After more than a year since the show premiered, Hit-Monkey is announced to return for season 2 at Hulu. The Marvel series showed the developing bond between a Japanese snow monkey and the ghost of an American assassin. Following Hit-Monkey’s (Fred Tatasciore) tribe getting slaughtered, the animal anti-hero joined forces with ghost hitman Bryce (Jason Sudeikis) to infiltrate the Yakuza and get revenge for his tribe and Bryce’s deaths. Initially labeled as a Marvel show, Hit-Monkey will return for an adventure through New York City with its Marvel connection dropped from the title.


The official Hit-Monkey Twitter account broke the news that the show would be returning for season 2 with a video, which can be viewed below.

Hit-Monkey‘s lead cast will return, including actors Tatasciore, Sudeikis, Olivia Munn and Ally Maki. Leslie Jones joins the series in an undisclosed role. The extinct Marvel Television makes way for 20th Television Animation to produce the series, with Hit-Monkey‘s return a pleasant surprise.


Why Hit-Monkey Can Continue Just Fine Without Marvel

The adult animated series does not need its Marvel connections in order to continue for multiple seasons. Hit-Monkey‘s season 1 story was fairly self-contained in relation to the Marvel universe at large, with smaller characters, such as the title monkey, being included sparsely throughout. While references like Hit-Monkey‘s Punisher easter egg are nice, the Marvel connection was not needed for the story.

The show’s concept sells itself well with a unique take on the revenge trope. Hit-Monkey feels more akin to the hit adult animated series Archer than Marvel’s TV shows. The hitman Bryce is very similar in manner of speaking, actions and humor to the spy Sterling Archer. With Archer currently at 13 seasons and going, the door is wide open for the irreverently violent Hit-Monkey. What makes Hit-Monkey severing its Marvel ties easy is the fact that the show never reached the Netflix Daredevil/Defenders universe semi-parody it had in store.

Hit-Monkey was not the only Marvel animated series planned in the partnership between Hulu and Marvel Television. Alongside Hit-Monkey were M.O.D.O.K. season 1 — which was the first to premiere — and the shows Howard the Duck and Tigra & Dazzler, which were axed before dropping a single episode. M.O.D.O.K. was deeply rooted in the Marvel universe, unlike Hit-Monkey, which is likely why the latter is the only non-MCU show to return for season 2. All four planned Hulu-Marvel animated series were set to cross over for what would have been Hulu’s version of Netflix’s The Defenders, an event show called The Offenders — borrowing the name from a Marvel Comics team. Thankfully for Hit-Monkey, the event never happened, allowing the show to stay separate from Marvel and facilitating a season 2 renewal.

Source: Hit-Monkey/Twitter