Hopes are high and expectations are even higher for Marvel Studios' slate of upcoming programming. 2024 was a big year for the studio as it successfully developed its new less-is-more strategy and made it a reality. Its sole cinematic release, Deadpool and Wolverine, was a roaring box office success, while Agatha All Along performed extremely well for Disney Plus and brought awards buzz back to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
It was the victory that Marvel needed after a pretty lackluster 2023, and all sights are now set on its upcoming projects this year to see if it can sustain the momentum. The year kicks off for it with animated series Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man - an MCU-adjacent project that will give us a look into the origins of a Peter Parker variant.
The show's premiere is just weeks away and it's set to make history in a way that none of the other Marvel shows have.
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man's unexpected release schedule
Marvel has unveiled the release schedule for Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man and, well, it's unexpected to say the least. Fresh off the confirmation that the first two episodes of the series would debut on premiere day (Wednesday, January 29), it has now been revealed that the show will proceed to drop three episodes weekly across the next two weeks before returning to two for the final two episodes of the season.
This is not the first time that Marvel has played around with an MCU show's release schedule. Last January, Hawkeye spinoff Echo debuted all five of its episodes in one single drop, making history as Marvel's first binge on Disney Plus. The streamer has also changed the day and time of release of the Marvel shows across the four years of Marvel Television thus far, initially moving them from Friday mornings to Wednesday mornings, and then eventually their current Tuesday night primetime slots. The animated shows, however, reserve the Wednesday morning slot, and that will continue with Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man.
The confirmation of the show's release schedule has received something of a divided response from fans. While most are excited about the fact that they will have more Spider-Man content on a weekly basis than just one short episode now, others aren't in love with the idea of the streamer rushing through the series' 10 episodes in just four weeks. Understandable for sure, but there is likely a reason for the quick release schedule, and his name is Daredevil.
The first of this year's live-action MCU shows will be Daredevil: Born Again and it's set for release on March 4, 2025. A revival of the Netflix series and the long-awaited spotlight for Matt Murdock's warrior in the MCU after four years of table-setting, it's set to be one of the biggest shows of the entire TV year. With that in mind, Marvel Television probably didn't want to run the risk of diluting either show's success, and thus made the decision to put some distance between the release of it and Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man.
We don't yet know if Marvel plans to bring the latter back for a second season, but if it proves to be successful, you know that conversation will be had. Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is the third show produced under the Marvel Animation banner, and both of its predecessors - What If...? and X-Men '97 - have received second seasons (and a third in the former's case). Here's hoping that Spidey carries on that trend.
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man releases on Disney Plus on Wednesdays, starting January 29 with a two-episode premiere.