The Muppets are teaming up with Marvel, and it’s part of a real comeback
Kermit, Miss Piggy, and the gang are officially entering the Marvel Universe in a new crossover comic this September.
Kermit, Miss Piggy, and the gang are officially entering the Marvel Universe in a new crossover comic this September. It’s the splashiest sign yet that after years of neglect, Disney is finally treating the Muppets like the treasures they are.
Two of the most beloved franchises in pop culture are about to collide, and it’s the kind of crossover fans never quite believed they’d get. The Muppets are entering the Marvel Universe.
Marvel Comics announced The Muppets Take the Marvel Universe #1, an oversized one-shot hitting shelves September 23, that puts Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Fozzie, Gonzo, and the whole troupe alongside Marvel’s superheroes for the very first time in an actual story. And it’s arriving as part of something bigger: a genuine Muppets comeback, after years of Disney not knowing what to do with them.
What The Muppets Take the Marvel Universe actually is
The comic is a celebration piece, timed to the 50th anniversary of The Muppet Show, which debuted in 1976.
It’s a one-shot, meaning a single oversized issue rather than an ongoing series, packed with multiple short stories from a murderers’ row of comic talent including Chip Zdarsky, Pete Woods, Kyle Starks, and Paco Medina. Marvel’s also rolling out a wave of Muppet-themed variant covers across its titles throughout September, including one marking the 30th anniversary of Muppet Treasure Island.
Zdarsky, one of the lead writers, summed up the spirit perfectly, riffing on the most famous line in comics: he promised not to let down Kermit, Fozzie, and Animal the way a certain web-slinger once let down his Uncle Ben. He also called Miss Piggy one of the great icons of the last hundred years, which, frankly, is hard to argue.
This isn’t quite the Muppets’ first brush with Marvel. They appeared on a Marvel cover promoting The Muppets Take Manhattan back in 1984, and the publisher ran Muppet variant covers last year. But an actual story, Kermit and the gang sharing panels with Marvel heroes, has never happened until now.
The Muppets’ rough couple of decades
To understand why this feels like a big deal, you have to remember how rocky the road has been since Disney bought the Muppets in 2004.
The intentions were never bad. The output was just frustratingly hit-or-miss. There were two theatrical films, 2011’s The Muppets and 2014’s Muppets Most Wanted, that fans largely liked, but after that the strategy got muddled. A 2015 ABC series was cancelled after one season. A 2020 short-form series, Muppets Now, came and went. The 2023 Disney+ show The Muppets Mayhem was reasonably well received and still got axed after a single season.
The pattern was painful for fans: Disney would dust the Muppets off, give them a half-hearted push, and shelve them again the moment the numbers wobbled. For one of the most beloved properties in entertainment, it felt like the company owned a Stradivarius and kept using it as a doorstop.
How Disney is finally course-correcting
Here’s the good news, and the reason the Marvel crossover lands differently than past one-offs. It’s not a one-off. The Muppets are suddenly everywhere, and the projects are good.
In February 2026, Disney aired a new Muppet Show special executive produced by Seth Rogen and starring Sabrina Carpenter, with Maya Rudolph along for the ride. It was widely praised as one of the most spirited Muppet projects in decades, capturing the old variety-show magic, and it’s reportedly designed as a backdoor pilot for a full series revival. For once, the response was strong enough to make that revival feel likely rather than wishful.
There’s more in the pipeline. A Miss Piggy movie is in the works with Emma Stone and Jennifer Lawrence producing, which is a serious, star-driven vote of confidence. And the comic crossover slots into the same 50th-anniversary push, treating the Muppets like a flagship brand instead of an afterthought.
The new Muppets roller coaster, with an asterisk
The parks got the splashiest gift of all, though it’s the one longtime fans have complicated feelings about.
On May 26, Disney’s Hollywood Studios opened Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets, a full re-theme of the former Aerosmith coaster, now built around Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem and their high-speed musical chaos. It’s a high-profile, money-where-your-mouth-is investment in the characters, complete with new audio-animatronics and an overhauled queue.
The asterisk: it came right after Disney closed the long-running, dearly-loved Muppet Vision 3D, the attraction Jim Henson himself helped create. So while the coaster is a genuine olive branch, plenty of fans see it as Disney giving with one hand after taking with the other. The hope among the faithful is that this becomes a new Muppets Courtyard, and that Muppet Vision eventually returns in some form. For now, it’s a great ride built on a slightly bittersweet trade.
Why this Muppets revival feels different
Put it all together and 2026 is shaping up as the best year the Muppets have had under Disney. A beloved new special with a series likely to follow, a Miss Piggy film with A-list backing, a major new theme-park attraction, and now a history-making Marvel crossover, all clustered around the 50th anniversary.
What makes it feel real rather than another false start is the coordination. These aren’t scattered, half-hearted experiments. They’re a company finally treating the Muppets as a priority across comics, streaming, film, and the parks at the same time.
The Muppets have always been bigger than their box office. They’re a genuine piece of American culture, the rare thing that’s sincere and silly at once, and for a long time it felt like Disney forgot that. Sending them into the Marvel Universe, of all places, is a delightfully Muppety way to announce they’re back. Kermit sharing a panel with Spider-Man shouldn’t make sense, and somehow it makes perfect sense. That’s the Muppets all over.
Article compiled and edited by Derek Gibbs (theme park editor) and the Pirates and Princesses newsroom.
Pirates and Princesses is your destination for news, views, and rants on geek lifestyle, fandom, and pop culture. Visit us at piratesandprincesses.net for daily coverage of the things you love.
Hat Tips:
Laughing Place and ScreenRant (June 15, 2026), verified for The Muppets Take the Marvel Universe #1 announcement, the September 23 release, the creative lineup, the variant covers, and the Muppets Studio statement
AIPT and ICv2 (June 15, 2026), verified for the first-ever-story-crossover detail, the Zdarsky quotes, and the Muppets’ prior 1984 Marvel cover history
The Hollywood Reporter (September 2025), verified for the Seth Rogen and Sabrina Carpenter Muppet Show special, the backdoor-pilot intent, and the Disney-era Muppets project history
Disney+ and Disney Tourist Blog (May 2026), verified for the May 26 opening of Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets, the Electric Mayhem theme, and the Muppet Vision 3D closure context
Cinemablend (June 2026), verified for the crossover’s connection to the broader 2026 Muppets revival and the Miss Piggy film with Emma Stone and Jennifer Lawrence