Marvel Zombies First Reactions Split Fans: Must-Watch Or Major Letdown?

Marvel is finally letting the zombies out of the cage, and the early word is pretty much what you think: tons of gore, mixed feelings about the story. If you like splatter with your superheroes, you might be happy. If you want something deeper than 'survive the apocalypse,' temper expectations.

The basics

'Marvel Zombies' is an R-rated animated series created by Zeb Wells and Bryan Andrews. All four episodes drop at once on Disney+ on September 24, 2025. Yes, Disney+ and R-rated in the same sentence. Times have changed.

What the show is

Voice cast includes Elizabeth Olsen, Florence Pugh, Simu Liu, Iman Vellani, and more familiar MCU faces. The setup: the Avengers get infected by a zombie outbreak, and a scrappy bunch of survivors stumbles onto a possible way to stop the super-powered undead. Cue a road trip across a wrecked world, lots of risky moves, and the constant threat of getting chomped.

The early reactions (spoiler: the blood passes, the plot wobbles)

Critics chimed in on X (formerly Twitter) and Bluesky, and the theme is consistent: the violence delivers, the narrative not so much.

'While #MarvelZombies isn't essential MCU viewing, it's a mostly entertaining side story featuring a ragtag team fighting to survive the apocalypse.'

• Erik Swann (CinemaBlend) called it a fun, non-essential detour with a good mix of characters and enough gore to satisfy the curious.
• Josh Barton (Barton Reviews) went all-in on the carnage: blood-soaked, big and loud, with heroes both dishing out and eating a lot of punishment. He admits parts feel disposable, but says there are legit emotional beats that keep it engaging.
• Michael J. Lee was not convinced, saying it leans on shock value without fresh ideas. He knocks the stakes as abstract, basically a 'save the world by delivering the MacGuffin' plot, and even thought some of the voice work sounded checked out.
• POC Culture wanted more runway: some great moments, but the overall story needs more development. The season is only four episodes, and they wish there were more of them — and more seasons.

Bottom line

Sounds like a stylish, brutally violent side quest that thrives on its R rating and animated freedom, but might leave you wishing the story had a little more meat on the bones. If nothing else, dropping all four episodes at once makes it an easy weekend binge to see where you land.