As I begin typing this story, I’m immediately reminded of the importance of reading entire articles, and not just the headlines. Mark my words: social media links for this will be flamed with comments reminding us of how the Disney Plus shows are on the way, but those aren’t exactly what we’re here to to discuss.
To be clear, we’re talking about the TV division at Marvel that’s brought us shows such as Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Agent Carter and Legion, not to mention popular Netflix series like Daredevil, Luke Cage and Jessica Jones. Marvel Studios, who produces the movies, is handling the Disney Plus offerings like The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, WandaVision, Loki, etc. These two houses have historically not gotten along, thereby serving as the jumping point for today’s news.
According to multiple sources speaking with Variety, “the perception throughout the entertainment business is that live-action productions will be mostly if not completely moved away from Marvel Television, headed by veteran exec and producer Jeph Loeb, as Feige’s unit ramps up production on its own Marvel series projects.”
Backing that up was one insider whom the outlet was able to quote, saying:
“Feige’s shows are so far beyond anything Marvel TV has been able to do. He has access to all of these MCU characters that the other Marvel live-action stuff just doesn’t, not to mention way bigger budgets.”
Lamentable as the loss of Netflix series like Daredevil may be, I won’t lose any sleep over stuff like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. going the way of the Dodo. To be honest, I never gave a rat’s ass about shows of that ilk because they didn’t feature Marvel characters I actually wanted to see. Those in agreement with me have probably been dying for what Disney Plus will have to offer.
Actually, this isn’t the first time this subject has come up in conversation this week, as speculation had already begun following the plug being pulled on Hulu’s Ghost Rider. If there’s any downside to this, it calls Marvel TV executive and producer Jeph Loeb’s future into question, so we’ll keep you posted on that front. He’s one of my favorite comic book writers around, so I certainly wish him the best.