Marvel Studios usually avoids explicitly adult content, focusing on projects for family viewing. However, on September 24, the studio released the first Marvel Zombies animated series with a TV-MA rating — the television equivalent of the R ("adults only") category.
The project is a development of the fifth episode of the anthology "What If...?", in which various Marvel heroes turn into zombies, and surviving superheroes confront them. The series contains many scenes of graphic violence, dismemberment and other harsh moments, which led to the corresponding age rating.
Since its release, Marvel Zombies has held the leading position in the Disney+ charts, ahead of both new premieres and long-running hits of the platform. According to FlixPatrol, during the first three days the series ranked first in the USA, and on the fourth day it dropped to the second line. Analysts note that this is not due to a decrease in interest, but to the short duration of the project — only four episodes with a total duration of about two hours were released.
In the FlixPatrol ratings, Marvel Zombies leads by a wide margin, scoring two and three times more viewer interest points compared to other Disney+ projects, including "Alien: Romulus", "Big Shot" and "Grey's Anatomy".
Earlier, Marvel head Brad Winderbaum confirmed that the studio is ready to continue Marvel Zombies if the first season shows decent results. Judging by the current successes, the probability of a second season looks very high.