Since the announcement of the possible Marvel Series being produced for the Disney Play streaming service, starting with Loki and the Scarlet Witch, I have been reading up on their plans. With Kevin Feige overseeing the shows, it seems clear they will be willing to spend huge amounts of money to produce some quality content and I am all for that. The idea of shows based on those characters who won’t be getting their own movies is an exciting prospect. It would give those characters popular enough to warrant this kind of treatment an opportunity to be introduced to new audiences who may not be as familiar with them as long time fans. However…also from what I am reading, it is believed that this undertaking will make Marvel Television almost obsolete. The likely casualty of that would be shows like ABC’s Agents of SHIELD, Freeform’s Cloak & Dagger, or the MCU Netflix original programming like Daredevil and Jessica Jones. That would be a mistake in my humble opinion.
I realize that these shows have not exactly set the world on fire ratings wise since their initial premiers. However during that time, they earned a loyal and passionate fan base who have lived and died with every gut wrenching moment. As far as Agents of Shield, the uncertainty at the end of last season whether or not it would return was felt throughout each episode. When the announcement was made that it would be renewed for another season, albeit in a shorter version and not until July of 2019. It was met with some celebration. If this scenario is true, that excitement would be short-lived.
Don’t get me wrong, I am totally jacked about the idea of a Loki series (huge fan of Tom Hiddleston) or a Scarlet Witch with Elizabeth Olsen. However, if the results of the new Marvel Streaming series comes at the expense of shows like Agents of Shield, Daredevil, or Jessica Jones, that seems like a high price to pay for those who have shown Marvel such loyalty to their creations.
It would make you wonder, if your goal is to introduce a set of Marvel based shows into Disney Play, why not just bring those shows into the streaming service in addition to these new entries. These are shows that are already established, removing the need to re-invent the wheel and they certainly would benefit with a larger budget to give them the polish that they have in mind for their new series. In addition, past seasons would give them instant content for their service while the new shows are in production. It makes sense to me. Of course, I don’t even pretend to understand the monetary issues that might be involved or the possible contractual difficulties it might present. In all honesty, I’m just trying to save some shows that I have a deep attachment to, especially Agent’s of Shield. Anyone who has read some of my previous posts on the subject know this well.
So where are we at this point? At this time, this is all in the planning stages, and there is nothing etched in stone. In time we will see exactly what Disney has in mind and what may be sacrificed to get it accomplished. Rest assured we here at GVNation will keep you informed of all the details when they are announced.
Senior Writer at GeekVibesNation – I am a 50 something child of the 70’s who admits to being a Star Trek/Star Wars/Comic Book junkie who once dove head first over a cliff (Ok, it was a small hill) to try to rescue his Fantastic Four comic from a watery grave. I am married to a lovely woman who is as crazy as I am and the proud parent of a 18 year old boy with autism. My wife and son are my real heroes.
