The Simpsons seems to be settling into its new position in Disney’s colossal IP collection well. Every episode being available on Disney+ has apparently been a big draw for the service, with seasons 33 and 34 confirmed earlier this year. The iconic family also tipped a hat to its Disney stablemate Star Wars on May the 4th, releasing a short titled “Maggie in The Force Awakens From Its Nap.”
The three-minute mini-episode was filled with references to classic Simpsons outings and Star Wars, and despite being crushingly unfunny, it seems to have gone down well with easily-pleased folks. The short was also just the latest in a series focusing on Maggie Simpson to hit Disney+, with past entries “Playdate with Destiny” and the Oscar-nominated “The Longest Daycare.”
Now, it looks like a future short will feature a full-on MCU crossover. In an interview with Variety, The Simpsons showrunner Al Jean hinted that more of Disney’s “marquee brands and titles” are heading to Springfield, dropping a strong indication that the Marvel Universe is next.
“I’m a huge Marvel fan. We’ve dealt with them in a couple of ways. We’ve parodied them a lot. We even had a couple of them, including Kevin Feige, on the show. So our relationship with them has only been fantastic. Just as I’ve been inspired by Star Wars for 40 years, I grew up reading Marvel Comics. And have a bunch still. If somebody told me I’d grow up to write for Star Wars and Marvel I’d be pretty happy.”
Of course, The Simpsons parodied the MCU in season 31 episode “Bart the Bad Guy” last year. This saw Bart watching an Avengers: Endgame-like movie a month before its release, using his ability to spoil the plot to blackmail Springfield. But given that the film he watched was Vindicators Crystal War 2: Resurgence, it was a parody rather than a crossover.
But this is definitely coming, and when it does, it’ll likely be roughly in line with the quality of The Force Awakens From Its Nap,” so expect bland sight gags galore as The Simpsons continues to plumb new depths of cringe.