There was a lot of excitement over the announcement of a Marvel Zombies series coming to Disney+. Now we know that the new animated What If…? spin-off will be more than just the one-off appearance seen in last year’s animated show, but it will also be the shortest Marvel series to date with just four episodes. However, as of yet, there has been no confirmation of how long those episodes will run, so it is hard to gauge just how short the series will be in actual length.

Marvel Zombies was already in development when What If….? delivered the first taste of zombie horror to the MCU, but the reaction to the episode certainly didn’t hurt the project moving forward. Inspired by the 2005 comic book of the same name, Marvel Zombies sees a number of the MCU’s greatest heroes being turned into flesh-eating monsters by a quantum virus. Now that it is clear that audiences are more than happy to see more zombies in the MCU, Marvel Zombies is slated for release in 2024, and was recently given a TV-MA rating, which for an animated show means that it is another step along a more mature path for the MCU.

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While appearing at New York Comic Con recently, Marvel Zombies’ head writer Zeb Wells provided ComicBook.com with an update on the show, and although there were no specifics about the plot of the series given out, Wells did make that revelation about the length of the “really cool” series. Wells said:

“So it’s four episodes, not sure when it comes out yet, but it’s looking really cool.”

Marvel Zombies Is Short, But That May Not Be A Bad Thing

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For some fans, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is better when it is bigger, but in truth, sometimes there needs to be a little control over just how stretched the stories of the Marvel world are allowed to become. Marvel Zombies’ short length suggests that the story will be focussed and concise, and in the sprawling Multiverse Saga that may play to the series’ advantage.

Although many movies and TV shows always seem to want to show more, a restricted amount of zombie action could well mean that fans will demand more in the future, and that could lead to a longer future for them in the franchise than having just an over-extended limited series. Whether that is how fans see it when the four-episode run arrives is another matter.

Despite its short run, that isn’t likely to impact the number of Marvel heroes who appear on-screen as part of Marvel Zombies. It has already been confirmed that the roster of those appearing will include Yelena Belova, Kate Bishop, Agent Jimmy Woo, Red Guardian, Death Dealer, Shang-Chi and Kamala Khan. This suggests that the series will not be retreading the story that What If…? played out, but will move into using characters that have been introduced as part of Phase Four. All will be revealed in a couple of years when Marvel Zombies premieres on Disney+.