Spider-Man: Freshman Year Lands at Popular Anime Studio

One of the most unexpected projects in Marvel Studios' upcoming slate might be Spider-Man: Freshman Year, a new animated series being made for Disney+. The show, which was first announced during Disney+ Day in 2021, promises to provide a timeless but distinct take on the mythos of Peter Parker / Spider-Man, and now we know one team who is helping bring that to life. According to a new press release, the Japanese digital animation studio Polygon Pictures is involved with Spider-Man: Freshman Year. The studio previously worked on Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Tron: Uprising, and Transformers Prime.

"We hope you are looking forward to this return to the world of Spider-Man, utilizing the latest CG technology!" the press release reads in part.

What Will Spider-Man: Freshman Year Be About?

Spider-Man: Freshman Year follows Peter Parker on his way to becoming Spider-Man in the MCU, with a journey unlike we've ever seen and a style that celebrates the character's early comic book roots. The series is confirmed to see Charlie Cox reprise his role as Matt Murdock / Daredevil, with Paul F. Tompkins as Bentley Wittman / Wizard.

Other characters who are confirmed to appear in Freshman Year, but have not been publicly cast, include Nico Minoru, Amadeus Cho, Harry Osborn, Norman Osborn, Pearl Pangan / Wave, Jean Foucalt / Finesse, Milos Masaryk / Unicorn, Dimitri Smerdyakov/Chameleon, Mac Gargan / Scorpion, James Sanders / Speed Demon, Maria Vasquez / Tarantula, Aleksei Sytsevich / Rhino, Butane, Carmela Black, Lonnie Lincoln, Otto Octavius / Doctor Octopus, and Stephen Strange / Doctor Strange.

Is Spider-Man: Freshman Year in the MCU?

Given Freshman Year's crop of characters, many of whom either do not exist or had not met Peter Parker at that point in the main MCU, there has been a ton of speculation about the series' canonicity in the franchise. As Marvel producer Brad Winderbaum told ComicBook.com last year, this particular iteration of Peter's story is decidedly different.

"Well, like we said, in the panel, it follows the pattern that you see in [Captain America:] Civil War," Winderbaum revealed. "Down to Peter getting the broken Blu-ray player from the trash and he walks into his department for the famous moment where Tony stark is waiting for him to offer him the stark internship and take him to Berlin. But because of things that happen in the multiverse because of new, random occurrences, it's not Tony Stark who's waiting for him there. It's Norman Osborn and that sends his life in an unexpected trajectory that collides him with many unexpected characters in the Marvel universe."

What do you think of the latest update surrounding Spider-Man: Freshman Year? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

Spider-Man: Freshman Year is scheduled to debut on Disney+ at some point in 2024. If you haven't signed up for Disney+ yet, you can do that right here. 

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