Marvel’s Inhumans Shot On “Tight” Schedule; Director Recalls Challenges Of Working With IMAX Cameras

Love them or loathe them, Marvel’s Royal Family are bound for television in the form of Inhumans, an eight-part series set to stage its world premiere via IMAX on September 1st.

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. Indeed, it was the latter director who helmed the show’s opening two episodes, and with the Inhumans IMAX premiere right around the corner, Reiné spoke to CNET (via CBM) about everything from the super-tight production schedule – Marvel’s freshman series primarily shot in Hawaii, while vast interior sets were used to replicate the city of Attilan – to what it was like operating under Marvel producers.

First up, it seems that the show’s cinematic aspirations left Inhumans struggling to meet deadlines:

“I think they liked me for the job because I was able with my action movies to shoot in a very short time, or with very low budgets, action that looks like a big-budget movie. The schedule was super-tight. I had TV schedule time to shoot it with IMAX cameras, 20 days to shoot two episodes. It’s nerve-wracking but I come from a low-budget film world, so 20 days for me is luxury.”

Working with Marvel, on the other hand, was a relative breeze for the filmmaker, who quickly downplayed talk of studio meddling. There’s still the small matter of Inhumans‘ lowly reviews, so even after Reiné’s reassurance, it’s fair to say that Marvel and ABC’s drama has been left fighting an uphill battle if it’s to really win over the naysayers.

Per CNET:

I had heard all these horror stories about working with Marvel, but I didn’t feel that way. For me, it was very collaborative. There was always a Marvel executive around me, just to make sure that whatever I did, or whatever we did together, would tie in with other characters in other universes, in other comics, in other series or movies. They’re very protective. These people are very passionate about their product and about characters and about doing the best version of everything.

Beginning September 1st, Inhumans will make its debut via select IMAX theaters. The first two episodes will premiere via the large-screen format, before Marvel’s family drama makes the journey over to ABC on September 29th.