Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man

This article is about the television series. For the comic book, see Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man.
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man
GenreSuperhero
Created byJeff Trammell
Based on
Starring
Music by
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producers
Production companyMarvel Studios Animation
Original release
NetworkDisney+
Related
Marvel Cinematic Universe television series

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is an upcoming American animated television series created by Jeff Trammell for the streaming service Disney+, based on the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man. It is intended to be the 12th television series in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) from Marvel Studios and is produced by Marvel Studios Animation. The series explores Peter Parker's origin story and early days as Spider-Man, and is set in an alternate timeline from the main films and television series of the MCU where Norman Osborn becomes Parker's mentor instead of Tony Stark. Trammell serves as head writer with Mel Zwyer as supervising director.

Hudson Thames voices Parker, reprising the role from the Marvel Studios animated series What If...? (2021–2024), with Colman Domingo, Eugene Byrd, Grace Song, Zeno Robinson, Hugh Dancy, Charlie Cox, Kari Wahlgren, and Paul F. Tompkins also starring. Disney+ announced the series as Spider-Man: Freshman Year in November 2021, with Trammell attached. It was originally intended to be set in the main MCU continuity but the creative team found this too restrictive and decided to move it to an alternate timeline, allowing the series to explore familiar ideas and characters in new ways. It was retitled Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man by December 2023. The 3D cel-shaded animation pays homage to the art style of early The Amazing Spider-Man comic books by Steve Ditko and John Romita Sr., with animation provided by Polygon Pictures and CGCG.

The first season of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is scheduled to premiere on Disney+ on January 29, 2025, and will run for ten episodes, as part of Phase Five of the MCU. A second season is in development.

Premise

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man explores Peter Parker's origin story and early days using the Spider-Man persona. The series is set in an alternate timeline within the multiverse where Norman Osborn becomes Parker's mentor instead of Tony Stark, as happens in the Marvel Cinematic Universe's (MCU) "Sacred Timeline".[1][2]

Cast and characters

Additional voice actors in the series include: Vincent D'Onofrio as Wilson Fisk / Kingpin, a powerful businessman and crime lord;[12] and Cathy Ang as Pearl Pangan, Parker's classmate and crush.[13][9] Other characters confirmed to be appearing in the series include Dr. Stephen Strange, Amadeus Cho,[11][10] Jeanne Foucault,[14] Chameleon, Mac Gargan / Scorpion, Rhino, Tarantula, Butane, Speed Demon, Carmela Black, Unicorn,[11][10] Tony Stark / Iron Man,[15] Curt Connors,[16] Venom, and White Rabbit.[17]

Production

Development

By June 2021, Marvel Studios Animation was developing a slate of at least three more series in addition to their Disney+ series What If...? (2021–2024).[18][19][20] The next month, these were said to be in various stages of development and were not expected to debut until at least 2023.[21] Spider-Man: Freshman Year was announced during a Disney+ Day event in November 2021, with Jeff Trammell serving as head writer.[1] Trammell was asked to develop the series after pitching a different animated project to Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige and animation head Brad Winderbaum.[22] Mel Zwyer served as supervising director,[23] with Stu Livingston as an episodic director.[24][third-party source needed] Marvel Studios' Feige, Louis D'Esposito, Winderbaum, and Dana Vasquez-Eberhardt were executive producers alongside Trammell.[23] During Marvel Studios Animation's panel at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2022, Spider-Man: Freshman Year and the other projects discussed were referred to as being part of the "Marvel Animated Multiverse". A second season was announced at the panel with the title Spider-Man: Sophomore Year.[25] The series was retitled Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man by December 2023,[26] and in January 2025 Trammell said the series was not limited to covering one school year per season.[5]

Writing

Charlie Neuner serves as a staff writer.[27] The series depicts the origin story of Peter Parker / Spider-Man, which was never explored in detail in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films;[3] Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige stated in 2015 that they decided to not retell the character's origin in Captain America: Civil War (2016),[28] which was the character's first MCU appearance,[3] since there had already been two versions depicted in the Spider-Man films directed by Sam Raimi and Marc Webb and the studios decided to "take it for granted that people know that".[28] The series was originally planned to be set within the MCU's "Sacred Timeline" before the events of Civil War, but the creative team found this to be too restrictive regarding which characters and comic book elements could be included. They decided to move the series to an alternate timeline,[29] taking advantage of the MCU's multiverse concept: the story begins similarly to Civil War but depicts Norman Osborn becoming Parker's mentor instead of Tony Stark / Iron Man, which leads to Parker meeting other unexpected characters.[2]

Trammell said the series would explore Parker's identity pre-Spider-Man and how his superhero career began.[11] The creative team took inspiration from early The Amazing Spider-Man comic books by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko,[30] as well as previous Spider-Man animated series. Trammell took specific inspiration from the way characters were developed in The Spectacular Spider-Man (2008–09).[5] He wanted to use the series to approach familiar ideas and characters in new ways, such as Norman Osborn's role as Parker's mentor and Nico Minoru's position as Parker's best friend.[5][22] Spider-Man's origin story in Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man sees Parker get bit by a spider falling out of a portal created by Dr. Stephen Strange as he is fighting Venom, connecting his origin to magic rather than science as in the comics.[17][31][32] Winderbaum said the series was "so essentially Spider-Man" because it features Parker trying to juggle high school, caring for his aunt May, and being a superhero. He said the large ensemble of characters allowed for interesting relationships and stakes,[30] and an emphasis on the "neighborhood" from the series' title by featuring supporting characters in prominent roles;[33] Winderbaum compared this to Trammell's work on the animated series Craig of the Creek (2018–present).[34]

Casting and voice recording

In July 2022, Charlie Cox was revealed to be reprising his role as Matt Murdock / Daredevil from previous MCU media,[25] while Paul F. Tompkins was cast as Bentley Wittman.[11] Cox recorded his lines in 2021 during breaks in filming the live-action MCU series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022).[35] In September 2023, a United States Copyright Office filing for the series revealed that Hudson Thames was voicing Peter Parker / Spider-Man, reprising his role from the first season of What If...? (2021),[4][36] with Eugene Byrd as Lonnie Lincoln, Grace Song as Nico Minoru, Hugh Dancy as Otto Octavius, Kari Wahlgren as May Parker, and Zeno Robinson as Harry Osborn.[4]

The creative team were struggling to settle on an actor they felt could live up to Norman Osborn's reputation when Zwyer suggested casting Colman Domingo. Trammell thought that was a "genius idea" and they immediately approached the actor, who was "super excited" to take on the role.[5] Domingo's casting was announced in August 2024.[6] That December, Vincent D'Onofrio was revealed to be reprising his role as Wilson Fisk / Kingpin from previous MCU media,[12] with Cathy Ang as the voice of Pearl Pangan.[13]

Animation and design

Because Marvel Studios Animation does not have a "house style", the creative team were free to develop an animation style that differed from previous series What If...? and X-Men '97 (2024–present).[5] They wanted to avoid copying one of the many different animation styles used for the animated Spider-Verse films and settled on paying homage to the early The Amazing Spider-Man comic books, specifically those featuring art by Steve Ditko and John Romita Sr. Trammell described the series as a "moving comic book", which is achieved through 3D cel-shaded animation provided by Polygon Pictures and CGCG.[5][22] Polygon was chosen because of the 2D animation look they had achieved in their previous work. Trammell said the company was able to match their desired style while keeping the "characters feeling alive and real, without feeling stiff and mechanical".[22]

Leo Romero was the lead character designer, with comic book artists Chris Samnee, Paolo Rivera, and Ethan Young also working on the series.[22] Trammell praised Romero for modernizing the designs while retaining classic elements.[5] They leaned further into comic book references for Parker's suits and some of the villains' costumes,[22] including those for Octavius and Mac Gargan / Scorpion.[37] Spider-Man suits featured in the series include a homemade suit made from "gym pants, sneakers, goggles, a blue sweatshirt, red undershirt, knee pads, very clunky web-shooters, and a red logo on the chest"; a yellow suit; a "classic 60s" red and blue suit;[38] a white and blue Oscorp suit resembling Spider-Man's Future Foundation costume from the comics;[39] a "beetle" costume reminiscent of the comic book character Hornet; and a dark suit similar to the comic book character Dusk.[40]

Music

Leo Birenberg and Zach Robinson were revealed to be composing the series' score in June 2024.[41] The series' theme song is a rap remix of classic Spider-Man theme songs.[17][32]

Marketing

The series was discussed during Marvel Studios Animation's panel at the 2022 San Diego Comic-Con, where character art was revealed.[11] The series was featured in a sizzle reel of Marvel Studios Animation's 2024 series in December 2023.[26] Trammell, Thames, and Domingo promoted the series during Marvel Studios Animation's panel at the D23 Expo in August 2024, where Domingo's role as Norman was announced and footage was shown.[16][17][42] Footage from the series was included in a video that was released by Disney+ in October, announcing the release schedule for Marvel Television and Marvel Animation projects through the end of 2025.[43]

Marvel Comics began releasing a five-issue comic book prequel series, also titled Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, in December 2024. The comic was written by Christos Gage and features art by Eric Gapstur.[44] Trammell explained that the comic book fills a timeline gap in the series' first episode. He said it was possible that more comic books could be written to fill other timeline gaps later in the series.[5]

A trailer for the series was released at the end of December 2024, following the conclusion of What If...?'s third season. Toussaint Egan of Polygon described the series as "long-awaited",[45] and Jordan King at Empire called it "hotly anticipated".[46] King and IGN's Adam Bankhurst both highlighted the trailer's combination of classic Spider-Man references—including the art style and theme song—with contemporary animation and imagery.[46][47] Discussing the trailer for Gizmodo, Justin Carter said it was "well worth the wait" and felt the series would be appreciated by people who wanted the MCU's Spider-Man to have some "smaller adventures".[48]

Release

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is scheduled to debut on Disney+ on January 29, 2025,[43] and will run for ten episodes.[49] The series was previously scheduled to be released in 2024,[26][50] and a filing for the first episode with the United States Copyright Office in October 2023 had indicated an approximate release on November 2 of that year.[51] The first season is expected to be part of Phase Five of the MCU.[52]

References

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