doomsday on the horizon, the studio’s latest title, Marvel Zombies, feels like an attempt to dust off old projects rather than build real momentum.
Marvel Studios barely promoted Marvel Zombies, limiting its efforts to posting a few images and trailers on social media. The problem isn’t that Marvel killed the buzz; it never created it in the first place. And that’s the real issue.
There’s no denying that Marvel Zombies’ arrival at this stage feels oddly timed. The project was announced way back in November 2021 and faced multiple delays. Initially expected to drop in late 2023 or early 2024, it was eventually pushed to September of this year. Had it been released a year and a half earlier, it likely would have ridden the wave of What If…?, which was hot at the time, and even served as Marvel’s first proper R-rated foray, a far stronger move than the messy rollout of Echo.
The lack of hype surrounding the series has been made worse by Elizabeth Olsen (who voices Wanda Maximoff in the show). When asked about her role recently, Olsen admitted she recorded her lines “years ago” and couldn’t recall much about the project. Her statement, confirming her involvement but highlighting her complete disconnect from the series, only fueled fan frustration.
This isn’t just about an actor forgetting a role. It’s a glimpse into Marvel Studios’ famously rigid (and sometimes flawed) production pipeline. Marvel Zombies seems to have been swallowed up by the MCU’s overstuffed slate of the past three years. Yes, Kevin Feige and his team have signalled an intention to slow things down, but this release still feels like it missed its window.
For fans, it’s a troubling sign: if one of the franchise’s biggest stars can forget her part in a series, how important can that series really be, to the overall narrative or to the Multiverse Saga at large?
On paper, Marvel Zombies should have been a game-changer, a gritty, TV-MA-rated horror story featuring zombified versions of iconic heroes like Captain America and Iron Man. But at a time when Marvel fatigue is real and live-action projects are struggling to connect, its arrival feels like an afterthought. Adding to the confusion, it’s still unclear whether the show is even canon. Dropping it so close to Avengers: Doomsday only makes the decision feel even more baffling.
At this point, it’s fair to say Marvel Zombies is yet another piece of unnecessary content, too little, too late, in a cinematic universe that is desperately waiting for its next defining chapter. Stay tuned for more updates.
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