Marvel has been rocking the live-action movie scene lately with well-known characters like the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy, but get ready because the company is about to shake up animation with some up-and-coming superhero stars too.
Next year, Marvel will be introducing Marvel Rising, “a new multiplatform animation franchise featuring the next generation superheroes,” as told by the Hollywood Reporter. Focusing on a younger group of superheroes, Marvel Rising will consist of a series of six four-minute animated shorts, leading up to a full feature-length movie called Marvel Rising: Secret Warriors. Marvel has not yet revealed a release date for the film or said how fans will be able to watch it, but stated that future content may be announced in the coming months.
The shorts will center on Gwen Stacey as superhero Spider-Gwen, known here as Ghost-Spider. Other super teen characters featured include Ms. Marvel, Squirrel Girl, Quake, Patriot, America Chavez, and Inferno. It’s a diverse cast of characters, with the female leads apparently outnumbering the males.
The characters are the heart of the story, and there’s been a focus on making these characters relatable to a wide audience. Marvel Rising is about these characters proving themselves as superheroes, but also about learning to work together and believe in themselves.
“I’m very excited that our Marvel Rising team of heroes is so inclusive, reflecting characters with different backgrounds, particularly a set of strong female leads that our young audience can connect with,” said Cort Lane, Marvel Senior Vice President of Animation and Family Entertainment.
Several of the voice actors for the project will be familiar to Marvel fans, since they’re also actresses on the live-action television series Agents of SHIELD. Ming-Na Wen, Chloe Bennet, and Dove Cameron will all voice characters, as will Milana Vayntrub as Squirrel Girl, the role she signed to play if the new live-action series New Warriors finds an outlet.
Other voice talent includes Tyler Posey, BooBoo Stewart, Kathreen Khavari, Cierra Ramirez, Kamil McFadden, Skai Jackson, Kim Raver, Steven Weber, and Dee Bradley Baker.
Both the shorts and the movie were written by Mairghread Scott. Joe Quesada, Dan Buckley, Cort Lane, and Eric Radomski will serve as executive producers for Marvel Rising, with Stan Lee, Sana Amanat, and Marsha Griffin as co-executive producers. Alfred Gimeno, story artist on DreamWorks Animation’s Kung-Fu Panda, will serve as supervising director.
“This project is unlike anything we’ve done before,” said Amanat, Marvel Director of Content and Character Development. “From featuring the rising and fan-favorite stars of the Marvel Universe, to a visually distinct animation style, this is a groundbreaking animated event. It’s an action-packed adventure, full of comedy, heart and powerful messages for every kind of Marvel fan.”
Check out more details regarding the Marvel Rising franchise and casting in the video below, then tell us what you think in the comments!
Via The Hollywood Reporter and Deadline.
Edited by: Hannah Wilkes