Kevin Feige is now in charge of all of Marvel, which means several ongoing and in-development TV shows have been cancelled. Over the last several years, Marvel TV has attempted to latch onto the success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. They’ve done this with various programs on ABC, Hulu, Freeform, and Netflix, and as much as they tried to follow the lead of the movies, Marvel Studios didn’t do the same to incorporate TV characters in the films. It wasn’t until James D’Arcy reprised his role as Jarvis from Agent Carter in Avengers: Endgame that a character made the leap.
The reason for this divide is thanks to the corporate structure for Marvel. For the last several years, Kevin Feige and Marvel Studios have operated on their own, leaving Jeph Loeb and Marvel TV even further isolated from the MCU. That has all changed now that Feige has been named the Chief Creative Officer (CCO) of Marvel. This new title puts Feige in charge of TV and publishing, in addition to his duties with Marvel Studios. His promotion is expected to massively shake-up Marvel TV, as Marvel Studios starts to make TV shows of their own for Disney+ and with Loeb now reportedly set to exit the company.
This is all happening as Marvel TV has several different projects in the works on various levels. The third season of Runaways is set to premiere on Hulu in December, while the final season of Agents of SHIELD will air next summer on ABC. Hulu also just announced the cast for Helstrom, and previously ordered a multitude of animated series that would culminate in The Offenders. The futures of all of these shows will rightfully be questioned now that Feige has taken over, but several other projects can now be concerned officially dead thanks to Feige’s promotion.
Ghost Rider
Set up at Hulu as a quasi-spinoff to Agents of SHIELD, Gabriel Luna was set to return as Robbie Reyes in a Ghost Rider series. But, it was recently revealed that the series had been scrapped due to creative differences. This announcement barely predated Feige’s promotion, but it did come with rumors that he was still the reason behind it. He is rumored to have hopes of introducing a version of Ghost Rider officially in the MCU, either in a movie or separate TV series. If this is true, then there is no reason to believe that the Luna-led Ghost Rider series will be revived at any point down the road - unless Feige is secretly a big fan of his portrayal of Robbie Reyes.
Cloak & Dagger
In more recent news, Freeform announced that Cloak and Dagger will not return for another season. The series ran for two seasons, with the most recent one airing throughout the spring of this year. The two lead characters are set to appear in a crossover episode of Runaways, which led many to believe that the show could live on after. However, the official announcement and reactions from those involved indicate that is not in the cards. Cloak and Dagger’s showrunner called out Disney for the decision to cancel the series. That statement and the timing of the cancellation sure makes it appear as though Feige’s promotion played a factor in Cloak and Dagger not getting a third season.
New Warriors
Marvel TV began developing New Warriors back in 2016 before Freeform picked up the show for a full-series order in April 2017. It was just a few months later when casting was announced, like Milana Vayntrub playing Squirrel Girl, and every indication was that the series was moving quickly. But, Freeform wound up passing on the series in late 2017 and left New Warriors searching for a new home. Some reports claimed that one of the reasons behind this was how great the pilot was and Disney wanting the show to land on a bigger network. However, there has been no movement on New Warriors in the last two years and Feige’s promotion is likely the final nail in the coffin.
John Ridley’s Drama
John Ridley, the Oscar-winning screenwriter behind 12 Years a Slave, was first reported to be involved with a Marvel TV series in 2015. Despite his high-profile and the Marvel brand though, details on what exactly he was working on never came out. Ridley’s show went through rewrites in 2017, and the series remained something that ABC was hoping to do through that year. It has never officially been revealed, so unless Feige meets with Ridley and loves the idea, whatever Ridley was developing for Marvel is another likely casualty of Marvel TV’s restructuring.
Damage Control
In the fall of 2015, Marvel TV announced that they were developing Damage Control as a half-hour workplace sitcom for ABC, which would follow a group of Damage Control employees as they clean up messes in the MCU. A pilot was ordered by the network with Ben Karlin (Daily Show) serving as the executive producer. But, that is the last we heard of Damage Control and the organization was then brought into the MCU in Spider-Man: Homecoming. Unless Feige has interest in using this concept as his own, Damage Control isn’t expected to all of a sudden move forward now.
Jessica Jones-esque Series
In addition to the female-fronted shows that they already made, Marvel TV revealed in late 2017 that they were developing another. Karim Zreik, VP of Marvel TV Original Programming, said that a “Jessica Jones-esque” show was in development for ABC. What character could be at the center of the series was left unnamed and this was the last time that the series was mentioned. Considering the amount of time that has passed since then - and without knowing the specifics of the show or who was involved - Feige’s promotion should end the chances (if there still were any) of this one happening too.
Mostly New Female Show
Just a few months ago though, ABC President of Entertainment Karey Burke said that they were in “active talks” with Marvel TV on another new female show. Details beyond it involving “something brand new, mostly” were not revealed and there has been no further news that it made any more progress. Since Loeb was likely very involved in ABC and Marvel TV partnering up again, his exit and Feige’s promotion could once again eliminate the chances of this one happening.
MORE: Every Marvel TV Series Coming To Disney+
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