Marvel’s animated Spider-Man show sounds like it’s in serious danger
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Spider-Man: Freshman Year is reportedly at risk of cancellation amid wider cost-cutting efforts at Marvel Studios.
According to multiple industry insiders, the fate of the Marvel Phase 5 project has not yet been officially determined. However, all signs point to the animated Spider-Man TV series – a non-canonical entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) – being canned as Marvel and Disney rein in spending and begin laying off staff.
The first signs that things weren’t rosy came from those working on Freshman Year, which will launch on Disney Plus sometime in 2024. On Nov. 9, Freshman Year executive Liza Singer tweeted that she was actively looking for work from mid-December.
Normally, this would not ring any alarm bells. But since Freshman Year isn’t expected to kick off for another 13 months (if at all) – at the earliest – there’s probably plenty of post-production work to do. If Singer leaves the project now (mid-November 2022) when there’s still work to be done, it doesn’t bode well for the show’s future.
Hi there! I will be looking for opportunities for directing and storytelling from mid-December! Please keep me in mind! I am also open to Feature, Live Action and Games! freelance, full time, etc. My email is liza.singer@gmail.com (Please use for serious inquiries only) https://t.co/VlVXpbxnwoNovember 11, 2022
In the days that followed, other key Freshman Year employees also announced that they would be leaving Marvel Studios. 2D animator and character designer Li Cree (opens in new tab)as well as writing assistant Dan Park (opens in new tab), confirmed that they were disappointed that their time at Freshman Year was over so quickly. The duo’s tweets follow on the heels of Singer’s original tweet — Cree’s on Nov. 11 and Park’s on Nov. 15.
Rumors of Freshman Year’s cancellation have been growing in the days since Park’s tweet. The Spider-Man updates Twitter fan account (opens in new tab) – admittedly not a reliable source – suggested they had heard “bad news” about Freshman Year, going so far as to suggest it was “not a delay either”.
Contrary to that claim, The cosmic circus (opens in new tab) – a Marvel insider with a good track record – claimed that the future of Freshman Year had not yet been decided. According to their sources, the animated Spider-Man TV series is still expected to launch in 2024, but the idea of canceling it outright “has been floating around”.
It’s clear there’s a lot of confusion about what the future holds for Spider-Man: Freshman Year, which isn’t helped by the rumors and conjecture being spread by MCU insiders. As cliche as it is to say, there is no smoke without fire. Right now, Freshman Year is in some form of trouble – we just don’t know how much danger it’s really in. We’ve reached out to Marvel/Disney for comment and will update this article if we hear back.
Spider-Man: Freshman Year is one of many TV projects in the works at Marvel Studios. Some highly anticipated live action shows, including Loki Season 2 and Secret Invasion, are slated to release in 2023. Only one animated series – What If…? season 2 – is scheduled for next year, with reports suggesting it will land in early 2023.
Analysis: entangled in a web of cost-cutting measures
Spider-Man: Freshman Year’s apparent problems aren’t the only problems Marvel’s animation department is reportedly facing.
According to an industry insider K. C. Walsh (opens in new tab), other animated MCU TV series are in trouble, with layoffs already underway and showrunners unclear about what the future holds for their projects. Currently freshman and what if…? are the only officially announced Marvel Disney Plus shows. However, if other productions were in the early stages of development, they could be canned before they even see the light of day.
If these reports are true – and you should take them with a grain of salt for now in our opinion – they speak to broader financial problems that Marvel and Disney are having. In conversation with employees on 9 November (per CNBC (opens in new tab)), Disney CEO Bob Chapek confirmed that the world-renowned studio was implementing an immediate hiring freeze. Chapek also revealed layoffs are likely, saying, “As we go through this review process, we will look at every way of working and labor to find savings, and we expect some staff cuts as part of this review.”
Since Marvel is a subsidiary of Disney, it will certainly be affected by the parent company’s cost-cutting measures. Unfortunately for Marvel’s animation division, it’s likely to take the biggest financial hit, with shows like Freshman Year and What If…? not technically canon in the MCU. They will then be the victims of any cutbacks and contract terminations. Marvel doesn’t want to pull the plug on its live-action series, including the upcoming Daredevil TV reboot, so instead its animation division will take the hit.
If Marvel’s animation team is hit the hardest from the various departments of the studio, it will be another major blow to the animation industry, which has been ravaged in 2022. Earlier this year, Netflix canceled multiple shows due to massive subscriber losses and rising costs. with its animation department losing out.
In August and September, the animated offerings on HBO Max took an even bigger blow, when Warner Bros. Discovery removed entire animated series, such as Infinity Train, from the streamer’s back catalog. Animated shows in development, including Batman: Caped Crusader, were also canceled by HBO in an effort to save money and streamline the service. Ahead, thousands of Twitter employees have been laid off following Elon Musk’s controversial takeover (learn more about the Twitter chaos in our live blog), while Amazon is reportedly set to lay off up to 10,000 employees in the near future.
So Marvel and Disney aren’t the only companies pulling the wallet, but that will be a small consolation for the employees who have lost or will lose their jobs. For these two entertainment powerhouses, Spider-Man: Freshman Year may well be the start of financial cutbacks – and that’s a worrying sign for any MCU project, the staff working on it, and fans of the world’s highest-grossing superhero movie franchise.
For more Marvel-based content, check out what’s yet to be released as part of the studio’s MCU Phase 4 slate. You can also read how to watch the Marvel movies in order, or find out which Marvel TV shows made it to our list of the best Disney Plus shows.