San Diego Comic-Con is in full swing, and the announcements from Marvel Studios are starting to come fast and furious. Marvel's first major panel of the weekend featured the upcoming animated series that are in the works for Disney+, including the highly anticipated Spider-Man: Freshman Year. The show will focus on a Peter Parker that is very early in his career as Spider-Man, navigating his way through his first year in high school while moonlighting as everyone's favorite wall-crawler. During the panel, Marvel officially revealed the release window for Freshman Year, announcing the series will be streaming on Disney+ at some point in 2024:
That's not all that was revealed about Freshman Year, as a number of new characters were announced to be part of the series. Some of the most exciting additions include Spider-Man mainstay Harry Osborn, Runaways member Nico Minoru, and Amadeus Cho, a young man who succeeds Bruce Banner as the Hulk in the comics. In addition, some of the villains of the series will be Doctor Octopus, Rhino, Scorpion, Chameleon, and many more. Peter won't have to fight them alone, as both Doctor Strange and Daredevil will be making appearances in Freshman Year, with the latter hero being voiced by none other than Charlie Cox. Other than the time in Peter's life that the series will cover, specific plot details about Freshman Year are being kept under wraps.
Is Spider-Man: Freshman Year Actually Part of the MCU?
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The announcement of so many unique characters joining Freshman Year is leading to questions about whether the series is actually part of MCU canon. It was said during the panel that the events of the animated adventure will be set before Captain America: Civil War, which has lead to more confusion than clarity. In Spider-Man: No Way Home, Peter had never met Otto Octavius or Norman Osborn, who will also be appearing in Freshman Year, so it wouldn't make sense to have those characters in the series if it were in the same universe as the MCU. Also, while animation offers more creativity when it comes to character designs, the looks of the villains especially don't fit in at all with the style developed throughout the Disney Spider-Man films:
The easiest solution would be that Freshman Year is part of the wider Marvel multiverse, taking place in a timeline adjacent to the main Earth-616 continuity of the MCU. Going that route provides the series with more leeway on where to take Peter's story, opening up new and exciting possibilities for a Spider-Man world that hasn't quite been seen on screen before. Even though Freshman Year won't be out for another two years, Marvel clearly likes the direction the series is going, as it was announced during the panel that a second season titled Spider-Man: Sophomore Year is in the works. More details about Freshman Year should be coming out in the months ahead as audiences wait to see the web-slinger swing his way through the animated streets of New York City.