Marvel fans have something to look forward to as the MCU TV shows on Disney+ will see a new direction, which follows the news of Daredevil: Born Again getting a reboot and the Secret Invasion series being such a disappointment.
The new direction includes hiring showrunners for the Marvel shows, hiring full-time Marvel executives specifically for the television side of the MCU, and focusing on quality stories.
THR goes over the details in its report about the Daredevil: Born Again reboot, and includes comments from Brad Winderbaum, Marvel’s head of streaming, television, and animation.
What happened withSecret Invasion?
Regarding Secret Invasion being such a disappointment and failure, it has a 54% Rotten Tomatoes Score and an even worse Audience Score of 48%.
THR goes through all the problems that surrounded the series including Marvel firing writer Kyle Bradstreet who had been working on the series for a year until Marvel decided to go in a new direction. Bradstreet wrote and executive produced the USA Network Emmy winner Mr. Robot.
So Marvel hired new writer Brian Tucker and directors Thomas Bezucha and Ali Selim, but then things went south.
It’s said people working on the series broke off into factions with leaders vying for supremacy.
“It was weeks of people not getting along, and it erupted,” an insider told the site.
In response to all the problems, Marvel Studios sent Jonathan Schwartz, a senior executive and member of Marvel’s creative committee known as The Parliament, to get right the ship.
It’s said Secret Invasion was falling behind schedule so bad that it was going to cause actors to leave the series who had other commitments, and that Thomas Bezucha left the show and couldn’t direct due to the new scheduling conflicts.
The changes also included a major portion of the Secret Invasion team being replaced with new line producers, unit production managers, and assistant directors.
“The Marvel executive overseeing the show, Chris Gary, was reassigned and, according to sources, is expected to depart Marvel when his contract is up at the end of the year,” states THR.
Marvel TV’s new direction
As a result of all the problems surrounding Marvel on Disney+, THR says a new direction is in store that includes:
- Hiring showrunners
- The showrunners will write the pilot episodes and bibles for the shows
- Marvel is hiring full-time executives to specifically oversee the TV side of things instead of straddling both television and film
- The days of one season shows are over
- Marvel is now focusing on multiseason serialized TV
- Marvel wants to create shows that run several seasons where characters can take time to develop relationships with the audience
Comments from Marvel’s Brad Winderbaum
Brad Winderbaum, Marvel’s head of streaming, television, and animation, offers in the article in response:
“We’re trying to marry the Marvel culture with the traditional television culture. It comes down to, ‘How can we tell stories in television that honor what’s so great about the source material?’”
“It’s a term we’ve not only grown comfortable with but also learned to embrace,” says Winderbaum of showrunners and Marvel TV’s intention to hire them.
“We need executives that are dedicated to this medium, that are going to focus on streaming, focus on television because they are two different forms.”
Winderbaum says he wants people to watch the shows because they love the characters. It should work, he says, “beyond the fact that it ties into [other projects] or if they are going to be in a movie or if it is setting up an Avengers film.”
