After The MCU's Newest Season 3 Update, I'm Hopeful Marvel Is Fixing A Common Show Complaint
Marvel's latest series has just been renewed for Season 3, and it's a good sign that Marvel is learning an important lesson for its television shows. Marvel Television has faced challenges since the studio began producing shows for Disney+. While the studio found success with hit shows like Wandavision and Loki, several recent productions, including She-Hulk and Secret Invasion, have received mixed reviews from both audiences and critics, raising concerns about the MCU's direction.
Several reasons could explain why these shows didn't work with some viewers, but one significant factor is that many shows only received one season. Productions like Moon Knight or Ms. Marvel still haven't been renewed for season 2. They also only had 6-episode seasons, making them feel like rushed, 6-part movies, rather than lengthy shows that draw out their stories. Fortunately, Marvel's latest animated series, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, has already been renewed for seasons 2 & 3, and it follows a trend that proves Marvel is headed in the right direction.
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Has Already Been Renewed For Seasons 2 & 3
Marvel Has Plenty Of Confidence In Its Latest Animated Series
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man recently premiered on Disney+, providing a new perspective on everyone's favorite web-slinger. The series doesn't focus on Tom Holland's Spider-Man. Instead, it takes place in an alternate universe, where Peter starts his first year of high school shortly after gaining his spider abilities. It has a unique animation style and different interpretations of well-known Spider-Man characters. The show has just premiered, but Marvel Studios' head of streaming, television, and animation Brad Winderbaum told The Movie Podcast he is already looking forward to season 2.
"I've fallen so head over heels in love with these characters, and I've now read all of the scripts for Season 2; we're halfway through the animatics. What [lead writer and executive producer Jeff Trammell] is building brick by brick in this show starts to pay off. And you feel it in Season 1. You grow connected to these characters so that when everything starts to lock into place and pay off by the end of the season. I feel it in my very soul, and it just gets deeper and deeper in subsequent seasons."
Winderbaum also confirmed that season 3 has been greenlit, giving the show's creative team plenty of flexibility in its storytelling. Not every episode has been released, but the show currently holds a 96% on Rotten Tomatoes, suggesting critics are impressed by what they've seen. If the quality of the first two episodes remains consistent, then Marvel's premature renewal of this show would be justified.
X-Men '97 And Daredevil: Born Again Were Also Given Second Seasons Early
Marvel Is Investing In More Television Shows Before They Are Released
X-Men '97 is arguably the best series Marvel has released on Disney+. It captured the spirit of the 1990s X-Men: The Animated Series, and surpassed it in several aspects. Based on X-Men '97's popularity, season 2 was obvious, but it was also renewed for a third season. Marvel took the same approach to Daredevil: Born Again. The series already has a built-in audience from the Netflix series, so Marvel isn't taking a huge risk by going forward with a second season. At FAN EXPO San Francisco (via Inverse), Charlie Cox said they'll be filming season 2 when season 1 premieres.
“It’s been so many years since we released any Daredevil content. I’m really excited about it. By the time we release [Born Again] on March 4th, we’ll already be shooting season 2 ... Now I’m aware that there will presumably come a time where it really does stop happening. The longer it goes on, the harder it will be to let go.”
It's important to note that it's easier for Marvel to give these shows extended runs since they both have established fan bases. Many people who grew up in the 1990s loved X-Men, and viewers of Netflix's Daredevil want the series to continue after it was abruptly canceled. However, Marvel should give more shows extended runs as it will give creators more time to tell the story they want and allow them to develop their characters at a slower pace.
Marvel Needs To Create More Shows That Have Several Seasons
MCU Shows Need More Time To Tell Their Stories Fully
Only 2 Marvel shows, Loki and What If...?, have had multiple seasons on Disney+. Both shows benefited from having multiple seasons to tell a story with a complete arc, allowing them to take more chances and develop their characters at a more thorough pace. Loki has the best finale of any Marvel series, mainly because the show was given time to stretch out its story and earn its finale, rather than squishing everything together to reach the end quickly.
A common complaint with Marvel television shows is that they're too short and often feel rushed. Even the shows with better reviews, like The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Ms. Marvel, still suffer from narratives that aren't given room to breathe. They struggle to develop certain characters or storylines because they have to wrap everything up in a single season, sometimes with only six episodes. Hopefully, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, Daredevil: Born Again, and X-Men '97 signal that Marvel is learning from past mistakes.
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man
- Release Date
- January 29, 2025
- Network
- Disney+
- Writers
- Charlie Neuner
- Franchise(s)
- Spider-Man
Cast
Hudson ThamesPeter Parker / Spider-Man (voice)
May Parker (voice)
- Creator(s)
- Jeff Trammell
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