When Marvel Studios unveiled its upcoming animated Spider-Man series, Spider-Man: Freshman Year, at San Diego Comic-Con, fans were confused as to just how it fit into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Now, there are some clearer answers.
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Speaking to ComicBook.com in an interview for the Phase Zero YouTube channel, Brian Winderbaum — the Head of Streaming, Television, and Animation at Marvel Studios — revealed that Freshman Year isn’t exactly set within the MCU timeline, but alongside it.
“Well, like we said in the panel, it follows the pattern that you see in [Captain America:] Civil War,” Winderbaum said. “Down to Peter getting the broken Blu-ray player from the trash, and he walks into his apartment for the famous moment where Tony Stark is waiting for him to offer him the Stark internship and take him to Berlin.”
However, Winderbaum goes on to say that because of the multiverse that has been established in the MCU, Freshman Year deviates from the standard timeline. This version explores a different scenario, where it’s not Stark waiting for Peter Park, but Norman Osborn.
“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” said Winderbaum. “It’s Norman Osborn, and that sends his life in an unexpected trajectory that collides him with many unexpected characters in the Marvel universe.”
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With the answer now confirmed, fans can head into the series knowing just how the series will (or won’t) fit into the standard MCU canon that has already been established when Spider-Man: Freshman Year premieres on Disney+ in 2024.
