Marvel Studios Reverses Course, Sets New Plan for Future Disney+ Shows

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Marvel Studios is shaking up its approach to TV shows. For the first time ever, they’ve renewed several Disney+ series for a third season before the second season even came out. This is a big shift from the past, when Marvel TV shows were often used for testing ideas or made by different teams. Now, with the Multiverse Saga, Marvel is clearly committed to building long-running stories on Disney+, offering more consistency and planning for fans.

Marvel is now planning shows with multiple seasons, letting them develop characters over a longer period. By approving Season 3 projects ahead of time, they can avoid the delays fans have experienced in the past. This also means these shows will be a core part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, rather than just standalone stories.

This change reflects Marvel’s recent shift towards prioritizing quality over simply producing a lot of content. By guaranteeing three seasons from the start, the studio can develop these shows with the same careful planning and attention as its movie franchises. This allows for more natural storytelling and prevents show creators from rushing the plot, worrying about potential cancellation. It’s clear Marvel now sees television as a long-term home for its characters, not just a brief stepping stone.

Every Marvel Studios Disney+ Series Renewed for a Third Season

What If…?

The animated series What If…? was the first of its kind at Marvel Studios, pioneering a new way of making shows. In July 2022, Marvel announced a third season—even before the second season had aired! Brad Winderbaum, who heads Marvel’s streaming, television, and animation departments, made the announcement at San Diego Comic-Con. This was the first time any show in the Marvel Cinematic Universe had been renewed for three seasons so early in its run.

Wow, the third and final season of this show really went out with a bang! It wrapped up the Watcher’s story by diving into some seriously mind-bending alternate realities. Two episodes, in particular, stood out. There was this incredible battle where the Hulk fought a whole army of Mech-Avengers, and another where Agatha Harkness found herself in a 1930s Hollywood setting alongside a young Howard Stark. It was a wild ride, and a fitting end to the series.

This season included an exciting team-up inspired by the Wild West, bringing together Shang-Chi and Kate Bishop. It also introduced Storm in her powerful role as the Goddess of Thunder. The season concluded with a huge battle in the finale, titled What If… What If?, where Uatu the Watcher was judged by the Watchers who guided him.

X-Men ’97

The return of the beloved ’90s cartoon, X-Men ’97, has been a major hit for Marvel. At New York Comic-Con on October 11, 2025, Marvel’s Brad Winderbaum announced that the show would get a third season. This announcement came while Season 2 was still being made and was expected to premiere in Summer 2026. Joining Winderbaum on stage were Eric and Julia Lewald, the original creators of the series, who had come on board as executive producers to ensure the show stayed true to its roots.

Season two of the show begins immediately after the events of the season finale, “Tolerance is Extinction,” which sent the X-Men to different points in time. The new episodes will focus on Magneto and Professor X as they travel to ancient Egypt, and Cyclops and Jean Grey, who end up in a future devastated by war with a young Nathan Summers.

A new trailer revealed at New York Comic Con that the iconic villain Apocalypse will be the main enemy in the show’s second season. The creators also hinted at bringing in other X-Men teams from the comics, moving beyond the original group to include squads like X-Factor, Team Future, Team Past, and the ’90s team.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man

Before the first season of the animated series Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man even aired in January 2025, Marvel Studios signaled their commitment to a long-running show. In January, Brad Winderbaum announced on The Movie Podcast that Season 3 was already confirmed. He explained that after reading the scripts for Season 2, the studio was so impressed with how carefully the world was being built that they approved Season 3 before anyone had seen a single episode of Season 1.

This series offers a fresh take on Peter Parker’s story, imagining a world where Norman Osborn guides him instead of Tony Stark. The first season follows Peter as he deals with the challenges of high school at Rockford T. Bales, makes friends with characters like Nico Minoru and Amadeus Cho, and battles criminals like Chameleon and Scorpion.

The second season is scheduled to come out in Fall 2026 and will focus on Peter’s second year of high school. It will show how he deals with Norman Osborn becoming more and more dangerous, and introduce other Marvel heroes like Daredevil. Plans for Season 3 hint at big changes for the characters, possibly leading to a major showdown between Spider-Man and the Green Goblin.

Daredevil: Born Again

Fans have been eagerly awaiting the return of Daredevil, and Marvel is already looking ahead. The studio recently announced that Season 3 is officially happening, with filming scheduled to begin next year. Brad Winderbaum, a key creative leader at Marvel Studios, shared the news with IGN, confirming the green light well before the second season even airs.

Before the upcoming third season, season two—set to launch in March 2026—will focus on Matt Murdock assembling a team of vigilantes. They’ll be fighting against Wilson Fisk, who, as Mayor of New York, has enacted a law—the Safer Streets Initiative—effectively banning superheroes.

The new season’s story is inspired by the Devil’s Reign comic series and brings back beloved characters like Karen Page, Foggy Nelson, and Bullseye. It also reintroduces Krysten Ritter as Jessica Jones. Filming is planned for 2026, and the season will likely focus on what happens after the events in Hell’s Kitchen.

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2026-01-20 15:36