While covering the Marvel press line for The Nerds of Color at NYCC 2025, I had the chance to speak with Marvel’s Head of Television, Streaming, and Animation, Brad Winderbaum, about how conventions allow filmmakers to be part of the community, spending time with these characters through television, and more.
There’s so much to be excited about. I know the fans were in that panel room, really showing their love, and that’s what I want to start with. Obviously, it’s a long process, and finally, getting to deliver content to fans must be so fun. But it’s a very different reaction when you’re seeing it on social media versus when they’re in the room reacting in real time. Tell me about that experience, and just seeing what this art you’ve all created means to the fans?
Brad Winderbaum: Well, we love the fans. We wouldn’t be able to make any of this stuff without the fans, but we also are the fans. So, coming to Comic Cons — which we’ve done since the beginning of the studio — is a big part of our experience as filmmakers: not just presenting, but also walking the floor, talking to people at the booths, and interacting. That’s where you feel like you’re part of the community, and it’s a beautiful thing.
Was there something you were most excited to see the fans react to that you would be willing to share?
I love all those shows, and they’re all so different from one another. One of the things I love about Marvel in general is the variety of stories we get to tell. We can hop around different genres, different mediums. It’s established, it’s in the comics. And so, there isn’t really one thing I was way more excited [about] than anything else. Although the moment that really touched me was when we brought out Eric and Julia Lewald, who were the original executive producers of the animated series, and I always tell them how influential that show was to the community and to the filmmakers. I mean, that is, from Terry Matalas to Ryan Coogler and so many other people that came in that have walked through the Marvel doors and made projects with us, that original animated series is an important show. It certainly was for me. And so, being able to bring them on that stage was just a great moment.
I’ve been a Marvel fan since I was eight — since the first Iron Man came out — and I went to the theater with my dad, and it’s been an incredible journey since. But I think it is so beautiful to see this art form on television, particularly because you get to spend a little bit longer with the characters. Obviously, you have movies, then you have the sequel, and so on, but getting to spend week after week with the character and see that growth is, in my opinion, a really special experience. Can you tell me a little bit about the importance of that, as a filmmaker, getting to see those weeks go by, all the fans react, and also having that time with the character for you personally?
What’s amazing about Marvel is that it has its roots in comic books; some of these characters are 85 years old, but it has, since the beginning, always embraced other forms of media. That was something that Stan really spearheaded, and a lot of people know this, but a character like Iron Man had an animated series in the ’60s before he even had his own comic title. So, it’s really about the longevity of these characters, and that they can last decade after decade and be handed off to different filmmakers to reinterpret over time. And so, regardless of the media, that’s what makes Marvel unique, and that’s what I love about it.
Be sure to check out these upcoming titles, coming to Disney+:
Wonder Man – 8-episode series debuting on January 27, 2026, at 6:00 pm Pacific
Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 – coming in March 2026
X-Men ‘97 Season 2 – coming in Summer 2026
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Season 2 – coming in Fall 2026
VisionQuest – coming in 2026
