In 2016, two years after the Amazing Spider-Man film series unceremoniously concluded, Tom Holland debuted as the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Spider-Man in Captain America: Civil War. Fast-forward to today, the actor has played Peter Parker in six of the Marvel movies in order, and he’s expected to return for a fourth MCU-set Spider-Man feature. Of course, Spidey fans know quite well that the Web-Slinger has a storied history of leading TV shows, and a new one is on the way called Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man that will focus on the MCU’s Peter… albeit not exactly the one we’ve been following along with on the big screen.
Similar to how the What If... ? episode "What If... Zombies?!" showed Peter (voiced here by Hudson James) navigating a zombie apocalypse with other Marvel heroes, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, which was originally titled Spider-Man: Freshman Year and will stream exclusively to Disney+ subscribers, will show another way this Peter’s life could have gone differently. So let’s go over everything we know about Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, starting with when it’s expected to come out.
What Is Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man’s Premiere Date?
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is one of the upcoming Marvel TV shows that doesn’t have a specific release date yet. Having that said, it was mentioned at the Marvel Animated Multiverse panel during the 2022 San Diego Comic-Con (via Variety) that this series will come out in 2024. Presumably that’s still the case since there hasn’t been any additional information to indicate it needs to be pushed to 2025. If Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man does arrive arrive sometime in 2024, it will be Marvel's second animated series of 2024, as X-Men ’97 has already premiered.
It’s Already Been Renewed For A Second Season
Audiences still have yet to see a second of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, but those who end up enjoying the series can rest easy knowing that it won’t be a one-season affair. At the same SDCC panel in 2022, Season 2 was announced, which will result in the show being retitled Spider-Man: Sophomore Year. However, with the show having been retitled, presumably Sophomore Year will no longer be used, though that hasn't been officially confirmed. In any case, each season will correspond to a year of Peter’s education.
It Takes Place In An Alternate Reality Where Norman Osborn Is Peter’s Mentor
As already mentioned, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man will not take place in the main MCU continuity. Instead, it will explore a reality where instead of being mentored by Tony Stark, a.k.a. Iron Man, that role is filled by Norman Osborn. Of course, anyone remotely familiar with the Spider-Man mythos knows that Norman is best known for being The Green Goblin, one of Spidey’s greatest adversaries.
It’s unclear if this version of Norman will ever become Green Goblin, although it would be interesting to watch these two transition from mentor and pupil to mortal enemies. The fact that Norman is shown in leaked concept art from SDCC (via CabooseEK) wearing a green suit could certainly serve as some not-to-subtle foreshadowing of his turn to villainy. On the other hand, with Harry Osborn being among Peter’s classmates (more on them later), it’s possible that Norman’s son might take on the Green Goblin mantle instead, or perhaps just be the first to hold it.
Doctor Octopus And Other Classic Spider-Man Villains Will Appear
The uncertainty of Green Goblin appearing aside, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man won’t be lacking in classic Spider-Man villains. For one thing, Doctor Octopus, another high-ranking member of the hero’s rogues gallery, will appear wearing his trademark green and yellow suit from the comics. According to a copyright listing uncovered by The Direct, he’ll be voiced by Hannibal’s Hugh Dancy.
Other villains shown in the aforementioned concept art include Chameleon, Scorpion, Rhino, Unicorn, Speed Demon, Tarantula and Butane, and Lonnie Lincoln, a.k.a. Tombstone, was mentioned. Furthermore, Paul F. Thompkins is set to voice Bentley Wittman, who’s better known as the Fantastic Four villain The Wizard in the comics, although it’s hard to say if he’ll take on that moniker in the show.
Charlie Cox Is Reprising Daredevil
Fans of Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock, a.k.a. Daredevil, can look forward to the actor vocally reprising the superhero he’s been playing for nearly a decade now. Although Cox initially starred in Netflix’s Daredevil and The Defenders miniseries, those shows and the other Marvel series that originated from that streaming platform only had loose ties to the MCU, and these days it’s been implied that they’re not part of the main canon. However, Cox then made his official MCU debut in Spider-Man: No Way Home cameoing as Matt, then donned a yellow version of the Daredevil suit for She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.
Cox’s Matt briefly popped back up Echo and will, of course, be back leading the Daredevil: Born Again cast, but not only does this animated show give the actor an opportunity to finally work on an animated project, fans can also now look forward to an MCU-adjacent Daredevil and Spider-Man finally teaming up. Fingers crossed their main counterparts get to do that someday too.
Spider-Man Will Team Up With Doctor Strange
After first teaming up in Avengers: Infinity War, Tom Holland’s Spider-Man and Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange were paired together in Spider-Man: No Way Home, although their alliance ended once the latter erased the world’s knowledge of Peter Parker in order to save their universe. (Fun fact, Spidey was originally supposed to appear in Doctor Strange 2.) Well, now we can count on Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man’s versions of Spidey and Strange to team up too, although it hasn’t been revealed yet how they’ll first cross paths. Just like with Holland, it’s unclear if Cumberbatch will participate in the animated series or not.
Peter’s Classmates Will Include Runaways’ Nico Minoru And Amadeus Cho
When he’s not fighting crime, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man’s Peter Parker will, of course, be attending high school, but it turns out some of his classmates also have ties to the superhero life… well, at least in the comics they do. In addition to hanging out with Harry Osborn, Peter will also spend time with Nico Minoru, who’s affiliated with the Runaways and will be our main character’s crush. She was previously played in live-action by Lyrica Okano in Hulu’s Runaways series.
Then there’s Amadeus Cho, who’s frequently depicted as one of the smartest people on Earth and was even The Hulk for a brief period. It’s hard to say if these versions of Nico and Amadeus will follow in their comic book counterparts’ footsteps and join Peter in battling bad guys, or if they’ll be contained to his civilian life.
Peter Will Wear Several Alternate Spider-Man Suits
When we first meet Peter Parker in Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, he’ll be wearing, as described in the aforementioned Variety recap, “a homemade Spidey suit with a backpack, goggles, sneakers and a jacket on.” Eventually he’ll don the classic red and blue suit we know and love, but he won’t be his only crimefighting costume. The concept art from the 2022 SDCC panel revealed he’ll don at least four alternate suits during Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, and it’s possible there may be more that are being kept under wraps. You can look back at that leaked concept art to see how those other four suits look, though it is important to note that the white one is modeled after what Peter wore when he was a member of the Future Foundation in the comics, as seen above.
CinemaBlend will continue sharing updates about Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man as they trickle in, so keep your eyes and ears open! You can also look through our 2024 TV schedule to learn what non-Marvel small screen entertainment is slated for later in the year.
