Love them or loathe them, Marvel’s Royal Family are bound for television in the form of Inhumans, an eight-part series that staged its world premiere via IMAX just yesterday. From there, and following a two-week spell in theaters, Black Bolt and the gang will uproot for ABC, where Scott Buck (Iron Fist) and Roel Reiné’s lavish drama will occupy a Friday night slot. But where the show might head after that is currently up in the air.
And that’s because so far, both fans and critics have been thoroughly unimpressed with what seems to be the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first major misfire. Scrutinized almost right from the start, the first wave of reviews have not been too kind, as Fandom called the series “largely stripped of personality or flair,” while Newsarama considers it “aimless and bleached-out” and decrees it “Game of Thrones-lite.”
Perhaps most damning of all, however, is Digital Spy, who think Inhumans is “the weakest entry in the MCU to date, across screens big and small.” Ouch! And it doesn’t get much better from there, as mostly everyone is in agreement that the series just doesn’t work. But that hasn’t stopped Buck from remaining positive and keeping his eye fixed on the future.
In a recent interview with Comic Book Resources, the showrunner noted that he’d be open to having a crossover with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – though not anytime soon.
“Sure, some time in the future, there may be some sort of [crossover] — as it is right now, we stand completely alone and separate from the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., but who knows what the future might bring?”
While something like this wouldn’t be too difficult to pull off, we’re not sure that Marvel will ever get the chance to make it happen. With the way things are looking for Inhumans, we’d be surprised if it even earns a second season, let alone getting to the point where it’d be ready to cross over with another show. Not to mention that S.H.I.E.L.D. also isn’t doing too hot with ratings at the moment. Still, you never know how things will unfold.
Directed by Roel Reiné, the studio has arranged for the opening two episodes of Inhumans to screen via select IMAX theaters from September 1st, before the company’s starry family drama relocates to ABC on September 29th. The inaugural season will stretch for eight episodes in total, though the real question is whether Marvel’s Royal Family can secure a future amid lowly reviews. As always, time will tell.
