Marvel Sets Zodiac Live-Action Series for 2028

Ordinary streaming viewers looking for the next major live-action chapter from Marvel Television will have to wait until 2028 for the newly announced spy-thriller series Zodiac on Disney+. Revealed by Marvel Television during its New York Comic Con panel at the Javits Center on Thursday, the project arrives with a concrete production timeline despite the studio keeping strict secrecy around its plot.

Production Schedule and the London Shoot

Brad Winderbaum, head of streaming, television and animation at Marvel Studios, addressed the project on stage after news of its development leaked the week prior. It’s a spy thriller. We start shooting in London this spring. Comes out in 2028 on Disney+. I’m sure there’s going to be lots of spoilers because we’re going to start casting it in the next couple of weeks, and it is amazing. If you’re a fan of the comics, there is a lot hidden in that logo. All you’re getting is that it’s supposed to be a secret, Winderbaum said.

The project's logo features an 'A' that includes the little eagle figure from the S.H.I.E.L.D. logo, pointing to a connection with Marvel’s secretive government organization. For talent agents and casting directors, the immediate next step is the talent search, with auditions and casting decisions expected to lock in over the coming weeks ahead of the spring production start in London.

Comics History Versus Screen Adaptation

In Marvel Comics history, Zodiac is traditionally a group of supervillains who pattern themselves after astrological signs, such as a criminal mastermind in a crab costume equipped with pincers known as Cancer. One iteration of the comics group was even founded by a time-traveling Leonardo Da Vinci. However, those cosmic and villainous comic origins do not immediately align with the spy-thriller framing chosen for the Disney+ adaptation.

Spy stories generally require fewer expensive space portals and giant magical lasers than traditional superhero material, which may offer budget advantages for episodic television. The 2028 target also places the series well after upcoming releases like VisionQuest, which premieres on Oct. 14 with Paul Bettany returning as the robot Vision to cap off the trilogy that began with WandaVision and Agatha All Along.

Broadcasting Landscape and Recent Streaming Precedents

The greenlight for Zodiac follows a turbulent period for Marvel's streaming slate. Marvel Television recently premiered Wonder Man in January, renewed it for a second season, and subsequently canceled it. Despite the cancellation, star Yahya Abdul-Mateen II earned an Emmy nomination for lead actor, making him the first live-action performer to secure an Emmy nod for both a Marvel and a DC series following his work in HBO's Watchmen.

Meanwhile, the studio is restructuring its broader television output. Daredevil: Born Again features a reunion of the Netflix Defenders heroes, including Charlie Cox, Krysten Ritter, and Finn Jones. At the same time, Marvel Television announced a trio of Marvel Zombies specials—with the first tied to The Winter Soldier arriving during the Halloween season next year, followed by The Fist of Konshu in 2028 and The Last Guardian in 2029—alongside the second season of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, debuting on Jan. 13, 2027.

Marvel's decision to anchor a major new franchise to a 2028 spy thriller proves that the studio is spacing out its expensive live-action investments while relying on grounded genre storytelling to rebuild viewer trust after recent cancellations.