According to one Marvel Studios creative, Kevin Feige demanded that the studio make one particular project rated R. Having primarily been a PG-13 affair for most of its life, the MCU only just started dipping its toes in more mature content. This effort has come to bear in the form of Deadpool & Wolverine, Echo, and Daredevil: Born Again. However, there was one other title the Marvel head man always knew had to sport an adults-only mark of denotation.
Kevin Feige reportedly made sure from the get-go that the newly released Marvel Zombies series had to be rated R. This comes by way of series creator
Bryan Andrews, who revealed the Marvel Studios CEO's passion for the undead animated series in the show's new press sheet.
"Kevin and Brad [Winderbaum] both love zombies and said at the start, if we're going to revisit the zombies... It needs to be TV-MA," Andrews posited, emphasizing the show's no-holds-barred mandate:
"Kevin and Brad both love zombies and said at the start, if we’re going to revisit the zombies, it wouldn’t be for one episode. It’s going to be its own thing and it isn’t going to be watered down. It needs to be TV-MA."
Marvel Studios Head of Streaming, Television, and Animation Brand Winderbaum chimed in as well, adding that they "didn't want to put any limits on [the series]."
He knew that doing a zombie show needed to "feel epic and get into the themes of hope and despair that the best zombie stories grapple with:"
"We didn’t want to put any limits on Bryan, Zeb and the team. We knew that if we were going to do a Marvel Zombies show, it had to feel epic and get into the themes of hope and despair that the best zombie stories grapple with."
Despite Marvel Zombies directly borrowing from all the best bits of zombie fiction, it does not lack its own identity, though.
Andrews calls the series "a different type of zombie show," as it is a "fantasy adventure in a lot of ways," but also something that "you don't normally get to do at Marvel:"
"It's a different type of sombie show. It’s a fantasy adventure in a lot of ways and everyone had such a blast with it because it’s something you don't normally get to do at Marvel, and I hope fans get that excitement from it. I hope that they go in and get all the things they wanted and enjoy the things they didn't expect. I just want them to be satisfied and say ‘fuck yeah’ when they’re done."
Marvel Zombies is now streaming on Disney+. This four-part Multiversal story follows a comic book world where a zombie virus has overtaken some of its super-powered population, leaving the remaining Avengers to pick up the pieces and (hopefully) find a way out of their bleak, flesh-craving future.
Will There Be More R-Rated Marvel Projects?
Marvel Zombies is the latest R-rated project to settle into the MCU, and it will almost surely not be the last. The interconnected comic book world looks to only just be getting started with more mature fare within its ranks.
In July 2025, Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige addressed the potential of more R-rated titles coming to the MCU, telling the press that they will happen "where appropriate and where necessary."
At this point, several R-rated projects have already been confirmed to be on Marvel's upcoming slate. Just next year, Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 and The Punisher special presentation will offer fans more skull-cracking MCU action.
The only other R-rated Marvel project on the books right now is the long-gestating Blade movie. After years of troubled development, it seems that title is finally getting on track, setting the path toward the MCU's next R-rated big-screen effort.
Beyond that, the future of R-rated content at Marvel Studios remains unknown. Still, given how open Feige and the rest of the MCU brain trust were to getting an R-rating for Marvel Zombies, one can assume that the team will be willing to do the same if the opportunity seems right.
