Summary
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has a slew of interesting projects in varying stages of development at any given time, but a recent report reveals that three shows on that list have been shelved at Marvel Studios, including one heavily requested character spotlight.
TheMCUhas gained a lot from Marvel Studios being owned by Disney, most notably with the expansion of the franchise built at the theaters to streaming, giving fans access to more content with fan-favorite characters and more worldbuilding. While the projects that actually get released have been an exercise in hit-or-miss quality, the franchise still has tons of solid potential for shows based on less popular characters, many of which have already been announced. However, Marvel Studios’ projects are beholden to many different factors just like everything else on the streamer, such as the franchise shakeup followingthe creative overhaul across the board emanating fromDaredevil: Born Again.
It was apparently time for hard decisions once more at Marvel Studios recently, as multiple upcoming projects for the MCU’s Disney+ offering have now been shelved at the company. As reported byDeadline, both the purportedTerror, Inc.andStrange Academyshows being developed for the streamer have been put on hold indefinitely, casting doubt on those projects ever actually seeing the light of day. WhileTerror, Inc.was still in its early days and hadn’t really been staffed, the project was being anticipated by longtime fans in the know as a unique new direction for an MCU project, leveraging body horror to give fans a new experience in the same vein asWerewolf by Night’sgrayscale aesthetic. Conversely,Strange Academywas rumored to share a link withAgatha All Alongand already hadEchoscribe Amy Rardin attached, as well as fan-favorite star Benedict Wong set to lead.
While both those shows had a lot of potential to bring something great to the MCU, the biggest loss for fans of the franchise is likely the long-awaitedNovaproject that has been in development. Despite being a major focus at the studio, which replaced announced scribe Sabir Pirzada withCriminal Mindsfavorite Ed Bernero as the writer and showrunner in December, theNovaseries has also been put on ice. The show, which reportedlyhad eyes on former DCEU star Henry Cavill for an unspecified role, has likewise fallen into the same misfortune asTerror, Inc.andStrange Academy.
WhileNovawould have reportedly taken inspiration from iconic science fiction IPs, the show and its two contemporaries seem to have been jettisoned into the void. In line with Disney’s general streaming pivot due to the ultra-competitive environment that is streaming, Marvel Studios was always going to have to make some sacrifices. The studio already previously announced a massive reduction in its planned output going forward, espousing a need to focus on quality over quantity. With the sheer number of projects that the company had up on the vision board before theDaredevil: Born Again-inspired changes to its streaming show approach introduced a proper greenlighting process, this always meant that certain projects would be getting the axe.Nova, Strange Academy, and Terror, Inc.,all relatively low-level projects and not yet close to principal photography, were unfortunately low-hanging fruit for the reaper at Marvel Studios. While the wording suggests that they’ll be revisited in due time, fans shouldn’t hold their breath for a return to the slate for any of these shows.
While there are a plethora of good reasons for the franchise to put some of its projects on hold, the shows that actually got chosen for the shelf aren’t a great sign for the MCU’s future on Disney+. In much the same vein as many other companies in the modern streaming market,Marvel Studios has revived the old TV spinoff strategy from a bygone erathat saw characters from big-budget projects in theaters make the often unnecessary jump to the small screen, and it has been a bit of a disaster. As such, seeing multiple projects that were set to adapt new characters from the comics and bring some new blood into the franchise is a worrying sign that Feige and others plan to double down on the spinoff projects that have come to define the decline of the MCU on streaming.
