In a pivot away from the studio behind series like ABC’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hulu’s Runaways, Marvel is reportedly shifting production for its future live-action TV series from Marvel Television to Marvel Studios. With Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. ending next year and production being cancelled for a planned Ghost Rider series at Hulu, Marvel Television is quickly losing its non-animated series. In addition, FX’s Legion, ABC’s Agent Carter, and Fox’s The Gifted, three more of its shows, were either brought to an end or cancelled this year. Meanwhile, Cloak and Dagger, a series produced by the studio for ABC’s Freeform, might also be leaving the air, as it has yet to be renewed after its second season.
This downward trend for Marvel Television’s output comes as Marvel Studios is picking up steam in the TV space. An extension of Disney, Marvel Studios is the entity behind blockbuster superhero films like The Avengers and Black Panther, which make up the backbone of Marvel’s media empire. That studio’s foray into television has been nothing short of grandiose, with upcoming series like WandaVision, Ms. Marvel, Falcon and Winter Soldier, and Loki seeing budgets north of $25 million per episode. Disney is keeping many of these projects in house, putting them on its forthcoming streaming service Disney+, which rolls out on November 12th.
Marvel Studios President Kevin Fiege spoke on the impressive lineup of show’s being developed by his studio, stating, “WandaVision will be unlike anything we’ve done before, and I’m excited to talk to people more about it, eventually. And you see Daniel Bruhl coming back to Zemo and having more time to spend with these beloved characters in Falcon and Winter Soldier. Loki returning — it’s an embarrassment of riches, all of it extremely thought out by the team at Marvel Studios, to do it in ways that I hope will satisfy fans who are anticipating it, but in a way they are absolutely not expecting it.”
While Marvel Television is losing its live action programming, it remains a robust force in the animation world. The studio is currently producing MODOK, Howard the the Duck, Hit-Monkey, and Tigra and Dazzler for Hulu. These four shows are set to ramp into a crossover event on the streaming service called The Offenders.
The studio does have at least one live action series in the works. Helstrom, based on characters first introduced in the Ghost Rider comics, is still ago at Hulu after being ordered to series in May.