While DC seems uninterested in putting anything out that resembles the DC Universe outside of DTV animated movies (or whatever Chris Nolan thinks is “better” than comics), Marvel has been putting out a lot of content. From kid-targeted cartoons on Disney XD to the Movieverse (not counting the Fox & Sony deals) to Agents Of SHIELD, Marvel is doing something with their brand that may or may not bring in new readers but it does expand their multiverse. About the only thing they seem to mach on are video games and other merchandise.
Marvel has also done a good job with the internet. Their website includes a showcase for many past and present TV shows, although it’s admittedly missing a few shows. They just put out a team-up story with Lego to promote an upcoming game. which they also posted to YouTube. And just today they announced a new venture with streaming service Netflix to produce some original series that they were talking about making since Marvel Studios started taking off.
From the press release on their site:
Burbank, Calif. – Nov 7, 2013—The Walt Disney Co. today announced an unprecedented deal for Marvel TV to bring multiple original series of live-action adventures of four of Marvel’s most popular characters exclusively to the world’s leading Internet TV Network beginning in 2015. This pioneering agreement calls for Marvel to develop four serialized programs leading to a mini-series programming event.
Led by a series focused on “Daredevil,” followed by “Jessica Jones,” “Iron Fist” and “Luke Cage,” the epic will unfold over multiple years of original programming, taking Netflix members deep into the gritty world of heroes and villains of Hell’s Kitchen, New York. Netflix has committed to a minimum of four, thirteen episodes series and a culminating Marvel’s “The Defenders” mini-series event that reimagines a dream team of self-sacrificing, heroic characters.
Produced by Marvel Television in association with ABC Television Studios, this groundbreaking deal is Marvel’s most ambitious foray yet into live-action TV storytelling.
They recently regained the rights to Daredevil, so that’s not a surprise. Shows based on Jessica, Iron Fist, and Luke “We don’t use the name Power Man anymore” Cage have been talked about as potential properties since Marvel Studios’s first big hit with Iron Man. And recreating them should be no problem, as I’ve seen plenty of fan films and original videos on YouTube and Blip who have done more powerful characters and space series using low-budget practical effects (I believe this is referred to as “backyard FX”, but that could just be a show on YouTube) and computer-created visual effects. It’s not hard to believe that something backed by Disney could do better.
The only problem is that if you’re not a paid Netflix subscriber (which I am not), you won’t be able to watch it, unless it’s also posted to Marvel.com or YouTube or something in the future. I would also be shocked if there wasn’t a DVD/Blu-Ray release in the future.
So while Marvel Comic seem to be making some bad moves, Marvel Studios looks poised to bring superheroes back to mainstream in a big way. Hopefully it can only be a good thing for the genre.
BW Media Spotlight 