Where there's a web, there's a way! Marvel's Spidey and His Amazing Friends is continuing its Season 3 with a brand new cast of characters! New episodes begin airing Aug. 23 on Disney Channel and Disney Jr.
Marvel's Spidey and His Amazing Friends stars young versions of your favorite Marvel characters. Season three of the series premiered in January 2024, and the series has "amassed nearly 1.4 billion views across Disney Jr. and Marvel HQ YouTube channels. It currently ranks as a Top 3 most-watched series for preschoolers this year to date."
Now, in these upcoming episodes, you can see the young Marvel characters are engaging with a new "Dino-Webs" story arc. Keep a look-out for another set of heroes and villains to appear.
The show features the voice talents of Alkaio Thiel as Spidey, Jakari Fraser as Miles Morales / Spin, and Audrey Bennett as Gwen Stacy / Ghost-Spider. Upcoming episodes feature the voices of Kylie Cantrall (Descendants: The Rise of the Red) as White Tiger, Bumper Robinson (Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, The Owl House) as Lizard, and Deva Marie Gregory as Trapster.
We sat down with the show's executive producer. Harrison Wilcox (Lego Marvel Avengers: Code Red, Ultimate Spider-Man) to learn more about this incredible new arc, what it's like to work on a show geared towards pre-schoolers, and who he's been excited to work with thus far on the show. If you want to hear more from Wilcox, read on to find out before you watch the latest episodes!
The Parent Watch: I wanted to start by discussing your background, including your work with Marvel Comics and other productions involving Marvel characters. I know you’ve worked on projects like Iron Man and X-Men. I’d love to hear what attracted you to become the executive producer of Spidey.
Harrison Wilcox: Well, I grew up reading Marvel comics and watching Marvel shows and later, movies. When it came time to create this series for preschoolers, I was working at Marvel Animation and, by good fortune, had a couple of preschoolers of my own. I thought it would be a great opportunity to create a show for my kids, and that's how I ended up working on this project.
I love this show; it's so cute! I discovered it when it premiered and was thrilled to see these small versions of everyone’s favorite Marvel characters. The stories and arcs are really engaging. Specifically, for the upcoming episodes, there's the Dino-Web story arc. Can you tell me a bit about that and how it came into development?
HW: Sure. The show always emphasizes teamwork, sharing skills, and working together. We have a character named Repteal who can transform into dinosaurs. We thought it would be cool if he could share this ability with his friends and teammates so that they could all turn into dinosaurs together. That was the beginning of the idea. We know, from having kids of my own, that children love dinosaurs, and adults do too. We thought both the core audience and their parents would enjoy a season themed around dinosaurs—both heroes and villains transforming into them. What more could a four-year-old ask for?
For sure. I know I'm not a four-year-old; I was one, but engaging with this show definitely brings back memories. I grew up around Marvel and Marvel characters, and I had friends who were obsessed with them. I love it so much. Specifically, when it comes to the characters, they all have very distinct personalities. I'd love to know if, while creating storylines and crafting them, there are any characters or character arcs that particularly stand out to you that you really want to dive into. Obviously, Spider-Man, but also characters like Black Panther. Are there any characters that really stand out to you?
HW: I think this is probably a common experience for people in my line of work, but whatever character I'm working on at the moment tends to be my favorite. That was true when I was working on She-Hulk in the comics or Black Panther in the cartoons. You learn so much about a character—not just from reading Wikipedia pages or back issues of the comics, but from spending time crafting the stories and exploring their personalities and motivations. You inevitably fall in love with them. And if you do a good job, hopefully, your audience will fall in love with the characters, too.
Yeah, that’s a great answer. You mentioned your kids—do they have any feedback about the show? Do they love it? What’s their experience watching it?
HW: My kids love the show. My daughter is no longer a preschooler, but she still watches the show, especially the new episodes. We watch them together sometimes. Her favorite character right now is actually Black Widow, who isn’t on the show, but fortunately, I also work on the Lego specials for 6-11-year-olds. Our special last year focused on Black Widow and her relationship with her father. It was a great opportunity for me to continue telling stories for my kids as they grow.
That’s great to hear. It’s wonderful that kids can grow with shows and move on to other programs within the same family. There’s a lot of programming out there for preschoolers, and it can be overwhelming. I know this show is on Disney Junior, which is fantastic. I also know there’s some really cool music in the show, and I’d love to hear more about your working relationship with Patrick Stump, who does the composing and songwriting.
HW: It’s a great partnership. I love every time I get to talk on the phone and collaborate with Patrick. He shares a similar passion for the comics and Marvel that I have. We both have kids around the same age and want to pass on the things we love about Spider-Man to our own children and the next generation. It’s been a fantastic working relationship from the very beginning. He came in with a clear idea of the sound for the show and immediately hit it out of the park.
I listened to the music and thought it definitely aligns well with the show. I also know the show has been well received and is currently ranked as one of the top three most-watched series for preschoolers. With that in mind, and considering your desire for the show to continue as long as possible, what do you see as the long-term goals for the show, particularly regarding storylines and arcs?
HW: We’re always looking to add new elements and characters that provide fresh storytelling opportunities, like a season themed around dinosaurs. We also feel a responsibility to tell ecological and environmentally friendly stories whenever we can. We began doing that in earlier seasons with Bindi Irwin joining the show and playing a role. In this new season, in addition to the dinosaur theme, we’re introducing a character called White Tiger, who can communicate with animals. This will give us many new family-friendly storytelling opportunities, focusing on protecting wildlife and nature, and other ecological themes.
I know there's another character called Trapster. Could you tell me a little more about Trapster?
HW: When we’re adding new villains, we always look for one with a unique personality and power set that we don’t yet have on the show, to provide new storytelling opportunities. We didn’t have a villain whose main goal was just to catch the heroes. We know that this concept is very relatable for little kids playing tag with their parents, siblings, or friends on the playground. The idea of trying to trap and catch is a universal play pattern, and we wanted to reflect that in the storytelling for the show. That’s why we included Trapster.
Everybody has a soft spot for villains in a way, so I think it’s a cool approach to incorporate that. As you said, it ties into play patterns and how they fit into the experience of watching television as a young person. I really enjoy the show, especially as a Marvel fan who loves seeing different iterations of it. I’m excited that it’s continuing and hope to see many more seasons.
HW: Well, thank you for saying that. I really appreciate it. I always love hearing that people are enjoying the show. I want to add that one of the things we’re really excited about with White Tiger coming to the show is that the role is being voiced by Kylie Cantrall from the latest Descendants film. White Tiger is a very important character to many people and one that Marvel is very proud of. She is the first Puerto Rican superhero, and we’re always excited for opportunities like this to introduce a character to a new audience.
I also wanted to mention Lizard. I know Bumper Robinson is voicing him. I’m very familiar with his work. I’d love to hear more about that. I’m not quite finished yet, but yes, Bumper Robinson.
HW: Bumper has long voiced Sam Wilson, who was a young Falcon on our Avengers series. Personally and professionally, it always makes me very happy when we can keep one of the Marvel players in the family. I was pleased to continue working with Bumper. If you listen to his Sam Wilson and then to his Lizard, they are completely indistinguishable from each other. It just shows how talented he is as an actor. Knowing him and having worked with him for several years, it was still impressive to see how he could pull that character out of his bag of tricks.
He’s a very accomplished voice actor. I definitely wanted to give him a shoutout. It’s great to hear. I actually know him from live-action as well, so it’s cool that he has these two career paths. It’s awesome that he’s part of the Marvel family.
HW: Yes, we love having him as part of the family. It’s great to know that you know him as well. I don’t get to voice record as often anymore with my other projects.
recording process; Does the show use ensemble recordings, or are the voice actors recorded separately?
HW: Well, like many other productions that had to adapt during the pandemic, this show started recording in late 2019 but really got underway in 2020. We had no choice but to record one actor at a time. Our kid and adult actors recorded from closets, garages, or wherever they could find a small, quiet space. Across projects, we’re trying as best we can to return to ensemble recording sessions. In my opinion, there’s nothing more fun than bringing a group of actors together to record voices. You really see the script come to life in a special way, and it’s the closest thing to live theater. It’s exciting to see actors feed off each other. So, we’re making an effort to do that whenever possible across my projects.
The Parent Watch also has an exclusive clip from the series from the episode “Fool’s Gold/The Sundae Save”. Check it out below!: