Marvel has revealed the first substantial details about Zodiac, its upcoming live-action spy series for Disney Plus. The project was announced at New York Comic Con earlier this month, but its story and characters initially remained under wraps.
The new series is expected to follow spies pursuing people with “special abilities”. Marvel has now also confirmed its writing team: Amit Cohen and Ron Leshem.
Who is writing Marvel’s Zodiac?
Cohen and Leshem have worked together on several television projects, including Hulu’s No Man’s Land. Leshem created the original Israeli series Euphoria and later served as an executive producer on the American adaptation starring Zendaya.
The appointment gives Zodiac an experienced team with credits across international drama, espionage and character-focused television. Deadline’s report provided the details about the writers.
What could Marvel’s Zodiac be about?
At present, the confirmed premise is limited to the spy-thriller description and the report that its agents will target people with unusual abilities. The title does, however, invite comparisons with Marvel’s comic-book history.
In Marvel Comics, Zodiac has been used by several organisations, most often groups connected to villainous espionage networks such as HYDRA. The series’ title design uses a zodiac wheel in place of the “O” and places the SHIELD logo inside the “A”, which may hint at the return of that agency. SWORD has not been referenced, despite appearing to occupy a similar position in the current Marvel Cinematic Universe timeline.
Some fans have connected the project with Brian Michael Bendis and Jonathan Hickman’s Secret Warriors. That comic featured a Zodiac made up of leading spymasters and included a storyline involving HYDRA infiltrating SHIELD. The MCU has already explored related territory in Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Agents of SHIELD.
Secret Warriors also featured Quake, the character played by Daisy Johnson in Agents of SHIELD. Those connections have led to speculation that Zodiac could revive or continue that television corner of Marvel. The theory gained extra attention after Phil Coulson actor Clark Gregg shared the announcement on social media.
A changing Marvel television landscape
The announcement arrives while Marvel’s television output is becoming more selective. Wonder Man premiered this year to widespread acclaim, but its second season was cancelled. VisionQuest is currently airing and is intended to complete a trilogy that began with WandaVision.
Daredevil: Born Again is also scheduled to end with its third season next year, bringing another chapter of Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock to a close. Against that backdrop, the limited information surrounding Zodiac makes it difficult to judge the series’ direction or place in the MCU.
Production is scheduled to begin next year, so further information may not arrive for some time. For readers following the wider entertainment and gaming landscape, RETROCADE’s arcade news and features cover other developments across popular culture and interactive entertainment.
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