Rishabh Borde
The long-awaited streaming service from entertainment behemoth Disney, Disney+ is finally here, and features up to 500 movies and a mind-blowing list of hundreds of tv shows. According to Disney themselves, they have already managed to break the 10 million subscribers barrier. It is certainly looking like industry incumbents Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu are going to face some tough competition, despite Disney+ almost exclusively hosting first party Disney and Disney owned content.
There is a lot of blockbuster first party content planned for Disney+ over the next few years. Most of the character specific series are set to be 6-8 episodes each, and will tie in directly with the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movies, both past and present. This has been confirmed by Marvel head Kevin Feige, with the possibility that the newer characters may eventually also find their way into the Marvel Phase 4 movies. Keeping that in mind, here’s the list of best Marvel shows on Disney+ — it includes both the existing and upcoming Marvel shows.
14. Marvel’s Runaways (2017)
Introducing a new twist to the typical Marvel formula, 2017’s ‘Marvel’s Runaways’ follows a group of 6 super powered teenagers named Nico Minoru, Karolina Dean, Molly Hernandez, Chase Stein, Alex Wilder, and Gertrude Yorkes. The group decides to run away from their homes when they become cognizant of the fact that all of their parents are part of a cabal of super villains known as “The Pride”. Now, our young heroes must hone their powers and find a way to foil The Pride’s evil schemes.
The titular Runaways are played by Rhenzy Feliz, Lyrica Okano, Virginia Gardner, Ariela Barer, Gregg Sulkin, and Allegra Acosta. ‘Marvel’s Runaways’ is helmed by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, and initially premiered on Hulu on November of 2017. The series has gone through 2 seasons so far, with a third season set to premiere on December 13 2019.
13. Marvel’s Inhumans (2017)
Created by Scott Buck of ‘Marvel’s Iron Fist’ fame, ‘Marvel’s Inhumans’ is a miniseries that follows the story of the eponymous Inhumans, a group of reclusive, self mutated native to the island of Attilan. When the kingdom and the Inhuman Royal family come under attack from both external and internal forces, they must rally under the leadership of their king, Black Bolt in order to save their home and the rest of the world as well.
Serinda Swan, Ken Leung, Eme Ikwuakor, Isabelle Cornish, Ellen Woglom, and Iwan Rheon round-up the main cast of the show. ‘Marvel’s Inhumans’ first premiered in August of 2017 on IMAX screens globally and went on for 8 episodes in total before being unceremoniously cancelled in May 2018.
12. Marvel’s Agent Carter (2015)
‘Marvel’s Agent Carter’ is written by duo Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely, featuring Steve Rodger’s old love Peggy Carter as the show’s titular protagonist. Actress Hayley Atwell reprises the roles she previously player in ‘Captain America: The First Avenger’. The story follows the events after the conclusion of the first movie. Captain America is feared to be dead, and Agent Carter must balance her life as a single woman with her clandestine activities helping billionaire Howard Stark investigate the misuse of his weapons.
Besides Hayley Atwell in the lead, the series also stars James D’Arcy, Chad Michael Murray, and Enver Gjokaj as part of the main cast. After a run time of 2 seasons and 18 episodes, ‘Marvel’s Agent Carter’ was cancelled on 12 May 2016. The second season ends on something of a cliffhanger, as the showrunners were fully expecting to go on for a few more seasons before hanging their boots.
11. Rocket & Groot (2017)
Telling of their time before joining up with the Guardians of the Galaxy, ‘Rocket & Groot’ is an animated miniseries that follows Rocket the Raccoon and his ligneous friend Groot’. The bounty hunting duo travel across the Galaxy trying to earn enough money for a new ship. The series premiered on 10 March 2017 on Disney XD, and has a total of 1 season with 12 episodes.
10. X-Men: The Animated Series (1992)
Created by Eric Lewald, Sidney Iwanter and Mark Edens, the original ‘X-Men: The Animated series’ was an animated series that debuted way back in October of 1992 on Fox Kids. The show follows Cyclops’s Blue Team of of Cyclops, Wolverine, Rogue, Storm, Beast, Gambit, Jubilee, Jean Grey, Professor X and an adaptation of Changeling known as Morph. The show deals with plenty of social issues such as religion, the Holocaust, divorce and more during it’s 5 year run time, and features a total of 5 seasons with 76 different episodes.
9. Spider-Man (1981)
One of the oldest shows on this list, 1981’s ‘Spider-Man’ is an animated series centered around the teenaged webslinger balancing his crime fighting expeditions with his classes as a university student, and job as a part-time photographer at The Daily Bugle. The series was developed by the legendary Stan Lee himself, and aired for a sum total of 26 episodes.
8. The Incredible Hulk (1996)
Following the adventures of the angry green monster, the 1996 TV series ‘The Incredible Hulk’ opens with Dr. Bruce Banner on the run from the military and trying desperately to cure his affliction. He is joined by other iconic Marvel characters including love interest Betty Ross and best friend Rick Jones in his quest. Lou Ferrigno reprises his role from the live action Hulk series and lends his voice to The Hulk in this animated series as well. The series aired for 2 seasons for a total number of 21 episodes.
UPCOMING MARVEL SHOWS ON DISNEY+
7. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (Fall 2020)
Picking up right after the events of ‘Avengers: Endgame’, ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’ is a miniseries that follows Sam Wilson (Falcon) and Bucky Barnes (Winter Soldier) as they attempt to deal with the fallout after the events of ‘Avengers: Endgame’. There are a lot of questions to be answered – Will Sam Wilson become the new Captain America after Steve Rodgers gave him his shield at the end of the Avengers saga? What will become of Bucky now that he has redeemed himself of his past misdeeds? Presumably ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’ will answer all these questions and more.
‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’ will be helmed by series showrunner Malcolm Spellman and will star Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan, who reprise their roles as Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes respectively from the Marvel movies. Daniel Bruhl and Emily VanCamp also return as Sokovian terrorist Helmut Zemo and Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Sharon Carter respectively. Wyatt Russel makes his Marvel debut as John Walker, popularly known as the superhero U.S. Agent in the comic books.
According to Disney, ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’ will be the first original Marvel show to hit Disney+. It is expected to debut sometime in Fall 2020.
6. WandaVision (Spring 2021)
Another miniseries that chronicles the events right after ‘Avengers: Endgame’, ‘WandaVision’ is a unique amalgamation of the iconic 1950s sitcom style and the modern MCU blockbuster adventure. Starring Elizabeth Olsen as the telekinetic Scarlet Witch and Paul Bettany as the AI powered Android Vision, ‘WandaVision’ will reunite the two lovers despite Vision’s apparent death in ‘Avengers: Infinity War’. Not much is known about the show’s storyline, but it very likely that it has something to do with reality warping magic and the multiverse.
‘WandaVision’ is being steered by project lead Jac Schaeffer, and introduces Kathryn Hahn and Teyonah Parris for the first time in the MCU. Franchise veterans Kat Dennings and Randall Park also join the cast as their Marvel alter egos – college intern Darcy Lewis (from the Thor movies) and former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Jimmy Woo (From the Ant-Man movies).
‘WandaVision’ is expected to debut in Spring 2021.
5. Loki (Spring 2021)
Perhaps the most intriguing of Marvel’s new TV series line up for Disney+, ‘Loki’ narrates the story of the eponymous God of Mischief in the alternate time line from ‘Avengers: Endgame’ where he steals the tesseract and escapes. Since this takes place right after Loki’s failed Chitauri invasion of the Earth, this is not the mellow, heroic Loki who sacrifices himself in ‘Avengers: Infinity War’; Instead, the series will star Loki as the scheming, conniving trickster we all remember from the early days of the MCU.
Rick & Morty writer Michael Waldron will supposedly pen the pilot for ‘Loki’. Disney has confirmed that Tom Hiddleston will reprise his role as the titular Loki in the new miniseries, which is expected to arrive sometime in the Summer of 2021.
4. Hawkeye (Summer 2021)
Not much is known about the Marvel miniseries that will serve as the conclusion to Clint Barton’s story arc, but ‘Hawkeye’ will reportedly feature a haggard Barton training a young woman named Katie Bishop to be his replacement and take on the mantle of Hawkeye. In lead actor Jeremy Renner’s own words, Clint will “shepherd a new character to ultimately be a better version of [Hawkeye]” and that he will “teach Kate to how to be a superhero without superpowers.” Hailee Steinfeld of ‘Bumblebee’ fame is reportedly in consideration for the role of Katie Bishop.
Mad Men writer Jonathan Igla will serve as the series showrunner, with an initial release window set for Fall 2021.
3. Ms. Marvel (Unknown)
The upcoming ‘Ms. Marvel’ will introduce fans to Kamala Khan, the first Muslim superhero in the MCU. In the comics, Ms. Marvel possesses crazy shape shifting powers and superhuman healing, strength and speed. She is inspired by the exploits of Carol Danvers, aka Captain Marvel. Marvel head honcho Kevin Feige also left the door open on the possibility that Ms. Marvel could make her MCU movie debut in the upcoming ‘Captain Marvel 2’.
British writer Bisha K. Ali will serve as the show’s lead writer and showrunner. At the time of writing, there is no concrete information about when the series will debut. However, reports indicate that filming for the show will commence sometime in April 2020.
Read More: Best TV Shows on Disney+
2. Moon Knight (Unknown)
In ‘Moon Knight’, yet another popular Marvel superhero from the comics finally getting his debut in the MCU. Real name Marc Spector, Moon Knight is a former mercenary turned vigilante who suffers from multiple personality disorder after his encounter with the Egyptian God Khonshu. Spector lives in New York City, and uses his many personas to gather information and nab criminals.
While there is no news about the cast for the show, ‘Moon Knight’ will be written by Jeremy Slater, who is best known for adapting the superhero comic book series ‘The Umbrella Academy’ for Netflix. Currently, there is no timeline for the show’s eventual release.
Read More: Best Marvel Movies on Disney+
1. She-Hulk (Unknown)
The Hulk’s somewhat less angry but equally green female counterpart is set to get her own miniseries on Disney+ in the near future. The plot of ‘She-Hulk’ will follow hotshot lawyer Jennifer Walters, who accepts a blood transfusion from her cousin Bruce Banner (aka, The Incredible Hulk) after getting in an accident. However, the blood transfusion also afflicts Walters with the same condition as here cousin, only less severe in her case. She gains the ability to transform into a massive green rage monster, but she manages to retain her intellect while doing so.
Nothing is known about the casting or the release date of the new Marvel series, but Disney have confirmed that the writer of Rick and Morty’s famous ‘Pickle Rick’ episode, Jessica Gao will be leading the writing team for ‘She-Hulk’.
Unfortunately, but not entirely unexpectedly, we won’t be seeing any of the Netflix original Marvel series on Disney+. This includes shows such as ‘Marvel’s Daredevil’, ‘Marvel’s Jessica Jones’, ‘Marvel’s Luke Cage’, ‘Marvel’s Iron Fist’, ‘Marvel’s The Defenders’ and ‘Marvel’s The Punisher’. Joss Whedon’s ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ TV series is also conspicuously missing from the lineup at the time of writing. Having covered what is yet to come, here are 7 of the best Marvel TV shows that you can watch right now on Disney+.
Read More: Best Marvel Movies on Disney+
