Despite Marvel announcing in late 2014 that Inhumans would be one of its Phase Three movies, it was met with delays and eventually removed from the schedule. Now Marvel is finally moving forward with the project on television instead. It was announced yesterday that an Inhumans TV series will air in fall 2017, with the first two episodes premiering in IMAX in September of that year first. Including the cancelled Agent Carter, this will be the third Marvel series that's airing on ABC, and the latest addition to the MCU's growing assortment of small screen adventures.
This announcement effectively kills any lingering chance of Inhumans being one of the Phase Four movies, but after giving the change some thought, moving to TV could be for the better. We'd be lying if we said we weren't curious to see how an Inhumans movie would have turned out, but this change in course will likely service these characters better, and here are the four biggest reasons why.
The Royal Family Finally Gets To Shine
Ever since the Inhumans were introduced in the mid-1960s, the Royal Family has served as the primary representative for their respective corner corner of the Marvel universe. Its lineup consists of king Black Bolt, queen Medusa, Crystal, Gorgon, Karnak, Triton and their large teleporting dog Lockjaw. Even with the release of Terrigen Mists across the globe in the comic book world and the Inhuman population immensely increasing, certain Family members have remained prominent. Now that Inhumans has been moved to TV, the wait is finally over to see these characters shine, as the series will follow the "the never-before-told epic adventure" of the Royal Family.
As much as the Inhumans in general have strengthened Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., it's always felt weird that the Royal Family has received any attention, let alone a mention. Now these characters can finally debut after their originally-planned movie failed to take off, and while the Inhumans don't have the largest fanbase, the membership will certainly grow once the show premieres.
It Lengthens Their Story
Movies work excellently for certain characters and properties, and a blockbuster adventure also guarantees a higher budget. While it would have been great for Inhumans to receive cinematic quality visual effects, the tradeoff is that now its tale will last longer than two hours. Even with one movie and possibly a sequel or two, that wouldn't have been enough time to properly explore this area of Marvel mythology. At the moment, Inhumans is reportedly expected to consist of eight episodes, but as with any TV show, that number could grow. That's more hours to explore what this hidden Inhuman society is like in the secluded city known as Attilan.
If it helps, think of Inhumans as being like the Marvel version of Game of Thrones. There's an unfamiliar culture based on a caste system, the protagonists have to battle Black Bolt's brother Maximus the Mad to keep him from seizing the throne, etc. These kinds of storylines could have bee decent across a few movies, but with a whole season of episodes, Marvel will also be able to flesh out Black Bolt and the gang more efficiently. Expensive effects can be nice, but better character development is preferable.
There Will Be Closer Ties With Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.
If it weren't for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Inhumans as a whole wouldn't have had any representation in the MCU over the last two years. Granted, the show has essentially been using them as a substitute for mutants since 20th Century Fox is using those for X-Men projects, but their presence has still been welcome to provide a population of naturally-powered people and help improve Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s quality. It is worth noting that THR says that Inhumans is not a spinoff of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and judging by the brief plot description, it sounds like this new series could be a prequel.
Nevertheless, much like how Agent Carter contained a reference/allusion here or there to certain future MCU elements, one would think that Inhumans will have some kind of synergy with its predecessor series, especially since they'll be sharing the same network. If the show is indeed set in the past, maybe it could provide answers to certain questions, like how the Afterlife settlement was established. If it's set in the present, that opens the door for a crossover at some point, like having Daisy Johnson, a.k.a. Quake, somehow find her way to Attilan. Had the movie been released as previously planned, this would be been more difficult to accomplish, but now that Inhumans is on TV, collaboration will be easier.
It Opens Marvel TV To More Cosmic Material
The Inhuman Royal Family's adventures aren't just limited to Earth. Although Attilan has been primarily located on Earth, whether hidden from the rest of civilization or out in the open, for a time it was located on the Blue Area of the Moon. That means there's a chance that the Inhumans TV show could take the action to outer space. After all, it's a good bet that like their comic book counterparts, the MCU's Royal Family will have highly advanced science at their disposal, allowing them to move an entire metropolis off our planet.
Don't forget that the Inhumans also exist due to the Kree (the species seen in Guardians of the Galaxy) experimenting on humans thousands of years ago. Even though the Kree abandoned their subjects, who's to say that the Royal Family won't be forced to fight alien adversaries with their incredible abilities, whether to protect all of Earth or because they have been specifically targeted. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has featured aliens and extraterrestrial technology many times, but Inhumans can fully open the door the MCU's TV division exploring the cosmic side of things, just like what the Guardians of the Galaxy and Thor movies do.
