Marvel has added another espionage-focused project to its television slate. Zodiac, a new live-action spy series, is planned to arrive on Disney+ in 2028. The project was formally revealed during New York Comic-Con, with Marvel also indicating that casting will begin in the coming weeks and production will start next year.
Those are the firm details for now. No cast members, characters, episode count, or specific story premise have been announced. Still, the series has been described as a spy thriller that seems likely to focus on SHIELD, Marvel’s long-running fictional intelligence and security organization. That framing alone makes Zodiac notable: rather than being introduced through a named hero or a straightforward superhero premise, the show is being positioned first around secrecy, surveillance, agencies, and covert operations.
For a wider overview of the convention reveal and the other Marvel projects discussed around it, see Marvel’s NYCC 2026 panel coverage.
What has been confirmed about Zodiac
- Title: Zodiac
- Format: A live-action Marvel television series
- Genre: Spy thriller
- Platform: Disney+
- Target release: 2028
- Production timetable: Casting is due to start within weeks, with filming planned for next year.
- Apparent setting focus: SHIELD, though Marvel has not yet detailed the organization’s precise role in the plot.
That list is deliberately short because much of the project remains under wraps. There is no announced creative team, no confirmed lead, and no indication of whether Zodiac will use familiar Marvel characters, introduce original operatives, or build around a mix of both. A 2028 date also means viewers should be cautious about treating present-day assumptions about Marvel’s broader continuity as settled story information.
Why SHIELD matters to the premise
SHIELD is short for Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division. In Marvel stories, it is the institutional side of a world full of super-powered individuals and global threats: an intelligence organization associated with surveillance, classified missions, field agents, and the difficult question of how much power a security agency should have.
That makes SHIELD a useful foundation for a spy thriller. Superhero stories often make their central conflict highly visible: an invasion, a public battle, a world-threatening weapon, or a hero confronting a recognizable villain. Spy fiction tends to work differently. The tension can come from incomplete information, compromised identities, hidden loyalties, internal distrust, and the consequences of an operation becoming public. A SHIELD-centered show could use those tools while remaining in Marvel’s larger fictional world.
It is important, though, to separate that genre logic from confirmed plot detail. Marvel has not said that Zodiac concerns a mole hunt, an international operation, a particular antagonist, or any specific SHIELD team. Those would be possibilities suggested by the spy-thriller label, not facts about the series.
The Nick Fury question remains open
Nick Fury is the most obvious character fans may connect to a SHIELD-oriented Marvel series. Samuel L. Jackson has long been associated with the role, and Fury’s place in the organization makes an appearance conceivable. But no involvement in Zodiac has been announced, so a Fury cameo or leading role should not be treated as confirmed.
Related coverage includes Marvel's Zodiac Spy Series Confirmed for Disney+ in 2028.
The distinction matters because a spy series can use an established agency in several ways. It might be led by its director, follow agents on the ground, use SHIELD as a backdrop for a new character, or even examine the organization from outside it. Until casting begins and Marvel releases more information, the title’s central perspective is unknown.
Jackson has confirmed that he will appear in Avengers: Secret Wars. Because Zodiac is currently scheduled for 2028, it may arrive after that film. However, Marvel has not confirmed a direct narrative connection between the two projects, nor has it said that Zodiac is set after any specific Marvel movie.
What “spy thriller” signals—and what it does not
A spy thriller is a story driven by espionage stakes. Characters may gather intelligence, protect secrets, infiltrate rival groups, investigate conspiracies, or navigate conflicts where trust is as valuable as physical strength. The label does not automatically mean a story will be grim, realistic, or free of superhero action. It simply identifies covert activity and suspense as central ingredients.
For Marvel, that can offer a different scale of storytelling. A mission can matter because it prevents a larger disaster without necessarily presenting the disaster in its final form. An agent’s decision can carry weight because it exposes a network, loses a valuable asset, or creates a political crisis. Those are structural strengths of the genre, especially for a serialized television format where revelations can be held back and recontextualized over time.
There is also a practical audience expectation attached to the description. Viewers may reasonably anticipate an emphasis on operations, intelligence work, shifting allegiances, and agency politics. They should not yet expect any particular hero, comics storyline, costume, or villain. The announcement has established the show’s lane, not the complete route it will take through it.
The 2028 date puts the show a long way from release
The announced release window is several years away, and the stated production schedule underscores how early the project is. Casting and filming are meaningful milestones, but they are not the same as a finished series. Details can stay confidential for a considerable period during development and production, particularly on a project built around an espionage premise.
That long lead time also makes the current absence of names unsurprising. Marvel has not identified the showrunner, writers, director, lead performers, or supporting cast. It has not released a trailer, production image, story synopsis beyond the genre framing, or a more precise premiere date. The 2028 target is the key scheduling information available at present.
Marvel’s next two Avengers films are expected to establish groundwork for a broader reset of the franchise, although Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has said it will not be a complete reboot. That context may lead to speculation about how Zodiac fits into future continuity, but there is no confirmed evidence yet that the show is designed as a direct follow-up to those films.
What to watch for next
The next substantive update could come through casting. A lead actor would help establish whether the series centers on an existing Marvel figure, a new agent, or an ensemble. Additional announcements could also clarify whether SHIELD is the protagonist organization, a setting for the action, or an institution under pressure from another force.
Until then, the clearest takeaway is straightforward: Zodiac is a Disney+ Marvel series planned for 2028, framed as a spy thriller and seemingly tied to SHIELD. The mystery is not just part of the genre. At this early stage, it is also the project’s public-facing reality.
