Summary

Brad Winderbaum heads the Marvel Studios streaming, overseeing new projects.

Daredevil: Born Again will debut on Disney+, continuing the story of Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock.

In this interview with Collider’s Steve Weintraub, Winderbaum discusses Marvel Animation, including Wonder Man and X-Men ’97, Wonder Man, and more.

Brad Winderbaum is on a very special shortlist, singularly titled: “Marvel Studios Parliament.” This means he’s in a very tight-knit group of long-time Marvel executives directly under Kevin Feige, who offer notes and elevate one another’s projects. Winderbaum, in his unique position, is head of streaming, television, and animation. Needless to say, Winderbaum has his fingers in every Marvel pie imaginable, making him one of the most fascinating people to interview. In particular, one of those pies is audience-favorite Daredevil: Born Again, set to make its debut on Disney+ and kicking off an exciting queue of Marvel projects rushing down the pipeline.
Set a few years after the action-packed events of the original Daredevil series, Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) has found a solid rhythm in his life, balancing his work and personal life, friendships and relationships, and putting down the red-horned suit for good. At the same time, Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) is out in public, shaking hands as he runs for mayor of New York City. As both men pursue a fresh start, they soon fall back into their distressing, violent pasts of crime. The series co-stars Margarita Levieva (The Acolyte), Elden Henson as Foggy Nelson, Deborah Ann Woll’s electrifying reprise of Karen Page, and Jon Bernthal’s return as The Punisher, Frank Castle.
For this interview, Winderbaum chats with Collider’s Steve Weintraub about Daredevil: Born Again and Marvel’s upcoming television slate. He shares updates on Wonder Man, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, X-Men ‘97, and tells us when fans will finally get to see the much-anticipated Ironheart.
‘Ironheart’ Is Officially Happening in 2025

The Riri Williams series has been delayed for years.

COLLIDER: Listen, man, I’ve got a lot of questions for you, but before we get into it, I’m just going to say the first two episodes of Daredevil are frickin’ awesome.
BRAD WINDERBAUM: Steve, you have no idea what that means to me.
That first episode is… Holy shit.
WINDERBAUM: Thanks. It’s led to a lot of sleepless nights, I’ll tell you that.
You don’t have to worry. Fans are going to very much embrace these first two episodes. If the rest of the season is like these first two, you’re all set. You really are.
WINDERBAUM: I can’t wait for you to watch the rest.
I have a lot of different questions for you, so let’s just jump in. For everyone watching, Daredevil is incredible. Absolutely watch it. Will I ever see Ironheart?
WINDERBAUM: Yes. You’ll see it later this year.
‘Wonder Man’ Is a “Very New Flavor for Marvel”

‘Watchmen’s Yahya Abdul-Mateen II plays Simon Williams.

Image via Marvel Studios

How many episodes is Wonder Man, and what is the tone of the series? Is it similar to something that Marvel has done before, or something completely unique?
WINDERBAUM: Wonder Man is eight episodes. It’s a very new flavor for Marvel. It’s straight from the minds of Destin Daniel Cretton and Andrew Guest. Honestly, it is one of my favorite things ever. I think it’s the best show no one’s ever seen, and I’m very excited to see the audience reaction to it. I think it’s a love letter to what we do as filmmakers. It’s a love letter to acting as a profession, and it’s a very sincere, beautiful show.
Are the episodes 30 minutes or an hour?
WINDERBAUM: There’s a little bit of some streaming leeway in the episode runtimes, so I think our shortest episode is 20-something, and our longest is, like, 40-something.
When Can Fans Expect More of ‘Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man’?

“We will have to wait a little bit more than a year.”

Image via Disney+

Marvel Animation right now is having a renaissance. You’re Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is fantastic. Do you think, in an ideal world, every season could be like one a year? Or do you think it’s more like every 18 months to get a season out?
WINDERBAUM: We will have a Spider-Man season every year if I have anything to say about it. What usually happens, as you know, in animation is that there’s a bigger gap between Season 1 and Season 2 than in subsequent seasons, and that’ll be similar in Friendly. We will have to wait a little bit more than a year for Season 2, but then after that, it should come out on an annual cadence, hopefully.
Do you think that Season 2 will be later this year, or is it definitely 2026?
WINDERBAUM: Season 2 is in ‘26, I think.
‘X-Men ’97’ Season 2 Is in the Works Now

This and ‘Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man’ are Marvel Animations’ top priorities.

Image by Jefferson Chacon 

What’s the story with X-Men ‘97 Season 2? Will it be later this year, or is it definitely 2026?
WINDERBAUM: Season 2 of X-Men ‘97 is going to be in ‘26. We’re working on it now. It’s exciting. That world of the ‘90s is just… Honestly, Steve, I can’t believe they let me make it. I grew up at Marvel, as you know. I’ve clocked a lot of time here, and I feel like I used a lot of currency to revive this thing that I loved watching after school. So, the fact that we get to play in that universe with those actors is honestly why I went into this business in the first place.
I want to actually follow up on that. You took a risk making that because you really don’t know what’s going to happen, then all the critics and all the fans are like, “This is awesome.” How much does that sort of level you up when you say, “With other animation, let’s do this,” and now people are like, “Oh, let’s do that?”
WINDERBAUM: I think, certainly, the viewership has opened up some opportunities on the development side for us on animation. To me, it’s important to try to get to an annual cadence with these shows and to have something that people can rely on. This has been a challenge for streaming in general, but I really want to create television shows that feel like shows. So, part of that is creating a seasonal cadence that people can rely on. So, we do have other things we’re working on, but X-Men ‘97 and Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man are the top priorities in trying to get to a place where we can reliably have very strong seasons every year.

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Is there another show that you’re working on for animation or a movie, even an animated movie, that’s close to being announced, or is it all in the preliminary?
WINDERBAUM: It’s all in the preliminary. As you know, we’re developing more than we make, so I don’t want to announce anything before it’s ready. But there’s hopefully some exciting stuff on the horizon.
Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson Will Return for ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Season 2

“I would work with them forever if I could.”

Jumping into Daredevil, how much are Justin [Benson] and Aaron [Moorhead] directing in Season 2?
WINDERBAUM: They’re directing a block of episodes, just like they did in Season 1. They are fundamental in establishing the tone of Born Again. Those guys are tonal masters. The way they tell a story, they know how to pull the levers of drama and tension especially, like no one else. Hopefully you remember, in Loki Season 2, I always talk about this shot on their way to the cosmic loom, and it’s a shot of a door, and it just sustains and just builds this enormous amount of tension. That is something that I think is emblematic of the way they work and how they direct. Certainly, they move around the audiences’ eye and attention on-screen in a phenomenal way.
Loki Season 2, I loved it. Their work on that season is incredible. I’m a huge fan, and I think Marvel’s lucky to have those guys.
WINDERBAUM: They’re amazing. I would work with them forever if I could.
Daredevil: Born Again Season 1, Episodes 1 and 2 premiere on Disney+ on March 4, with subsequent episodes dropping every Tuesday.

Daredevil: Born Again

Release Date

March 4, 2025

Showrunner

Chris Ord

Writers

Chris Ord

Franchise(s)

Daredevil, Marvel Cinematic Universe