Honestly, the road to this show has been kind of a mess. Fans have been asking about the Marvel Zombies number of episodes since that standout fifth episode of What If...? Season 1 back in 2021. You remember the one—Spider-Man wearing Doctor Strange’s cloak, a headless Ant-Man in a jar, and a zombie Scarlet Witch who was basically a walking nuke. It was grim. It was different. It was exactly what the MCU needed to shake things up.
But Marvel Studios isn't exactly known for being fast lately. Between the strikes, the internal "creative retooling," and the shift away from quantity toward quality, the status of Marvel Zombies has fluctuated more than a Variant's timeline. If you’re looking for a massive, 22-episode season like an old-school network procedural, you're going to be disappointed. This is a lean, mean, undead machine.
The Short and Bloody Reality of the Marvel Zombies Number of Episodes
So, let's get right to the point. The Marvel Zombies number of episodes is confirmed to be four.
Only four.
That sounds incredibly short, right? Especially when you consider how much ground the original Robert Kirkman and Sean Phillips comics covered. But there’s a specific reason for this. Director Bryan Andrews, who has been the driving force behind Marvel's animation wing, has hinted that these episodes are going to be "chunky." We aren't looking at twenty-minute Saturday morning cartoons here. The goal is a more cinematic experience, even if the total runtime feels like a long movie split into chapters.
Marvel is pivoting. They're moving away from the "six-episode event" fatigue that plagued shows like Moon Knight or Falcon and the Winter Soldier. By committing to just four episodes, the production team—led by head writer Zeb Wells—can pour the entire budget into the high-octane gore that an TV-MA rating requires.
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Why a TV-MA Rating Changes Everything
This is the first time Marvel Studios is really leaning into a mature rating for an animated project. That matters. It's not just about blood; it's about the stakes. In a standard MCU project, you know the hero is probably fine. In a four-episode horror miniseries? Everyone is fair game.
Think about the cast of characters we've already seen in the concept art. We have a new generation of heroes like Shang-Chi, Ms. Marvel, Kate Bishop, and Yelena Belova. Then you have the "Skrull biker gang" and a post-apocalyptic Death Dealer. On the flip side, the zombies aren't just mindless biters. We’re talking about a zombified Ikaris from the Eternals. A zombie Captain Marvel. A zombie Okoye.
When you have a limited Marvel Zombies number of episodes, the narrative pace has to be relentless. There’s no room for filler. Every minute has to count toward the survival of the remaining pockets of humanity. Zeb Wells, who has a deep history with both Marvel Comics and Robot Chicken, knows how to balance that dark humor with genuine dread.
The "What If...?" Connection
Some people are confused about whether this is a direct sequel to the episode "What If... Zombies?!" from the first season of the anthology show. The short answer? Sorta. It’s set in that same universe, but it’s its own beast.
The original What If...? episode ended on a massive cliffhanger with Zombie Thanos arriving in Wakanda, clutching a nearly-complete Infinity Gauntlet. That's a "game over" scenario if there ever was one. The new series picks up the pieces of that shattered world. However, with only a four-episode count, don't expect it to resolve every single thread of the Multiverse. It’s a localized look at how the "street-level" heroes survive when the heavy hitters have all turned into flesh-eating monsters.
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The Production Timeline and Why It Took So Long
Animation takes forever. That’s the reality. Even though we first heard about this show years ago, the actual "boots on the ground" work has been grueling. Marvel’s animation department underwent a lot of changes in 2023 and 2024. They shifted from being a side-hustle to a core pillar of Disney+.
- 2021: Show announced following the success of What If...?
- 2022: Confirmation of the TV-MA rating at San Diego Comic-Con.
- 2023: Delays due to the industry-wide strikes and Marvel's internal "quality over quantity" mandate.
- 2024/2025: Production ramps up with finalized voice acting and scoring.
Because the Marvel Zombies number of episodes is so low, the scrutiny on each frame is higher. The animation style is expected to be an evolved version of what we saw in What If...?, likely with more fluid movement and a grittier color palette to match the horror vibes.
Comparing Marvel Zombies to Other MCU Shows
If you look at the landscape of Disney+ Marvel shows, the episode counts are all over the place. Daredevil: Born Again was originally touted as having 18 episodes (before being overhauled). She-Hulk had nine. Echo had five.
By landing at four, Marvel Zombies is the shortest "season" of any Marvel Disney+ show to date. Is that a bad thing? Honestly, probably not. A lot of the six-episode shows felt like four-episode stories stretched out with a "boring middle" in episode three or four. By starting with a four-episode structure, the writers can maintain a "sprint" mentality. It's all killer, no filler. Literally.
What about Season 2?
There has been zero official word on a second season. Marvel is treating this as a limited event. If it does "numbers" on Disney+, they might consider an anthology-style follow-up or a second "volume," but for now, you should go in expecting a self-contained story.
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The Comic Book Influence
We can't talk about the show without mentioning the source material. The 2005 Marvel Zombies limited series was five issues long. It was written by Robert Kirkman, the guy who gave us The Walking Dead. If the show follows that pacing, four episodes actually makes a ton of sense.
The comics were legendary for their nihilism. The heroes didn't just lose; they ate the entire universe. While the MCU version will likely be a bit more "heroic" (in the sense that there are survivors to root for), the DNA of that original shock-factor remains. They are pulling from different iterations of the zombie lore, including the more recent Marvel Zombies: Resurrection and Marvel Zombies: Dawn of Decay.
Survival Odds: Who Makes It Through Four Episodes?
With such a small Marvel Zombies number of episodes, the "death rate" per episode is going to be astronomical.
- Ms. Marvel (Kamala Khan): She’s the heart of the show. It’s unlikely they’d kill her off early, as she provides the perspective the audience needs.
- Shang-Chi: His rings offer a unique defense against infection. He’s a survivor.
- Kate Bishop: High risk. Hawkeyes don't have a great track record in zombie apocalypses.
- The Zombies: Expect big names to go down. Zombie Ikaris is essentially a horror movie slasher that the heroes will have to find a way to "kill" permanently.
Final Thoughts on the Episode Count
It's easy to feel short-changed when you hear a show only has four episodes. We're used to binging ten-hour seasons. But animation is a different beast. The cost per minute is significantly higher than live-action, especially when you’re doing complex superhero powers and massive hordes of undead.
Focusing on a tight, four-episode arc allows Marvel to experiment. If this works, it opens the door for more TV-MA animated content. Maybe we eventually get a Blade animated series or a Ghost Rider project that doesn't have to worry about the constraints of a PG-13 theatrical release.
Actionable Next Steps for Fans
If you're gearing up for the release, here is how you should prepare to make the most of those four episodes:
- Rewatch What If...? Season 1, Episode 5: This is your "Episode 0." It establishes the virus's origin (the Quantum Realm) and the state of the world.
- Read the 2005 Marvel Zombies Mini-Series: Don't expect a 1:1 adaptation, but it sets the tone and shows you just how dark Marvel is willing to go.
- Keep your Disney+ notifications on: Marvel has been known to drop "Special Look" shorts or making-of featurettes (like Marvel Studios: Assembled) that might provide more context for the limited run.
- Adjust your expectations for the runtime: Prepare for "mini-movie" lengths rather than standard sitcom lengths. Set aside about 45 minutes to an hour per episode to really soak in the detail.
The Marvel Zombies number of episodes might be small, but the impact on the MCU's animated future could be massive. Quality over quantity is the new mantra, and if these four episodes deliver the gore and emotional stakes fans want, it'll be worth the wait.