Marvel has been a source of many surprises over the years, and the company unleashed a doozy upon the public today with the announcement that its upcoming project focused on the supergroup the Inhumans will not be a feature film as expected, but rather a new TV show that is apparently already set up for a premiere in Fall 2017. What the what?
This is a game-changer of a reveal by Marvel, which has been just as busy on the television front in the past year or so as it has on the theatrical side. This early on, there isn't much to be learned from what The Inhumans show will give us during its initial eight-episode run, which is set to kick off next September, but the announcement did say that the show will "explore the never-before-told epic adventure of Black Bolt and the Royal Family." That could mean several things, of course.
On the one hand, it sounds like The Inhumans could be something of an origin story, involving the Terrigen Mist that gives Black Bolt his powers, as well as how he and the Inhuman Royal Family came to be. But it would have to just be an alteration on the story/stories that's already in the comics if it hadn't been told before. On the other hand, it could have ties to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., which has spent part of its own narrative delving into an Inhumans arc. It's not a spinoff, necessarily, but the chance for a crossover presumably exists.
Oddly enough, Marvel is also promoting The Inhumans as something more than just something to watch at home, as the first two episodes of the series are being set up to debut in IMAX theaters at some point during Summer 2017, with the show then moving to ABC for a proper TV run in September when fall shows generally debut. I'm totally behind ABC and Marvel working together on limited series like this that can fill half-seasons potentially better than non-comic shows primed for cancellation. (That may or may not be a comment about Agent Carter and Conviction.)
With The Punisher as the newest Marvel character to join Netflix's slate of comic stories, and Ghost Rider potentially being considered for his own series, Marvel is in Phase Can't Stop/Won't Stop, and an Inhumans TV show will open things up even further for where the future can go. And if that future also happens to include a Telltale game, such as the Guardians of the Galaxy on that was also announced today, that'd be cool, too.
So we still have many months to wait to see what The Inhumans looks like on the small screen (and also the super-big screen), but I'm pretty sure it'll all be worth it. In the meantime, check out our fall TV schedule and our midseason premiere schedule to see what's coming sooner than next fall.
