Monday, November 14, 2016

Marvel's INHUMANS on ABC Shuffles the Cinematic Universe Once Again?

For folks like me, having The Inhumans removed from the Marvel Studios uber planagram with little fanfare and no talk of a "later date" was a sign of those rumored FOX talks to bring a portion of the X-Men universe over to the mother ship. Now that Marvel TV is announcing The Inhumans are coming to ABC in 2017, people might think the X-Men are staying right where they are. I'm not so sure that's the message here...

Back in May we laid out all the bits and pieces we'd been hearing on Mutantkind replacing the Inhumans as the dominant powered race of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Lending credence to this was the growing disdain for the state of things from TV cast members who legitimately thought they would enjoy, at the very least, cameos in major Marvel Studios films, since it was meant to be "all connected". Over the past 2 years we've had little more than events transpiring in films bleeding into the TV series, and more often than that, just mentions of those happenings. The doorway has only swung in one direction, and we believe it is going to stay that way for the foreseeable future.

The Inhumans, as a race, are already set up in the Marvel TV Universe, so bringing the adaption of the actual Inhumans comic to TV was a no-brainer. For some time now, Marvel TV has been very standoffish with having too many powered characters light up the small screen, but they must have been seething with jealousy over the excitement and ratings the DC TV Universe has gotten. Hell, you drop Absorbing Man into the Agents of SHIELD Universe for 2 to 3 episodes and people talked about it for WEEKS!! Now we've got Ghostrider burning people alive and you'd never hear a geekier laugh escape my lips than at those moments. IT JUST LOOKS SO DAMN COOL!! The stage is set and now Marvel is ready to bring an entire cast of super powered characters to the small screen, but does this mean we'll see more interaction between the small screen and the big? Probably quite the opposite.


While studio heads have said they can only hope that there can be some agreement for the Netflix, ABC and Marvel Studios universes to cross over, there's been no nod that it is happening any time soon. Sure, there's been a tiny tease here and there that the Agents of SHIELD could show up when the Defenders need a little backup, but to date, there's been little more than a wink and a nudge...and a weak nudge at that. We believe it's more a hope than paper work being signed right now.

While this is a bit of a bummer, it still leaves the road clear for our previous conclusion...being that deals are being made between FOX and Marvel Studios, and with the swan song of LOGAN, we'll begin to hear rumblings of a rebooted X-Men back home with the Marvel mothership while FOX continues to develop R rated X titles like Deadpool and X-Force, and on the TV side, we see an explosion as Marvel attempts to finally give DC a run for their money with Iron Fist, Defenders, Punisher, Legion, New Mutants, New Warriors, Cloak and Dagger and Runaways. HOLY. DAMN.

NOW...we've gotten the first tiny glimpse of admitted FOX/Marvel Studios cooperation as they make it official that Negasonic Teenage Warhead used in FOX's Deadpool was a swap for Ego the Living Planet to be used in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2. Not Earth shattering news in the least, but the admission at least gets the ball rolling toward bigger things. Keep your eye on the Fantastic Four!!

AT ANY RATE...here's the Inhumans TV announcement!!



IMAX Corp. (NYSE: IMAX), Marvel Television, a unit of Marvel Entertainment, and Disney|ABC Television Group today announced an innovative agreement to exclusively premiere the new ABC series “Marvel’s The Inhumans” in IMAX commercial theaters, marking the first time a live-action television series has debuted in this manner.

Under the agreement, a version of the first two episodes of Marvel Television’s new series “Marvel’s The Inhumans” – produced in conjunction with ABC Studios and filmed entirely with IMAX digital cameras – will run worldwide exclusively in IMAX for two weeks at the beginning of September 2017. ABC plans to then premiere the weekly series in fall, with additional exclusive content that can only be seen on the network.

The Inhumans, a race of superhumans with diverse and singularly unique powers, were first introduced in Marvel Comics by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1965. Since that time, they have grown in prominence and become some of the most popular and iconic characters in the Marvel Universe. “Marvel’s The Inhumans” will explore the never-before-told epic adventure of Black Bolt and the royal family.

ABC, IMAX and Marvel Television also intend to work together to create a joint marketing and promotion plan for the series across their proprietary media platforms – which would be the first such cross-platform marketing launch of a television series. Today’s agreement also marks IMAX’s first time as a financing participant in a TV pilot and series.

“This unprecedented alliance represents a bold, innovative approach to launching great TV content for a worldwide audience,” said Ben Sherwood, co-chairman, Disney Media Networks and president, Disney|ABC Television Group. “It highlights Disney|ABC’s unrelenting commitment to finding new and creative ways to showcasing our very best programming and increasing global engagement and reach.”

“This first-of-its-kind multi-platform production, distribution and marketing agreement brings together Marvel Television’s unique brand of entertainment, ABC’s unparalleled audience and IMAX’s brand and global fanboy demographic,” said IMAX CEO, Rich Gelfond. “It also takes our decades-long relationship with The Walt Disney Company to a whole new level, jointly breaking new ground in the industry. We are confident our exhibition partners will be excited to work with us on this innovative launch of a series across the IMAX network.”

“We're happy to see this unique deal come together, working with our partners,” said Dan Buckley, President, Marvel Television, Publishing & Brand. “In an ever-changing world of distribution and consumption, it’s very exciting to be part of a groundbreaking initiative that takes us to the forefront of this evolution.”

This deal also provides audiences with high-quality, compelling entertainment options during what have traditionally been lulls in the summer blockbuster season. These IMAX audiences also tend to have high engagement and positive response to comic book fare.

No comments :

Post a Comment