On Monday, Marvel announced that the Inhumans series will become a TV show rather than a movie as originally planned. The announcement also stated that the first two episodes will be shown in IMAX theaters for a special two-week period. This will be the first time that a live-action television series has debuted in theaters. IMAX has also agreed to help finance the series, making this the first time that IMAX has directly helped in the financing of a series.
“This unprecedented alliance represents a bold, innovative approach to launching great TV content for a worldwide audience,” co-chairman of Disney Media Networks and president of Disney-ABC Television Group Ben Sherwood said. “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.”
According to a report by TheVerge.com’s Chaim Gartenberg, the series is set to focus on central characters from the Inhumans comic-book series. The series will be focused around characters such as Black Bolt, Lockjaw, Karnak and Medusa as well as the rest of the Attilan Royal Family.
While the switch from a movie to television is sudden, it’s not surprising. The Inhumans movie had been subject to schedule changes leading up to this point. Some of the Inhuman characters have also been featured in Marvel’s Agents of Shield, so an Inhuman TV show is not that far of a stretch and would allow for easy tie-ins between the two shows.
“We’re happy to see this unique deal come together, working with our partners,” president of Marvel Televisions Dan Buckley said. “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.”
The Inhumans will air September 2017 on ABC.
