UPDATE: The Hollywood Reporter has shed some further light on ABC’s and Marvel’s plans for the, “Inhumans” series, namely by revealing that the debut season is allegedly planned to comprise just eight episodes. This echoes the style of Marvel’s former ABC event series, “Agent Carter”, rather than the full-season length of, “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” Also of interest is the fact that THR claims that the entire debut season of, “Inhumans” will be filmed with IMAX cameras, even though only the first two episodes are planned for IMAX theatres at this point. IMAX Corporation is also assisting with the promotion and funding for the, “Inhumans” series, marking the first time that IMAX Corporation has been creatively and commercially involved with the production of a live-action television show.
Original report follows:
ABC and Marvel have just made a massive announcement that few people, if anyone at all, were probably expecting! Both companies issued a surprise press release today in relation to Marvel Studios’ previously planned Inhumans movie, which was removed from its June 12th, 2019 release date a while ago, namely that it’s no longer a movie! Instead, Inhumans is being re-tooled as a television series, which is being ordered straight-to-series, and will begin airing on ABC in Fall of 2017. This marks the second planned Marvel Studios movie to ultimately be converted into a television series, after Runaways also went into development hell, until it was recently re-announced as a TV series made for Hulu in the U.S., presumably being distributed on other streaming platforms for other territories.
Joining the announcement of Inhumans coming to ABC was IMAX Corporation, who revealed an even bigger surprise; The first two episodes of Inhumans will be filmed entirely with IMAX cameras, and will debut in IMAX theatres next September, for a limited two-week engagement! This will presumably come shortly before the series proper begins airing on ABC in Fall, with ABC and Marvel revealing that, “Network-exclusive content” will be featured for the episodes’ ABC airings, though both declined to comment further on what exactly this means for now.
As with the planned movie, the Inhumans series will revolve around the Inhumans Royal Family that define the characters in Marvel Comics lore, with Black Bolt, the Inhumans’ king, being the show’s first confirmed character. If the Inhumans Royal Family are indeed the focus, that means we can also probably expect fellow family members, Medusa, Karnak, Gorgon, Crystal, Triton, and their faithful teleporting pooch, Lockjaw, to also be series leads, or at least most of them.
The Inhumans actually made their Marvel Cinematic Universe debut during the second season of ABC’s current syndicated Marvel series, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., where they have served as a spiritual stand-in for mutants in Marvel’s shared live-action universe ever since, having their powers activated by a substance called Terrigen as the key difference, whereas mutants in Marvel lore manifest their abilities naturally during puberty. The use of the Inhumans in this manner is something of a legal loophole, as mutants are currently off-limits for the MCU, on account of 20th Century Fox still holding the X-Men film rights.
None of the Inhumans Royal Family have yet been glimpsed or mentioned on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., or anywhere else in the MCU, though insiders have claimed that the Inhumans series won’t be linked to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. in any direct way, beyond also existing in Marvel’s shared live-action universe. It’s also been claimed by insider reports that the premiere of Inhumans has no effect on the status of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., with ABC being currently undecided on whether Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. will return for a fifth season in Fall of 2017. While not indicated, it’s also likely that ABC fast-tracking the Inhumans series is part of the reason why Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger series ended up delayed from 2017 to 2018, as ABC likely doesn’t want to premiere two separate Marvel shows at the same time, even if Cloak & Dagger is planned to air on subsidiary channel, Freeform.
We’ll be sure to keep an eye on this developing story, so keep activating Eggplante for all major news and updates on the Inhumans series, and other television projects for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.