Marvel TV News

At long last The Punisher release date dropped, November 17th, the revised date due to the mass shooting in Las Vegas on October 1st. While it has never been officially confirmed, Newsday's (Vernon Gay) rumour of a date change is the ultimate source for the flood of stories after the show pulled out of NYCC, with most believing MCU Exchange's scoop date of October 13th was the original plan. Of interest is that the speculated date of November 10th was never in the cards (since the move could easily have been to that spot), but it's not far off summer speculation of November 14th. Interestingly, this puts the show head-to-head against Justice League, albeit other than both being based on comic books they aren't truly in direct competition. Oddly enough, looking at Netflix's schedule you'd think the 10th would be a better date--Stranger Things drops October 27th, Alias Grace November 3rd, and then nothing until Godless November 22nd (which seems similar enough to The Punisher that I think it will suffer from the proximity).

We learned a couple of weeks ago that Finn Jones would appear in Luke Cage season two, but at the time it was unknown if it was simply a cameo or something more. Mike Colter has revealed it will be more extensive than a cameo, saying:

We are teamed up for a bit. That’s the whole point of bringing that flavor to it. I can see how this works. That’s what good about it. We’re giving people what they want. ... let’s give a little Heroes for Hire somewhere in the season and see what happens

This sounds like an actual story arc--whether for a few episodes or more is hard to say (probably not more than half a season). It'll be interesting to see how Cheo Hodari Coker will write Danny Rand (he's been pretty faithful to source material, so I'd expect a more comic book accurate version), as this will be the first time Scott Buck doesn't have any impute on it. I doubt Danny will get his costume however, as that's likely going to be reserved for Iron Fist season two.

Colter couldn't say when the second season will air, but hoped for the first quarter or first half of next year (which would fit my prediction).

The site that posted the story added the following:

Though Jones’ portrayal of Danny Rand was one of the most criticized aspects of The Defenders, and his own series is the most critically-panned of all Netflix series, it was still a hit among viewers.

I'm not sure the former is true, but the latter has to be hard for sites to admit after months of crapping all over Iron Fist.

It's been reported that viewership for The Defenders was the lowest among the Netflix series'. Interestingly enough, despite that the show is the the most binge-watched of those shows (and the third highest ever). Putting aside what you think of the quality of the team-up, one of the lessons learned here is that eight-episodes is simply too easy--too disposable--and Netflix would be better off making it a longer series (something that would allow for development missing from the first installment).

I've been interested in keeping tabs on the ratings for both the Inhumans and The Gifted (I posted my review of the former's episode three--which Midnight's Edge thought was an improvement, while I think it's the weakest; my episode four review is here). The Fox show's troubles carry over from the premiere (which I discuss here)--the dry as dust mutant-menace stuff along with the poorly developed characters and soap opera-like elements (eg the lazy pregnancy plot)--it still gets good performances from Stephen Moyer (Reed Strucker) and Emma Dumont (Polaris). Ratings (also here and here) make for an interesting comparison:
Inhumans: 3.8 - 2.8 - 2.3 (0.9 - 0.7 - 0.6 key demographic) 39% drop since the premiere (33%)
The Gifted: 4.8 - 3.8 - 3.5 (1.5 -1.2 - 1.1 key demographic) 27% drop since the premiere (26%)

It's worth noting the Inhumans drop was much less between episodes 3 and 4 (17%), but more than The Gifted's drop between two and three (7%). Friday nights (when the latter airs) is well-known to have far less viewership than other nights (30% is the figure I've seen), but factoring that in The Gifted is still ahead (Inhumans latest episode would be at 3.0 with that bump). The DVR numbers are important and show both shows with significant increases (a similar edge is there, 74% vs 61%). Thus far the Fox effort has stopped the freefall, possibly due positive critical buzz. It's worth noting Inhumans is still ahead of an average Agents of SHIELD episode from last season.

This kind of thing--low ratings for superhero shows this fall--has led to some speculation (whether it's serious or clickbait is up to you) that the superhero TV bubble has burst. This is overreaching by far and is due more to the mediocre offerings of the fall. The real test is when The Punisher, Runaways, and the heavy hitters from the CW drop.

I was not impressed by The New Mutants trailer. As a fan of the early run of the comic seeing what looks like a generic horror film was disappointing (an opinion shared by others). That said, it could just be an attempt to cash in on the audience for It, but if so, it doesn't really sell the movie to comic book fans. You could watch the trailer and have no idea it's about people with superpowers. The media is creating a false dichotomy wherein people who disliked the trailer are unwilling to accept anything other than a generic comic book movie (whatever that is). My issue, and I suspect the issue many others had, is that there's nothing distinctive about the trailer--nothing that separates it from any other horror film. This doesn't mean I've lost my interest in the movie, just that I think the trailer does a poor job selling it.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

Inhumans Episode Four Review

I thought the previous episode (episode three) was the worst of the series thus far, but four is a step in the right direction. It has issues, but there were elements that approached the better parts of the pilot. Written by Wendy West and directed by David Straiton, it has some well-written dialogue. I mentioned in my last review that part of the problem with the series is uneven storylines, and unfortunately Karnack's and Gorgon's remain virtually unwatchable. Crystal's suffers without Maximus' presence and Auran's drags without any strong sense of menace (Mortis comes across as a goofball rather than scary), so the show is left with the stronger footings of Maximus, Black Bolt, and Medusa. Louise's story, which I wasn't a fan of prior to this episode, improved immensely once she was attached to Medusa. In terms of plot the show is far too reliant on coincidence (each member of the royal family meets a human or humans who are both helpful to their immediate needs and serves to show them that humans aren't so bad). It also has a major conceptual flaw wherein we're told (and shown) that Attilan is a secret...and then every member of the royal family immediately tells anyone they meet who they are and where they are from. While I can come up with a reason for this (see below) the show itself should be providing one.

The ratings continued to fall (I still haven't seen PVR numbers), albeit 2.3 is higher than an average season four epsiode of Agents of SHIELD. They fell less than the gap between the pilot and episode three (26% for the latter, 17% now). In terms of the key demographic the gap was also smaller (22% vs 14%).

SPOILERS

We get a vague MCU reference from Maximus (simply referring to other superpowered individuals who are not Inhumans).

What Worked

• Medusa, despite being over the top with her aggression towards Louise early on, has the best plotline and character work in the episode (it crashes into Black Bolt's towards the end as those two are reunited)
• Black Bolt still works--bit of an average episode for him, but he's functional and we get away from his banal prison buddy (Sammy)
• Louise, I'd complained about the actress previously, but here she's fine and her interactions with Medusa are (by and large) quite good (suggesting the problem previous were director-related issues rather than the actress)
• Dr. Evan Declan, once he gets to his facility, is well played and the tie-in with Maximus further emphasized that his coup (and plans to empower himself) were long-planned
• Maximus' desire to empower himself belies his stated intent to create an egalitarian Inhuman society--this is an interesting turn and I'm curious what the show will do with it
• Auran/Mortis, while this isn't the greatest of storylines, at least the show has a reason for Mortis to not just immediately fry Black Bolt (Maximus wants genetic sampling from his brother before he dies); Auran's motivation still needs work and the actress could find another expression (it's been perma-frown since the pilot)

What Didn't

• Why set up the premise of how important it is for Attilan to stay hidden (one of the central conflicts with Maximus) when the royal family can't shut up about it as soon as they get to earth? Maybe the idea is they feel it will be revealed given Maximus' plan anyway, but if that's so it should have been stated
• Crystal's storyline--she remains privileged and annoying (as intended, but it's a bit much); the coincidence of running into a guy who knows a vet is trying (yet another convenient coincidence--a lot of these seem written in to save time)
• The genetic council, why on earth would they say no to Maximus? They had to know he'd kill them (and why deny him anyway--what did they benefit from doing that?)
• Gorgon's plotline still doesn't work, but at least he explains why Lockjaw didn't teleport the royal family all together
• Karnack's plot is the lowlight of the episode--a romance out of nowhere (is she attracted to his concussion? what's the appeal?) and he continues to not be himself

The sooner the show gets rid of the latter two plotlines the better--right now if you were to re-cut the episodes and have both simply off-camera the show would vastly improve. I think the idea is to both humble the royal family and to show them that humans aren't so bad, but that didn't necessitate making the royals elitist assholes or automatically falling in with helpful humans wherever they went. There's a lack of sophistication that makes the plot read like a first draft. Were it not for the positive performances the show would be a much bigger mess.

I think the show is on an upward trend as it starts to collapse plotlines together and that hopefully we'll get a good conclusion to the eight-episode arc. I still think it's marginally better than The Gifted (the Fox show has better cinematography and a more streamlined plot, but it's about as by-the-numbers as it could be with virtually no character depth). Regardless, I'll be glad when The Punisher drops.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

Inhumans Episode Three Review

As someone who enjoyed the pilot, episode three was a step down in quality. Written by Rich Cleveland and directed by Chris Fisher, the problems of the show were accented and I hope episode four can course correct. Three episodes in I now know what element of Game of Thrones, beyond family drama, that Scott Buck was trying to imitate: multiple storylines. There are no less than 7 storylines that are ongoing (Black Bolt, Medusa, Gorgon, Karnack, Maximus (including Crystal, but she may be breaking off on her own), Auran, and Louise (which seems to have merged with Medusa's). This is an enormous amount to handle in 40 minute chunks and I think creatively they bit off more than they could chew. This episode also suffers from missing development--necessary investment by the audience into plot and character. It's frustrating because there are good elements within the show, including this episode, but so much of it seems rushed (it's reminiscent of Batman v Superman where WB was so eager to get to Justice League that they were rushing through the narrative--I'm not sure what we're rushing to in this case, admittedly).

Official ratings for the episode still aren't out (early numbers can be found here), but it did fall (still above a typical Agents of SHIELD season four episode). It will be interesting to see how the ratings pan out--the quality of the next couple of episodes is going to make a big difference.

SPOILERS

We get two oblique MCU references in this episode, both in the same scene: one to Spider-Man and another to the Thing; both are in passing, but it's welcome given how parsimonious the Netflix shows are with them.

What Worked

• Black Bolt's storyline (the police and prison guards are pretty hastily put together, but I still think it hangs together)
• Medusa's storyline (other than her ridiculous attempt to talk an ATM into giving her money)
• Maximus' storyline (I'm not sure at this stage we really needed the flashback where he's removed from the line of succession, but if anyone needed extra motivation for him, there it is)
• Anson Mount, Serinda Swan, and Iwan Rheon are the only actors who have successfully given their characters emotional weight and that continues here
• Gorgon/Auran fight--it isn't perfect by any means, but for the most part I thought it worked
• Lockjaw
• Mortis (he's very underdeveloped and a little goofy, but I found him oddly endearing--his look reminds me of Isaac from The Orville)

What Didn't

• The hatred for Inhumans--it reminds me of The Gifted where neither creative team thought any explanation was necessary for this conflict (in Buck's case, maybe he thought his audience were familiar enough with Agents of SHIELD to not need one?); I find it constantly irritating, since just one or two quick scenes could have established it
• The Inhumans cast system--no one in the show has made an argument for why the status quo (eg the royal family) is a good thing; Maximus, despite being willing to kill to get what he wants, actually has a point in the conflict and there's been no effort to create a counterpoint (the show seems to assume that because Maximus is willing to do anything to succeed that provides the counterbalance, but that doesn't work)
• A lack of set-up and development--this plagued this episode--I feel like each episode needed another 10 minutes or so to flesh out secondary characters and plots--a lot of the issues below go away with that development (there was a noticeable improvement in that respect when you compare the pilot to the theatrical release because of the extra run time)
• Flashbacks (child actors! But even Black Bolt's parent's and the genetic council guy are pretty wooden)
• Karnack's storyline (taking away his ability removes the only thing that's interesting about him; the weird drug plantation people are just as random as Gorgon's friends--there's no investment in them; Karnack babbling about his family is also silly (I guess we blame the concussion, although it's exactly what Gorgon did in episode two); on the plus side, at least he realises he's concussed and we get a tiny piece of his backstory); Ken Leung has had some good moments, so I think the material here is holding him back
• Gorgon's storyline (has the same support problem as above, albeit arriving at the conflict helped--I still have no idea why the beach guys side with Gorgon, but it's pretty fortunate they want to die for him...just because--the reason offered is pretty goofy)
• Auran's storyline (we're not told enough about Mortis or anything about her other assistants, while her motives in helping Maximus remain underdeveloped; her acting is also pretty stilted)
• Louise's storyline (thankfully at an end as Medusa takes her hostage; the acting was a bit better than the pilot; we don't know enough about the character to get invested)
• Crystal (the acting is still weak, although there were glimmers of improvement)

Part of the basic framework of where we're going is pretty clear at this point. Each of the members of the royal family on earth are meeting a human (or humans) who are going to, well, humanize their view of humanity. They'll all come together and face off against...I'm not sure what, as I'm not convinced Maximus is the final villain. I'm not sure where the plot with the benefactor who rescues Black Bolt is going--is it a double cross, or is it something else? It's hard to say, although I think the show's end game is still to get the characters permanently to earth.

While I thought this was a weak episode, I'm still hopeful that as the plot tightens things will improve. Whatever you think of the show there are quality actors here and it would be a shame for Marvel to lose them just because this season is flawed. For fans of the show there is some hope out there: despite all the negativity in the press some are moving beyond the rhetoric and in terms of buzz it's still a bigger deal than the critically approved The Gifted (it's only real TV competition at this stage, as the Inhumans series will be over by the time The Punisher and The Runaways debut).

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

Marvel TV News

While Netflix continues to torture us by holding back the release date for The Punisher (likely delayed even longer now that its NYCC appearance has been cancelled), we do know a little more about the show, as some of the directors are now listed:

• Andy Goddard (among his extensive TV credits are solitary episodes for Iron Fist, Luke Cage, and Daredevil season two)
• Marc Jobst (a lengthy TV career, he directed solitary episodes of Luke Cage and Daredevil season two)
• Kari Skogland (extensive TV experience, but this is her first venture into Marvel Netflix)
• Stephen Surjik (has directed at least one episode of every Marvel Netflix show--a streak that will end with Jessica Jones season two)
• Jeremy Webb (the same sort of background as Skogland above)

Despite all the negative press there was still anticipation for ABC's Inhumans (at least, judging by this chart via Rotten Tomatoes). How did that register in the ratings? Variety noted it beat its 8pm competition in the coveted 18-49 demographic, while just losing out in the 9pm slot. Bleeding Cool noted it's numbers were superior to both Agents of SHIELD's normal numbers and its season four finale. Given the critical drubbing this is a solid opening--episode three will provide insight into how fans reacted to the TV pilot, albeit it's future is up in the air and likely controlled by Disney. One of the funny results of all the negative buzz is that there is buzz (unlike The Gifted, see below), so that people are curious about it even if they perceive it as a train wreck.

Speaking of the show, I posted a review looking at the differences between the movie and TV versions.

I've been thinking about the release dates for the Marvel Netflix shows. Prior to 2017 there had never been more than two shows released in a year. The current overlapping filming schedules suggest we'll be getting seasons much more rapidly, albeit we don't know just how quickly since Netflix drags its heels with Marvel release announcements. The best way to illustrate this is to look at what's happened in the past along with what we know about the future:

Completed
Daredevil (1): filming July-December (5 months), released in April, 2015 (4 months later)
Jessica Jones (1): filming February-August (6 months), released in November, 2015 (3 months)
Daredevil (2): filming July-December (5 months), released in March, 2016 (3 months)
Luke Cage (1): filming September-March (6 months), released in September, 2016 (6 months)
Iron Fist (1): filming April-October (6 months), released in March, 2017 (5 months)
The Defenders (1): filming October-March (5 months), released in August, 2017 (5 months)

Upcoming
The Punisher (1): filming October-April (6 months), released Oct/Nov, 2017 (6/7 months)
Jessica Jones (2): filming April-September (5 months)
Luke Cage (2): filming June-December (6 months)
Daredevil (3): filming October*-c.March
Iron Fist (2): filming January*-c.May
*unconfirmed

The gap between the end of filming and release seems to be growing longer (5-6 months of late), but I think that's less a trend and more to do with specific circumstance.  With this in mind we can speculate on release dates. So far the shortest gap between releases has been four months (between JJ and DD2), which will be beat by Punisher at 2 or 3 (I'll look at 3 or 4 month rotations and see how they fit):
JJ2 - January/February - January seems most likely to me, with February having Black Panther as its focus
LC2 - April-June - April; seems prudent to avoid Infinity War (May), albeit the four-month schedule would put it in May if my JJ prediction is correct
DD3 - July-October - July (makes the most sense on the 3-month rotation); this becomes September on the 4-month schedule if my JJ prediction is correct

IF2 - October-February - October; in the 4-month version this is January, both of which are empty of comparable competition

To summarize: for a three-month rotation I see JJ in January, LC in April, DD in July, and IF in October; on a four-month rotation it's January, May, September, and January.

Interesting news for Luke Cage season two has come out, as Entertainment Weekly has confirmed that Danny Rand will be appearing in the show. This makes a lot of sense, given that we know Misty Knight is joining Iron Fist season two, and further boosts the Heroes for Hire bond teased in The Defenders. I'd guess the appearance will be in the nature of a cameo (based on the fact that Finn Jones has been on the convention circuit while LC2 has been filming the last three plus months--and is just starting his Kung Fu training only recently (see below). It is possible, incidentally, that his scenes were shot at the beginning of the LC2 shoot before The Defenders dropped (which would also suggest just a cameo). I like the idea of the Netflix characters popping up in each other's shows and I hope we get more of it.

Finn Jones has started training for the next season of Iron Fist. If we can take his previous comments literally (that he's training for 4-5 months) than we can expect filming to begin in January or February (completing in July/August and production completed October/November).

Just an incidental about the show: I've been pointing out for awhile that it's far more popular than given credit for, but it's true that it is the only show that people actively hate. While other shows have disliked elements, they don't get active hate. Iron Fist is pretty polarizing--people either liked it or they actively despise it (interestingly, the latter are often fans of the comics). Overcoming the latter sentiment is probably going to require critical praise, but whether that ship has sailed or not remains to be seen.

There has been very little buzz about the Runaways even though it's just two months away (perhaps NYCC will change that). One interesting thing about it is that MCU guru Kevin Feige has a producer credit for the show, which is highly unusual for Marvel TV (the only other TV property he's been involved with was Agent Carter)--I wonder what brought him to the Hulu project?

A thought going back to the news that The Defenders viewership numbers in the US were low: whatever feedback Netflix gets on why this is can't be incorporated into plans for Jessica Jones season two (filming is complete), Luke Cage season two (filming is ongoing), or have much impact on Daredevil season three (filming will start soon so the scripts and storyline are already done). I think the lesson has already been learned however, as Netflix waived goodbye to the Hand--both JJ and LC would have more grounded stories anyway, and it's clear DD3 will follow suit (I have no idea what Iron Fist season two will be like--scripts are likely still being written for it and the only known change is that Finn Jones will be better at Kung Fu--see above).

The Gifted, despite critical praise, is receiving a very muted response (eg Emergency Awesome's Charlie Schneider bailed on plans to make videos about it). I watched it and it looked exactly like what you'd expect a Bryan Singer-directed pilot would look like: everything is dark, gritty, and firmly rooted in 1980s X-Men themes. I thought the acting was largely histrionic (clearly a product of the directing), with the plot unimaginative and derivative. Polaris was the best thing about the show and while things could improve a lot needs to change for it to succeed. The metaphor of mutants as a prosecuted minority without set-up doesn't really work anymore--superheroes have broad popular appeal so the conceit requires actual buy-in (they have to be presented as a threat first), which the show doesn't attempt. Not much effort is put Polaris' crew (Jamie Chung's Blink is a big step down from Bingbing Fan's in Days of Future Past), while the Strucker family comes across as bland and generic (with Lauren unsympathetic and annoying and her brother Andy simply annoying). Will the show be a success? It's hard to say, but the lack of buzz and the heavy competition from other superhero shows means it has a tough hill to climb (and how do you continue to seem gritty when The Punisher drops?).

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

Inhumans Pilot - Differences from the Theatrical Version and General Thoughts

I saw the Inhumans theatrical release during it's second week in IMAX. I was intrigued by the hostility towards the show more than the show itself (I'd never heard of the Inhumans until the early days of the MCU, despite having been an avid Marvel reader in the late 80s-early 90s). As I said in my review (link above) I enjoyed the IMAX-release: it's not perfect by any means, but as a TV-pilot I was intrigued and wanted to see more of the story.

Prior to the theatrical release the news came out that the TV-version was going to contain extra footage, which I found a puzzling decision, so when it premiered on ABC last night I was curious what had been cut and how the inclusions impacted the story. Here's what I noticed (which is similar to CBR's list):

• the entire subplot involving human scientist Louise (Ellen Woglom) was cut; she's the only person at the company responsible for the moon rover to notice that a hoof (Gorgon's) destroyed the rover; this subplot appears piecemeal throughout and serves three functions: 1) allows a humorous interplay of Gorgon saying no one is going to notice what he'd done with Louise noticing, 2) Louise notices energy patterns created by Lockjaw's teleportation and figures out a number of individuals have gone to Hawaii--this gives her motivation to investigate, 3) provides a glimpse of how most humans would react to these ideas (they reject them just as Louise's boss does)
• a brief but important bit of dialogue between Maximus and Karnack about terrigenesis offering their different points-of-view (this occurs during the teregenesis scene)
• parts of the Maximus plotline: 1) he talks to the head of genetic testing where he explains his plan and tries to recruit him--the recruitment fails, but persuade Auran who is also there and she kills him; this scene cleared up confusions I had from the theatrical release (I had no idea why Auran was supporting Maximus and I'd assumed his plan was for a hostile invasion of earth, whereas here he's proposing a peaceful move); it also explains why the coup happened at that time--with the murder there was no going back, 2) Maximus learns that the genetic council plans to kill him so he threatens them into passivity--this provides some resistance to him within Attilan which is entirely absent in the theatrical version, 3) dialogue between Maximus and Crystal where he threatens Lockjaw to pressure her; in this interaction he also mentions that her parents (and therefore Medusa's parents) attempted a coup against Black Bolt's parents and were killed because of it--this added information makes his earlier appeal to Medusa make more sense (in the theatrical version he does so based on childhood friendship alone)

All of these scenes serve character and plot and my only guess on why they were cut is for pacing reasons (I would have left them in). Woglom's performance as Louise isn't the strongest and I have no idea why the operations equipped is housed at the center of a giant, empty warehouse, but even so all this content would have helped the theatrical version.

How have my impressions changed with this viewing? I still enjoyed it--flaws remain, but some of vagueness from the IMAX-version have been resolved. It's always easier to be critical than to praise and I don't want to rehash my review too much, but I'll go over changed impressions along with those that are new:

The Good/Improved

• The story: the plot and Maximus' motivation and strategy makes a lot more sense; there's also a better sense that Attilan is something that would  be noticed eventually (which ties in with Maximus' motivation)
• Karnack: while there are two things that still bother me about what's done with his character (the terrible fight scene and him slipping down a cliff), Ken Leung's performance improved for me (the added dialogue with Maximus helped)

I still think criticism over the CGI is ridiculous (Medusa's hair is fine and Lockjaw looks great); Serinda Swan's edgy Medusa is well done; the moral ambiguity of the show is something we rarely see with Marvel (Maximus does evil things, but does them for ostensibly positive reasons--it's reminiscent of Loki)

The Bad/Got Worse

• Crystal's (Isabelle Cornish) performance is very flat/wooden (the second viewing did not improve anything)
• While I liked the idea behind the Louise plotline, the performance is flat, the set made no sense, and more development would have helped

I still have no idea why the Inhumans who fail terregenesis are digging tunnels (someone suggested it's for building materials--I mean, maybe?); I'm not a fan of the Scott Buckian flashbacks to things that happened within the same episode; Gorgon revealing the Inhumans secret location to surfer dudes (along with drowning himself looking for Triton) is still dumb

I'm not sure where the show will go in the remaining six episodes (which isn't a bad thing), other than I expect Attilan, or at least the Inhumans, will come to earth. In the comics Maximus isn't a permanent villain (again, like Loki), so I'm assuming something will happen to bring him back into the royal fold--some new enemy will rise up.

The only larger MCU tie-in is with Agents of SHIELD, and it does so directly as the show references events that are only known through that show. When Maximus talks about returning to earth he's not concerned with the Avengers (or anything else, for that matter).

Will there be a second season? It's likely up to Disney, at least judging by them denying ABC's desire to cancel Agents of SHIELD at the end of this past season. AoS does not have great ratings, so I'm not sure that's a major factor either. The larger question is whether IMAX will foot the bill for another season and I seriously doubt that, but with Medusa's hair cut the effects budget boils down to Lockjaw and that's a pretty easy element to reduce. What do I want? I want to see the rest of the season before I make a decision, but it would be shame to let an excellent cast walk away just because one season got shit on by critics (I've seen a tiny shift in the fan community about it, as Armin has changed his opinion after hating the IMAX version).

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

Marvel TV News

The first official trailer dropped and did a great job introducing the premise and tone of the show. The marketing in general has been excellent and I'd expect it to have big numbers on release. While the release date remains unknown, it's generally believed to be November 10th (the Netflix shows are always dropped on Friday and this is the Friday just before Veteran's Day--as well as the day the marine's were founded). Exactly why Netflix is dragging out the announcement is unknown.

It's been teased that the series will feature a hero cameo. Initially there was no hint if it was a new or established hero appearing, but subsequently Jon Berthnal said the show would have no connection to The Defenders, so it must be someone new. The only speculation I've seen is that it's Moon Knight, but as Marc Specter rather than his costumed identity. The reason for the speculation is that Specter has roots in the military (as a marine and a mercenary). Talk of a Moon Knight series goes back a long way, with at least one major rumour each of the last four years (even James Gunn pitched a Moon Knight movie idea, although I think the character works better on Netflix). He's not someone who would appeal to Disney's new (in 2019) streaming service, but certainly fits Netflix's darker tone.

We also got confirmation of something IMDB has had listed for months: Turk Barrett will appear in the show. Turk certainly fits what the show is about, albeit how he survives Frank will be interesting to see. We'll also get to see the Punisher's battle van in the series, and Daredevil regular Brett Mahoney was shown in the trailer so will have at least a cameo.

I saw Inhumans in theaters and while it didn't blow me away, I did enjoy it (my full review is here). I think the series has potential and hope ABC doesn't reactively pull the plug (although that's likely). Did it make sense to put it in theaters? Probably not, although there are Marvel properties that could work with this kind of arrangement.

While the press have pounded away on the Inhumans (futilely perhaps), the numbers could be worse--it's 2.6 million opening weekend beat the comparable Game of Thrones IMAX run in 2015 (vs less screens admittedly). It also beat out the other new releases for that weekend and had a higher per-screen average than the weekend winner. Given all the negativity it's a reasonable haul, but the real question is: what return did IMAX expect in return? It's hard to say--given all the fuss you'd guess more (we know they expected to lose money with the outing, just not how much). Whatever you think of the property, it's pretty clear Scott Buck has to go--he's toxic right now, which makes him a good scapegoat for all the perceived ills at Marvel TV--removing him would provide a fresh start with the agitated critical community.

Speaking of the show, Variety reports from unnamed sources that:

concerns over quality of “Inhumans” episodes — both the special effects of early cuts and the underpinning scripts — were a source of contention between ABC and Marvel

This was picked up by fan cites under clickbaity titles. The former is pretty meaningless (relating to unfinished effects shots, possibly from as long ago as the first trailer or even the leaked version), but the latter is much more interesting. It's without question that ABC won't be happy with the critical drubbing and will worry about the future of it as a TV show, whereas opinions on its box office are hard to parse without knowing the expectations.

Netflix released some interesting data about what shows lead viewers to the various individual Marvel series' leading up to The Defenders:

This variety is a good sign--illustrating that the shows are not just carbon copies of one another. Among the data it turns out internally that Daredevil and Jessica Jones most frequently lead into each other, while Luke Cage and Iron Fist do the same (these synergies are also apparent in The Defenders). Fans of antiheroes came to Daredevil, fans of strong female characters to Jessica Jones, social commentary and (of all things) Stranger Things went to Luke Cage (the latter seems due to how closely the two shows were released), while coming-of-age fans came to Iron Fist (anecdotally it seems like younger fans enjoyed it more than older).

Speaking of Variety, they've reported that the team-up had weaker numbers in the US than all the other individual series'. If these numbers are ultimately confirmed and I had to guess why that is I think it's the choice of enemies--I've been saying since Daredevil season one that the Hand just isn't that interesting. Fans are engaged by more grounded, or at least relatable villains (so Wilson Fisk and Kilgrave, both very different characters, struck a chord--regardless of that latter's powers, he seems like a real person, whereas someone like Nobu is just a weird caricature). It's also possible when the show was released contributed to the problem (none of the previous Netflix shows came out in the summer), but more information will have to come out to judge.

MCU Exchange claims filming for Daredevil season three will begin October 15th, with a completion date of June 30th (this is far longer than the usual Netflix turnarounds, which is six months, ie, April, so if the end date is true it reflects post-production--there was similar confusion in early reports about Luke Cage season two). This means filming will begin soon after Jessica Jones completes (which wrapped September 15th) and would be yet more confirmation that it will air before Iron Fist season two.

The Hashtag Show got hold of a casting call for Daredevil season three and believes it describes the villain Sin-Eater. While the site debates the possible issues of Sin-Eater being a Spider-Man exclusive villain (and therefore Sony property--something I'm not sure actually applies to TV representations), for me the bigger issue is how similar the character is to the Punisher (punishing people for their "sins"). Can you really have a second straight season where Matt confronts a vigilante with a code who is killing people? I don't think so and I don't see how it would mesh with the "Born Again" storyline (neither does Bleeding Cool, albeit for different reasons).

There hasn't been a ton of news for Luke Cage, but we did learn that the little-seen Comanche from season one of Luke Cage will return in season two. Jason Cohen also speculates on who will provide the bionic arm for Misty Knight and his ultimate selection of Tilda Johnson (aka Nightshade) seems reasonable.

Finn Jones says he'll have 4-5 months of training before the next season, which suggests his second season will start filming in December/January. We still have no idea what the plot for the season will be (if Scott Buck had remained it would be Davos and Gao, but I have no idea if the new showrunner will change that). I'm not eager for it to follow suggestions I've seen from various critics which boil down to a David Carridine-esque Kung Fu. Netflix has given us four seasons of enemy ninjas and we need a break.

Evidence continues to accumulate that despite all the negativity Iron Fist scored well in the ratings (beating out such shows as Stranger Things in its first month). It's worth pointing out that deciphering Netflix stats without official numbers isn't easy, but this report reflects what Variety reported months ago from an entirely different source (this information has largely been ignored by fan sites, although a month or so afterwards Armin chimed in). Critical consensus can (and does) change over time (there many examples, you can see lists here, here, here, etc), and while it's unlikely critics will ever be positive about the show, the signs of adjusting opinion continue--eg Sam Bashor's snarky comments from his Defenders review evolved into a conciliatory tone in his Easter Egg video--clearly in response to fan feedback. There seems to be surprise/shock from critics that people genuinely liked the show. The narrative is already changing from it being a terrible show to it simply being the weakest among Marvel's offerings--and I think that's roughly where things will remain even if personally I think it's on par with Luke Cage. The blame for the perceived problems in the show are shifting away from Finn Jones and other performers and being piled onto Scott Buck, which isn't really fair to Buck (he's more culpable for Inhumans), but makes it much easier for the franchise to move on.

Related to the ratings, Caleb Borchers (of the MCU Exchange hivemind) said the following about Iron Fist:

Aside from the quality of those choices (most fans didn’t like it)

This kind of lazy assumption is common for fan sites. What he should say is that most fans liked it, but critics did not. There were similar baseless generalisations for The Defenders as well, but fan backlash had them backpedaling in full speed after a couple of weeks (eg).

In August Cosmic Booknews carried some 4Chan rumours that have subsequently filtered out into other outlets. It consists of a variety of MCU news, some of which touches on rumoured TV properties:

• a Moon Knight pitch is being considered with James Gunn promoting it--we know this is at least partially true as he did pitch it as a movie
• there are no plans for a Blade, Ms. Marvel, or Ghost Rider movie--none of which is surprising; the latter's appearance in Agents of SHIELD locked him into the TV world and it seems likely the other two characters (should they appear) share a similar fate from the various rumours we've heard (for example here for Blade and here for Ms. Marvel)--only Kamala Khan seems family friendly enough to appear in the movie, but she likely requires an established Captain Marvel before making that jump (and speculation that she's earmarked for the new Disney channel seems plausible)

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

Inhumans Review (Theatrical Release)

I watched Inhumans in the second week of its run on IMAX--after hearing and reading all the terrible reviews and buzz. My expectations were low and I saw it in a theater I had all to myself. All in all, I enjoyed it. The criticisms I'd heard were a mixed bag of personal taste and high expectations (to see something like a feature film). My expectations were low and as I have very little familiarity with the source material I didn't have any set desires for how the characters were used or how the story developed (this is identical to how I went into Jessica Jones).

SPOILERS below

The story: Black Bolt has secretly sent Triton down to earth to help NuHumans who are being persecuted on Earth (this is a plotline taken from Agents of SHIELD; NuHumans are regular humans with Inhuman genes which can be triggered by Terragenesis that's found its way into the water supply). Triton gets shot while doing this and is believed killed in action--this heightens Maximus' desire to leave the moon and take back the earth from the humans (feeling that discovery and conflict is inevitable). Black Bolt wants to wait before making a decision and sends Gorgon to find Triton. Maximus can't accept his brother's decision to wait and stages a coup, first attempting to recruit Medusa as his wife (he's rejected and she loses her hair). Crystal has Lockjaw teleport everyone to earth except herself (so Black Bolt, Medusa, and Karnack, but all separately and to different locations)--she and the teleporting pooch are captured. On earth Black Bolt is eventually arrested by the police; Medusa is stalked and attacked by Auran (Maximus' alley), but escapes believing she's killed Auran; Karnack falls while climbing down a cliff and is concussed; Gorgon tries (and fails) to lure Maximus into attacking him. The only scene not directly connected to this is a Terragenesis ceremony that shows us what Inhumans are and how Maximus is perceived (there are two brief scenes later on connected to this as one of the Inhumans can see the future).

With just a 75-minute run time there's very little room for development or explanations. The show is very much in the AoS universe and its plot is dependent on it (in fact, I think more explanation should have been given for those who don't watch AoS). It also visually reminded me of AoS. While its ABC sister show isn't mentioned by name, clearly the people are Marvel Entertainment are laying the groundwork for a crossover.

The Good

• Anson Mount (Black Bolt) - a great performance; while there's much about his character that remains ambiguous, his sincerity, gravity, and even moments of humour stood out--Mount's sign language is easy to follow and he does a great job using his eyes to express himself
• Iwan Rheon (Maximus) - brings passion and his character pushes the plot forward; outside his attempt to get Crystal to marry him (which was jarring--an issue of story rather than acting) his performance is excellent and the show is able to illustrate why he wants change things--he's the most developed character
• Serinda Swan (Medusa) - was good--I think more of her would have benefited the show, as her fiery personality made her distinctive; the CGI hair only lasted two sequences, as even with IMAX's infusion of cash it's simply too expensive to render
• Sonya Balmores (Auran) - while I have no idea what motivates her character (is it a passion for Maximus, a dislike of the royal family, or something else?), or what makes her think she can tackle the escaped royal family on her own, but in terms of the acting she generates the necessary menace and loyalty to Maximus that the plot requires
• Lockjaw - I saw complaints about the CGI for him, but I thought it was fine
• Moral ambiguity - the show avoided a simplistic good/evil dynamic (with some fairly blatant racist feelings from some of the royals towards humans), entering into the more gray area usually reserved for the Netflix shows; Medusa stabbing Auran to death (with that intent at least) surprised me in a positive way
• Effects - good so long as you keep the TV context in mind; the only one I really didn't like was Gorgon's stomping animation (the CGI texture didn't mesh with the ground properly)
• Medusa's wig - wasn't that bad and the effects were fine; I've seen people say it's just as bad as the poster and the trailers, but that's simply not true

The Bad

• Missing development: the plot could have been clearer (perhaps the extra 9 minutes we'll get in the TV version will help); this applies to the characters as well--while I could intuit what was going on, the show leaves a lot to the imagination (the Eloi/Morlock situation in Attilan is never fleshed out); who the Inhumans are is not really explained (narration over a montage in the beginning could have easily provided the necessary infodump)
• Keeping the flashbacks intended for television (these are at the break point between episodes one and two--Scott Buck has one or two flashbacks like this in Iron Fist as well)--this is pointless in something meant to be a cohesive entity
• Karnack (Ken Leung): while I thought his speech during the Terragenesis ceremony was funny, his fight scene is awful (Vlad Rimburg was the fight choreographer, but only for these two episodes); his ability to strategize is undercut both by him stupidly falling while climbing and then not understanding he has a concussion (both of which are a product of lazy writing)
• Gorgon (Eme Ikwuakor): while his portrayal isn't bad overall, he does two colossally stupid things: 1) reveals that the Inhumans base is on the moon (this after preventing NASA from making the same discovery earlier), 2) nearly drowns himself in a bizarre attempt to find the missing Triton
• Medusa: leaving Auran in a state from which she could recover--while it's conceivable she's unaware of Auran's healing powers, in the context of the theatrical version it's odd that she doesn't simply cut her throat to make sure she's dead
• Crystal: I'm not sold on Isabelle Cornish's acting in the role yet (it wasn't bad so much as flat)
• Triton's (Mike Moh) makeup doesn't work
• Sets: I mostly like the austere aesthetic, but seeing chipped concrete on Crystal's balcony is jarring

It's always easier to talk about problems--praise tends to be brief and fairly generic. Ultimately this cut felt like it wasn't optimized for the theater (Buck must have been deluded when he said these episodes would stand on their own). This problem doesn't rest on the shoulders of Roel Reine, the Dutch director of the two episodes, but rather Buck (who wrote it) and his two editors (Radu Ion and Kristina Hamilton-Grobler). It's a credit to performances that the somewhat garbled story functions and maintains a level of dramatic tension. Whatever other problems it suffers from for me, at least this cut left me wanting to know more and see where the story is going.

Would the Inhumans have worked better as a feature film? I don't think so. The family drama requires time to develop that just doesn't exist in a movie. I also don't think Netflix would have been inherently better--the CGI for Medusa and Lockjaw would be a problem for any TV budget (think of the constraints even Game of Thrones has to put up with). What I think the theatrical release denied the property was the slow burn that would have suited it better--Maximus' betrayal as a mid-season or end-of-season twist--all the more palpable if the audience has had a chance to get to know him and the royal family. Instead, the show needs to rush into that conflict in large part to get rid of Medusa's hair and get away from the moon (both elements that would have to happen no matter who had the property).

In the end I think this is an earnest attempt made under incredible time restraints. It's a good cast with (for TV) good effects and cinematography. Where it suffers is in the writing and editing (the latter worse than the former in this case). That said, it would be a shame to throw away acting talent like this and such an interesting concept. Hopefully it will work well enough on television that ABC will stick with it for another season. I do think, however, that it's simply not suited to IMAX (which would be better off with a solo, action-oriented hero--Moon Knight perhaps).

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)