production at the time of its closing. Karim Zreik, Marvel Television's senior vice president current programming and production, would join Marvel Studios alongside his team to oversee production of the Marvel Television series inherited by Marvel Studios. In May 2022, Marvel Studios signed a 20-year licensing deal with Stan Lee Universe to license the name and likeness of Lee for use in future films, television series, Disney theme parks and cruises, various "experiences", and merchandizing. A digitally recreated Lee was not expected to make cameo appearances in future projects, rather the deal allows Marvel to use Lee's name, voice, likeness, signature, and existing images and archival material. Marvel Studios Animation In July 2021, ahead of the studio's first animated series What If...?, executive vice president of film production Victoria Alonso noted that Marvel Studios was creating an "animation branch and mini studio" to focus on more animated content beyond What If...?. Marvel Studios will outsource the animation for its animated series to third-party animation studios, though executive Brad Winderbaum indicated Marvel would work with fellow Disney studios Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios "under the right circumstances". In September 2021, Alonso was promoted to President of Physical, Post Production, VFX and Animation. In November 2021, Marvel Studios announced the animated series X-Men '97, which would be a revival of the 1990s animated series X-Men and set in that series' continuity. The animation branch of Marvel Studios and "mini studio" is known as Marvel Studios Animation. By April 2022, Marvel Studios had taken over production of the preschool animated series Spidey and His Amazing Friends, starting from its second season; the first season was produced under the Marvel Entertainment banner. Character rights Marvel had licensed out the film rights to many of their characters to other studios in the 1990s, starting with the X-Men, Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, Daredevil and later Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Ant-Man, the Wasp, Black Widow, Luke Cage, Punisher, Blade, Ghost Rider, Man-Thing, Black Panther and Deadpool among others. In February 2015, Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures Entertainment announced that Spider-Man would appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with the character appearing in Captain America: Civil War and Sony releasing Spider-Man: Homecoming produced by Feige and Amy Pascal on July 7, 2017. As part of the deal, Sony Pictures would continue to finance, distribute, own and have final creative control of the Spider-Man films. In June