James Marsden Teams With Marvel Heavyweights for High-Stakes Thriller Series After Doomsday Comeback
Fresh off confirming his superhero return, James Marsden teams with Marvel talent for Disavowed, an Apple TV+ thriller that hurls him into a high-stakes global manhunt.
If you thought James Marsden was already everywhere, get ready for even more. The guy has barely wrapped his Cyclops comeback — yes, again, because apparently Marvel never tires of blowing up X-Men continuity — and now he’s leading a new Apple TV+ thriller that’s basically a high-octane cat-and-mouse situation, but with even more Marvel DNA sprinkled over it.
James Marsden: CIA Guy With Nothing to Lose (Except Maybe His Job)
Apple TV+ just ordered a thriller series called 'Disavowed,' and Marsden is front and center. He’s playing Brad Griffin, an old-school CIA case officer who gets tossed out of the agency right in the middle of hunting down a legendary assassin. Naturally, this very same assassin just killed someone close to him, and Marsden’s CIA guy gets hit with a pink slip for his trouble.
Does Brad go quietly into the night? Of course not. Instead, he goes rogue on the trail of a $15 million bounty. No pressure.
The Marvel Crew Is All Over This Thing
Here’s where it gets even more interesting: 'Disavowed' is cooked up by Art Marcum and Matt Holloway — the screenwriters who kicked off the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe juggernaut with 2008's 'Iron Man.' You may have also seen their work in the 'Uncharted' movie (if you got dragged to that at some point), but this is their first time jumping into the TV world. Guess those Marvel-sized paychecks make for a nice warmup.
The show is being produced by Apple Studios and Blue Marble Pictures, with a bunch of exec producers you’ve probably never heard of unless you’re a credits junkie: Marsden himself (because everyone’s a producer these days), Tom Spezialy, Theresa Kang, and Caroline Garity.
A Quick Marsden Catch-Up
- He’s still hanging around Apple, currently starring opposite Jon Hamm in 'Your Friends and Neighbors' season two.
- He racked up an Emmy nom for Hulu’s 'Paradise' and more nods with Amazon’s 'Jury Duty.'
- On the movie side, he’s in Hulu’s 'Mike and Nick and Nick and Alice,' whatever that title’s supposed to mean.
- He’s about to pop back up as Cyclops in 'Avengers Doomsday,' because the X-Men reunion train just keeps on rolling.
- Past TV stops: 'Westworld' (when it was good), 'Dead to Me,' and even '30 Rock' back in the day.
Behind-the-Scenes Backstory (a.k.a. Development Hell Lite)
'Disavowed' has actually been bouncing around Apple since at least July 2023, when they started casting. Marsden officially got the offer in September — then the greenlight took a classic eight more months of paperwork and phone tag. So this one didn’t exactly happen overnight.
Bonus trivia: Marsden is repped by CAA and Jackoway Austen Tyerman, which means his inbox is probably a war zone of offers right now.
'Disavowed' wants you to imagine James Marsden, fresh out of a superhero costume, chasing down evil with nothing but his wits, a grudge, and maybe a slightly larger paycheck.
No word yet on when Apple TV+ actually plans to air the series — and knowing how long things can bounce around in streaming limbo, I wouldn’t clear my calendar just yet. Still, if you like your thrillers with a side of Marvel-adjacent energy, this one’s probably worth keeping on your radar.