Since the arrival and departure of Agatha Harkness from our screens in the most recent Marvel Studios Disney+ series, Agatha All Along, fans of the mega-franchise have eagerly been waiting for the next entry. More so, there have been a lot of questions from fans about everyone’s favorite web-head and what we can expect from his next appearance in the MCU. With 2025 finally here, audiences don’t have to wait much longer, as the first project of the year is none other than a Spider-Man project, although not the highly anticipated fourth film starring Tom Holland as Peter Parker. Instead, at the end of January, we will have the premiere of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, telling the origin story of another Peter Parker within the Marvel Cinematic Multiverse.
Jeff Trammell, head writer of the series, Mel Zwyer, supervising director, and their team have been hard at work on the animated series, telling what is essentially another “What If…?” story about Peter Parker’s early years if his mentor was Norman Osborn instead of Tony Stark. With the first batch of 10 episodes quickly approaching and a second season already in development, we wanted to share some information our sources have shared with us about the working title and production companies associated with the two seasons and what it could hint at for the larger story of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man.
So grab your webshooters, and let’s get ready to swing into the new world of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man!
[Warning: Possible spoilers from Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man are below!]
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is ready to Rock the Bells
Over a year ago, back in September of 2023, we reported on the status of several different Working Title/Production company pairings for animated projects over at Marvel Studios. At the time of reporting them, much of which project paired with what working title or production company was left to speculation. Just as a quick refresher, in our previous round-up, we were able to confirm the following were animated projects instead of possible live-action series or films:
Golden City | Maglev Train Productions LLC
Great Pumpkin | Marvel Animated Studios LLC
Rock The Bells | Battle Anybody Productions LLC
Mortlach | Speyside Productions LLC
Of those listed above, we weren’t able to officially confirm with MCU projects they were connected to at the time, although some, such as Golden City | Maglev Train, were easily to guess. However, thanks to our sources, we can now confirm some of them for Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, beginning with Rock the Bells | Battle Anybody Productions.
Rock the Bells, a reference to an LL Cool J song, along with its production company, has haunted us for a while, not seeming to fit with any one project specifically. Appearing on his debut album, Radio, “Rock The Bells” was a chart-topping song in both R&B and Hip Hop. LL Cool J also comes from New York, so perhaps the reference makes sense for a Spider-Man project, taking us back to the days when the web-slinger was known for protecting the neighborhood streets instead of flying off into space on alien ships and traversing the multiverse.
Initially, we speculated that perhaps it was tied to Marvel Zombies, as the Battle Anybody felt more appropriate. When you’re a hero in a zombie-filled world, you’d have to fight your way out for survival, right? But alas, it is attached to Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man instead of the mature animated series coming out in the Fall.
Rock the Bells was also confirmed in the digital footprint of some of the more recently released stills from Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, as pointed out by some of the people in our Discord. What we can confirm from our sources is that season two of the series also embraces the Rock The Bells Working Title, however, with the newer Marvel Animated Studios LLC production company attached to it.
Now I may know what you’re thinking. If the Rock the Bells were confirmed in the digital information buried in the new series pictures, what’s the news then? That part just confirms some tidbits for those who keep detailed sheets of Marvel Studios information. However, perhaps the most significant piece of information today from our sources is that season one of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man has not one but two working titles and production companies associated with it.
A Great Pumpkin is coming, Peter Parker
That’s right, the first season of the newest animated Marvel Studios show has another working title and production company attached to it. Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man season one is also working under Great Pumpkin | Marvel Animated Studios LLC. At this point, we’re not quite sure why there are two working titles and production companies associated with a singular season of the show, but we can absolutely speculate.
Last month, in an interview with Brandon Davis on his podcast Phase Hero, Head of Marvel Television Brad Winderbaum discussed if the series was canon to the MCU. Winderbaum stated that initially, the plan was to make the show canon to the ongoing narrative across the films and shows; however, he felt that decision limited their creativity.
“It started out as ‘Okay, it’s Spider-Man’s freshman year, he’s going to be a freshman, can we get away with this being entirely in the MCU?’ and very early on in the development process, we realized how locked in that actually made us. We couldn’t really use his rogues gallery, we couldn’t really use his origin. It was not fun, honestly. We would’ve had to put so many limiters on our story to get it to lock into canon.”
Is it possible when the decision to make Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man not canon that the series transitioned to a new working title and production company? It’s an option that would explain why two different entities are associated with the project.
What could happen in these ten episodes, with the first season working with both Great Pumpkin and Battle Anybody? Great Pumpkin could hint at the alter ego of Norman Osborn, voiced by Colman Domingo, the Green Goblin. We may see his mentor descend into madness and assume the mantle of Green Goblin before the season’s closing. Better yet, with the Battle Anybody production company, be it defunct or not, could audiences witness the rise of Marvel Studios’ own Sinister Six, doing something that Sony Pictures struggled for years to get off the floor.
I don’t know about anyone else, but this idea excites me even more for Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man when it releases on Disney+ on January 29! What are your thoughts on these working titles and production companies? Let us know on social media @mycosmiccircus!
What If…? Season 3: A Mostly Underwhelming End To The MCU’s First Animated Series
