Mark Millar Thinks This Huge Marvel Comics Live-Action Adaptation Is In The Cards
The Marvel Cinematic Universe keeps getting stranger, thanks to the presence so many different aliens, dragons and ancient lost worlds in "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" — not to mention all the multiverse shenanigans that first launched in "Loki" and will continue in the next "Spider-Man" and "Dr. Strange" movies. Plus, in the latest "What If...?" episode that released on Sept. 8, the rescue of Janet Van Dyne — who is infected by a quantum virus when Hank Pym finds her — leads to a full-on zombie apocalypse.
As it turns out, though, the zombies that appeared in the fifth episode of the Disney+ animated series may not be just a hypothetical within the MCU.
Legendary comic book writer Mark Millar, who has been responsible for a lot of the source material that Marvel movies are based on, as well as the Millarworld properties that Netflix acquired in 2017, seems to think that a live-action "Marvel Zombies" project is in the works, and has hinted that these undead creatures will soon have a place within the growing MCU canon.
Mark Millar reminds fans that 'zombies never stay dead'
The news comes out of the most recent issue of Mark Millar's newsletter (via Bleeding Cool). In it, he told about his involvement in the creation of "Marvel Zombies," which could be considered the origin of the "What If...?" episode. He noted that at the time he first suggested it a zombie plague in a meeting, no one liked the idea. But, over time, the concept gained traction. Eventually, he said, "people around the office started to get quite excited by the idea of a zombie Marvel universe and started pitching out for ideas."
According to Comic Book Resources, Millar's "Marvel Zombies" finally appeared in "Ultimate Fantastic Four #21," wherein Millar, Greg Land and Matt Ryan created a story arc called "Crossover," which introduced the idea of an alternate world populated by zombie versions of Marvel's superheroes. "Marvel Zombies" then debuted as a five-issue limited series in 2005, written by Robert Kirkman (yes, the same Robert Kirkman who created "The Walking Dead") and drawn by Sean Phillips.
As Millar pointed out, "They also spawned zombie cover months, toys and statues, endless Marvel Zombie cosplayers and now not only this 'What If...?' episode, but also (if my sources are correct) a little live-action 'Marvel Zombies' further down the line, but you never heard that from me. As I should have remembered when this got bumped at that meeting, zombies never stay dead."
Millar doesn't reveal his source of information, but if he's right, the heroes of the MCU are in for an interestingly undead time. We can only hope, right?