Since WandaVision aired in 2021, Marvel Studios has produced no less than 11 original TV series for Disney+, and while some have been hits, there's a sense that it's all a bit too much. Bob Iger, the CEO of Marvel's parent company Disney, admitted that they had "diluted" the audience's attention with so much content, hinting that they'd be more selective in the future.
The future is here. Deadline reports that Marvel has paused development on three shows: Nova, Strange Academy and Terror, Inc. It doesn't mean that these shows will never see the light of day, but as Deadline puts it, the company has "shifted its priorities at the moment."
It sounds like that shift is pretty significant. Back when Marvel Studios started making TV series for Disney+, it handled them more or less like it did movies: it announced a slate, and that's what we eventually got. But now, Deadline reports that they're approaching TV development in a more "traditional" way, hiring showrunners to manage each series and being more careful about what ultimately makes it to the screen.
Here's some info on the three shows being put on pause:
- Nova is about Richard Rider, a member of an intergalactic police force called the Nova Force. Rumor had it that Henry Cavill was being eyed for this show.
- Strange Academy is about a school, founded by Doctor Strange, where young people are educated in the ways of magic.
- Terror, Inc. is about an antihero named Terror who absorbs the body parts of others along with their memories and abilities.
Marvel "very much exploring" bringing back Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist
The next Marvel TV show on the docket is Daredevil: Born Again, which will revive Netflix's Daredevil show starring Charlie Cox. Back in the day, Marvel had a whole network of shows on Netflix, including Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist. The lot of them even teamed up in The Defenders.
Disney canceled all of those shows as it launched its own streaming service, and for a while it seemed like they were just plain dead. But with Daredevil coming back, it feels like there's hope again. Indeed, Marvel executive Brad Winderbaum recently told Entertainment Weekly that they're looking into the possibility of reviving those other series:
"I can't say much, but I'll tell you that it's so exciting to be able to play in that sandbox. Obviously we don't have the unlimited storytelling resources like a comic book. If you can draw it, you can do it. It's dealing with actors and time and the massive scale of production in order to build a cinematic universe, especially on television. But I can just say that all those variables taken into account, it is certainly something that is creatively extremely exciting and that we are very much exploring."
Marvel "for sure" wants a second season of Agatha All Along, "but let's not rush it"
While he was at it, Winderbaum also shared that he's interested in making another season of Agatha All Along, even though star Patti LuPone recently made it sound like one wouldn't happen. "A show like Agatha, to me, is concept based," Winderbaum said. "Yes, a second season for sure is something that we would want to do, but let's not rush it. Let's get the right idea and then make it."
And hey, what about a second season of the Hawkeye show that aired on Disney+ back in 2021? "Hawkeye is another one that feels like you can make a second season of that show because it's Christmas, because it's Clint and Kate," Winderbaum said. "You can kind of revisit it whenever, and we're looking for opportunities to do that. But as we develop things for the future, I think they're going to be designed to be multiple seasons, have more of a pattern, and be able to be released annually."
This all sounds interesting, but first thing's first: Daredevil: Born Again premieres on Disney+ on Tuesday, March 4.
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