Marvel Studios will make history on Disney+ with the release of its next show, which will have the TV version of an R-rating. The MCU is in a new era thanks to its R-rated storytelling, which kicked off in 2024 with projects like Echo and Deadpool & Wolverine. This trend will continue, as Marvel looks to give its mature audience the scary and bloody adventures that often reign supreme in the comic book movie genre.
Marvel Studios' Marvel Zombies will be the first animated MCU project to be rated TV-MA (equivalent to R-rated) upon its Disney+ debut. Previously, the only MCU projects to have an R-rating were live-action stories, the most recent being Daredevil: Born Again, along with Echo and Deadpool & Wolverine. The only animated shows to debut thus far in the MCU (What If...?, X-Men '97, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, and I Am Groot) are all rated between TV-G and TV-14 and geared toward younger fans.
Marvel Zombies will spin off from the zombie-centric fifth episode of What If...? Season 1, bringing an R-rated take on the zombie invasion in an alternate Marvel universe. Behind stars like Iman Vellani (Ms. Marvel), Simu Liu (Shang-Chi), and Florence Pugh (Yelena Belova), this four-episode series will put some of Marvel's biggest names into play with the undead. Marvel Zombies will begin streaming on Disney+ on October 3, 2025.
Why R-Rating Works for Marvel Studios' Marvel Zombies on Disney+
R-Rating Allows for Gorier/More Violent Zombie Imagery
As seen in the MCU's live-action R-rated projects, the franchise can bring gory and extra-violent action to the screen that could not be achieved with any lower rating. Over the last few years, the R-rating gave fans the chance to see moments like Chris Evans' Johnny Storm getting the skin ripped off his body. Daredevil: Born Again took this a step further, as Michael Gaston's Commissioner Phil Gallo died brutally in the season finale when Vincent D'Onofrio's Kingpin crushed his skull in with his bare hands.
The R-rating will allow Marvel Zombies to depict equally bloody moments, particularly with a plot point like zombies that lends itself to visually jarring imagery. Whether it be beheadings, bodies being torn apart, or bones being ripped out of the undead, Marvel has nearly no restrictions on the visuals it can show.
Creative Uses of MCU Powers Through Zombified Heroes
Along with the normal kind of killings and fights fans see in R-rated projects, Marvel Zombies will have more than a few sets of superpowers brought into a more mature story. Particularly on the zombie side, heroes like Captain Marvel (played in this show by Alexandra Daniels), Elizabeth Olsen's Scarlet Witch, and Hannah John-Kamen's Ghost will show their incredible skills off after being turned into undead monsters. The show will get to come up with creative new ways to show off these powers that past projects could not realize.
This has happened in prior Marvel Comics issues centered on zombies. For instance, Marvel Zombies: Dead Days showed Cyclops holding his own head in his hand and shooting his classic eye beams at enemies. The comic also highlighted T'Challa's Black Panther using a crutch after losing his leg, which was replicated in What If...?'s zombie episode (one of four episodes featuring the late Chadwick Boseman).
Considering the variety of heroes and superpowers Marvel has in this series, both human and zombie, the R-rating will give fans a chance to see these characters' abilities put on display more brutally and in a bloodier fashion than ever before.
Zombies Could Still Keep Intellect & Personality Intact
In What If...? Season 1, Episode 5, one downside about the zombies was that they seemed to lose almost all their intelligence and personalities when they were infected. None of the zombie characters had any coherent lines, the closest thing to that being when Jon Favreau's Happy Hogan moans, "Blam," after yelling the same thing when he was shooting his Iron Man blaster.
This marked a change from the comics, in which the zombies retain their intellect and personalities even after being turned undead. If this were replicated in Marvel Zombies, it would open the door to more disturbing moments that could not be accomplished with a PG-13 rating.
In one comic (Marvel Zombies Evil Evolution Issue 1 Ape X), Spider-Man famously ate Aunt May, MJ, and J. Jonah Jameson. One panel even shows him telling Aunt May, "Please, Aunt May — go — go lock yourself in the bathroom. I can't — I can't control myself," showing that he still had his senses and had not lost his mind.
Many hope this series will give its zombies some real dialogue, which would add a new level of drama and character development for the antagonists.
Richard Nebens joined The Direct in March 2020, now serving as the site's Senior Writer and also working as an assistant editor and content creator. He started his journalism career as a hobby in 2019 and is passionate about sharing news and stories from the entertainment industry, especially comic book movies, comedy, and sci-fi. Richard looks to expand his knowledge about movies and TV every day, and he is eager to stay locked into the latest releases and breaking news at every opportunity.
