Marvel and IMAX to Produce INHUMANS Series
Marvel has announced that they have entered into a production partnership with IMAX to produce Marvel’s The Inhumans to air on ABC starting in the fall of 2017.
As part of the deal, the first two episodes will be shot completely in the IMAX format and will screen exclusively in IMAX theaters for two weeks next September prior to hitting the network. ABC will then premiere the show as a weekly series, with additional content exclusive to the network run. The show will explore the lives of Black Bolt and the royal family.
“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.”
The agreement also marks the first time IMAX will be a financing partner in a TV series. The company will work with ABC and Marvel Television in a joint marketing and promotion plan that will be the first cross-platform launch of its kind.
“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.”
The Inhumans were created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, introduced by Marvel Comics in 1965. They are the product of genetic engineering by the Kree, and ancient alien race who originally intended for the Inhumans to be cannon fodder for their war against the Skrulls. They have been featured prominently in the last two seasons of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., where Chloe Bennett plays Quake, so far the most prominent Inhuman among the group on the show. The royal family, until now, was only a subject of speculation, as many felt they would be restricted for use in the announced Inhumans movie that’s now off Marvel Studios’ schedule.
Although producer Kevin Feige recently said there are still plans to make an Inhumans film, this seems to indicate that those plans are either indefinitely on hold, or there’s been an understanding reached that will allow the television and film universes to live together a little more than they have.
Vin Diesel, who voices Groot in the Guardians of the Galaxy films, has been a fan favorite to play Black Bolt. He’s yet to offer any hints on his social media that he’s participating in the project.
