2026 has only just begun, but Marvel has already jumped at the opportunity to release a brand new project on Disney+. Marvel Studios is set to have a massive year when it comes to Disney+ and in theaters, as the company has revealed that multiple Disney+ shows and feature films will be coming out within the calendar year, and all of them are expected to have major implications on the franchise as a whole.
On January 10, 2026, Disney+ released a brand new batch of episodes for Spidey and His Amazing Friends Season 4, bringing the total episode count of the current season to 19. The episodes that were released were a part of the "Water-Webs" storyline that has been going on throughout a section of Season 4.
Essentially, in the "Water-Webs" arc, Spidey and his friends (Gwen Stacy, who is also known as Ghost-Spider, and Miles Morales, aka Spin) are given water-based powers and pirate suits as they keep everyone safe from any looming threats.
Spidey and His Amazing Friends is one of Disney+'s most successful projects, as Spider-Man is an extremely popular superhero, and the animated series is a kid-friendly alternative to the more mature live-action projects featuring the character. The show has already been renewed for a fifth season, so fans can expect to see even more adventures involving Team Spidey.
Marvel's 2026 Disney+ Slate and How It Will Affect Existing Disney+ Projects
Spidey and His Amazing Friends is not the only Marvel project that will be released on the Disney+ streaming platform in 2026, and, actually, won't even be the only Marvel title to come out in January. In just a few weeks, as of writing, fans will be treated to the Yahya Abdul-Mateen II-led live-action series titled Wonder Man, which will provide a satirical look at the superhero genre while also establishing a new superhero (Simon Williams, aka Wonder Man) in the franchise.
After that, a second season of Daredevil: Born Again will be released, which will showcase Charlie Cox's Matt Murdock as he leads a resistance against Vincent D'Onofrio's Wilson Fisk, the mayor of New York City. That show had a wildly successful Season 1, and Season 2 seems to be going full steam ahead, as it will feature Krysten Ritter's Jessica Jones for the first time in the MCU. Previously, Ritter portrayed the character in Netflix's Marvel universe.
Born Again Season 2's release will definitely cause Season 1 to gain a lot of new eyes. When marketing for Season 2 really begins to ramp up, some will go back to watch Season 1 before Season 2's release in preparation for the new installment. Since the series will heavily feature Wilson Fisk, Born Again's release could also cause viewership to rise for projects like Hawkeye and Echo, as both of those contain a lot of backstory pertaining to Fisk.
Also in 2026, MCU fans will be getting a second season of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. Like Spidey and His Amazing Friends, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is an animated web-slinging series that centers around the wall-crawler. Season 1 spent a lot of time establishing that version of Peter Parker's origin story and then showing the early days of Peter's time as Spider-Man. Season 2 will up the ante and continue the storylines set up in Season 1, while introducing new villains.
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is a standalone project on Disney+, but it could still affect the viewership of other animated shows such as X-Men '97. Even though they don't connect, two animated projects under the same banner could be seen as similar in the eyes of Disney+ subscribers.
Another major Disney+ release in 2026 will be VisionQuest. Featuring the return of Paul Bettany's Vision, the upcoming series will explore the aftermath of WandaVision, where the white version of Vision was loosed and flew off to discover himself. The show will also feature James Spader as Ultron.
Since VisionQuest will act as a sequel to WandaVision and Agatha All Along, both of those Disney+ shows will likely see an increase in viewership leading up to the release of VisionQuest, as well as after the show is released. Because of Ultron's involvement, many will also likely press play on Avengers: Age of Ultron.
It is also worth noting that, even though it won't be a traditional TV series, a Disney+ Special Presentation about Jon Bernthal's Punisher will be released in 2026. Not much is known about that project, but it will apparently showcase Ma Gnucci as the main antagonist. The Punisher special will bring more eyes to Daredevil: Born Again since the character was featured in that series. However, it is important to note that Punisher is not expected to be in Born Again Season 2.
Just as Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man will be getting a second season in 2026, so will X-Men '97. The first season of that series was wildly successful on Disney+, so renewing it for another installment was an absolute no-brainer for Marvel Television.
Season 1 left off with the X-Men split up across time. For instance, some members were sent into the future, and some were sent into the past. A younger version of Apocalypse was also introduced at the end of Season 1, so he will likely turn out to be the main villain of Season 2.
Although they are not TV shows, Marvel Studios will also be releasing Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Avengers: Doomsday in 2026. Both of those films are expected to be box office hits and be extremely important to the franchise as a whole, but they could also affect the viewership of many Disney+ shows.
For example, after the release of Brand New Day, it would not be a surprise to see a rise in viewership for Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man since that is another project featuring Peter Parker. However, other Marvel characters like the Punisher and Hulk will be heavily included in Brand New Day, so there will also likely be a spike in people watching Daredevil: Born Again and She-Hulk.
Avengers: Doomsday could really impact any and all Disney+ shows, but most likely, it will mainly cause more fans to go back and watch shows like Loki and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Tom Hiddleston's Loki has already been confirmed to play a major role in Doomsday, and the events of Loki will directly impact what happens in Doomsday, so, for anyone who needs a bit of context on Loki's role in Doomsday, they will have to go back and watch his self-titled series.
Sebastian Stan's Bucky Barnes, Wyatt Russell's John Walker, and Anthony Mackie's Sam Wilson will also be major players in Doomsday, and since a lot of character development for all of them happened in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Doomsday's release will likely affect the viewership of that show.
