Disney apparently found some spare millions in its couch seat cushions and is planning on throwing it at producing several Marvel Cinematic Universe-related TV shows for its new streaming service. Loki and Scarlet Witch are the only two confirmed characters with shows in development. There are others, though. Who might they be?
For years now, fans have been complaining that for as much fun as the Marvel Cinematic Universe is – well, fun until a space despot snaps away half the universe – there’s still a blockbuster movie formula which has to be honored. Fun conversations scenes revealing new depths of pathos and humor eventually give way to third act orgies of CGI action and world-threatening stakes. “I would watch an entire movie of just them talking” and “Why not give that character his/her own Netflix show so we can learn more about them?” have been uttered so often as to enter into cliche, the type of thing Marvel fans say but will never actually get.
Well, I doubt we’re still quote to seeing My Dinner with Iron Man yet, but we are officially on our way to those Netflix shows. Kind of. Instead of Netflix, they’re going straight to Disney’s streaming service, unofficially known as Disney Play.
The details, from Variety: Disney and Marvel Studios (but not Jeph Loeb’s Marvel TV, which is being left out of this) are currently developing several big budget, 6-8 episode limited series events focused on Marvel Cinematic Universe side characters as well as several entirely new ones. Anyone who has already had their own solo movie is not being considered for a TV series nor are they expected to cameo in any of these shows. So, move aside Thor and the other Avengers because Loki and Scarlet Witch are getting their own shows.
Should those characters make it all the way to Disney Play, they will again be played by Tom Hiddleston and Elizabeth Olson respectively. That’s because whoever gets their own show will be played by the same actor from the movies. This isn’t going to be a “recast and shoot a prequel” kind of thing ala Solo: A Star Wars Story.
It’s difficult to assess who might be joining Loki and Wanda Maximoff on the way to Disney Play. Because until the next Avengers movie, we have no idea who’ll still be alive, other than Spider-Man, whose next movie is due mere months after Avengers 4. Beyond that, if the ever-so-dead Loki is getting his own show then who knows who else might be eligible.
So, let’s just speculate wildly and look back later and laugh at how wrong we were. Let’s start with the most obvious choice for her own series, if only because she’s already done this before:
1. Peggy Carter
Agent Carter: Season 3 seems like a no-brainer. Only problem might be that Agent Carter was a Marvel TV production, and all of these Disney Play shows will be Marvel Studios-produced. Thanks to complicated behind the scenes politics, Marvel TV and Marvel Studios are basically divorced. However, while Peggy passed away in Civil War her backstory-filling TV series never got to finish its story, and Hayley Atwell has repeatedly expressed a willinginess to come back to right that wrong.
2. Falcon
Other than being Captain America’s new best friend, an Ant-Man frenemy, and his basic military background, we don’t know much about Sam “Falcon” Wilson. Anthony Mackie has proven in other projects to be capable of far more range than the MCU films have asked of him so far, and there is a rich history in the comics of Falcon-centered storylines, especially during the runs when he’s tried to become the new Captain America.
3. Hawkeye
Jeremy Renner has been pitching his own Hawkeye solo TV series for years. Last year, he told Comic-Con, “I’d be open to it. I’ve really enjoyed getting to explore the character more recently. The Netflix model is where all the character drama goes to now, you’re doing a superhero movie or a Netflix or HBO kind of model. So I’d be open to it. Not up to me, though.” While Hawkeye, as Honest Trailers joked years ago, is no one’s favorite Avenger, he’s also a character who has had a celebrated run in the comics in recent years which could easily serve as inspiration for a fascinating TV show. There was once some thought of there being a Hawkeye and Black Widow series it now seems far more likely that if Scarlet Johansson reurns after Avengers 4 it will be in her own solo movie, not for a buddy TV series with Jeremy Renner.
4. Cassie Lang as the Teenage Superhero Stinger
Scott “Ant-Man” Lang’s daughter has already been established as having superhero ambitions, and at various points in the comics, she has indeed gained powers of her own. In one recent run, she did it as an act of youthful rebellion and it backfired on her in a big way, forcing Scott to eventually take the fall for her reckless crimes. Obvious downsides here are such a storyline might be best saved for an Ant-Man and the Wasp 3 down the road, and it’d be hard to do a Cassie Lang show without Paul Rudd cameoing as Ant-Man, which might not be an option. Also, it’s highly possible this storyline will already be introduced in Avengers 4 if those rumors about time travel are true.
5. Valkyrie, Korg, and Miek
Tessa Thompson has at various points lobbied for her own Marvel project or an all-female team-up vehicle. This could easily take the form of a TV series instead of movie, and one obvious option might be a Valkyrie, Kork and Miek outerspace adventure series. The simple logic here is to take the breakout side characters from Thor: Ragnarok and give them their own thing, possibly featuring them defending the last of the Asgardians. If that treads too close to the Loki series, why not pair Valkyrie with others for a Lady Liberators, A-Force or Fearless Defenders all-female series?
6. Vision
Again, much like Loki the last time we saw The Vision he was ever so dead, and if Scarlet Witch is getting her own series it would seem strange for The Vision to have one as well instead of simply co-starring in her’s. The only reason, then, I mention him as a candidate is the existence of Tom King’s 2016 12-part series The Vision, in which the titular robot creates his android family only to end up experiencing his own version of American Beauty.
As Inverse argued in its euphoric review of the series:
“There is no pretense of humanity when the Visions are introduced in issue one. However, through 12 issues, King charts a path in which a family, fully aware of their artificial lives, discover humanity through the pain and suffering that comes with living “normal lives.” […] By putting Marvel’s most confusing semi-magic, semi-futuristic character in the suburbs outside Washington, D.C., King managed to write one of the most tragic, heartwrenching stories in contemporary Marvel canon.”
So, just adapt that into a TV series…that is unless Vision isn’t around anymore after Avengers 4.
7. Howard the Duck
Consider this your “any good list has to end on a joke” choice, but, hey, it could happen. Howard is technically a MCU side character, and those who know the harder-edged, more satirical comics have long railed against the bizarre, disappointing live-action film from the 80s. A talking animal fits right in Disney’s wheelhouse, even if they wouldn’t actually like most of what he had to say. Plus, if they do make a Howard the Duck series they already have a seriously catchy theme song in their back pocket:
Source: Variety
Your turn. Throw out your suggestions in the comments.
We Minored in Film 
What about Bucky? Or even better Bucky with Falcon? I always wanted a road trip movie just with those two, but I would take a road trip series, too.
Maybe Disney will just order more Agent Carter for the streaming service from Marvel Studios on top of those plans. Seeing a proper finale for it would certainly be a draw for fans, plus, it would be cheaper….
Based on their interactions in Civil War, I’d be up for a Bucky-Falcon road trip series for sure.
One scenario: Cap dies or retires in Avengers 4. A 6-8 episodes series arrives not too long after to chart the grieving process of his two best friends, Bucky and Sam, both of whom are struggling to figure out how to carry on his legacy. By the end, one of them becomes the new Cap.
If that’s too involved, a more straightforward Bucky and Falcon side adventure could easily take its place.
“Seeing a proper finale for it would certainly be a draw for fans, plus, it would be cheaper….”
That might give it an edge because this entirely about giving them something to market to fans to force them to subscribe. Disney is leaving hundreds of millions on the table by walking away from all of their content deals just to put their own catalog titles behind their own paywall, and they are entering into direct competition with a service which is outspending all the film studios combined, them included, on original content. So, that means Disney is going to throw a LOT of money at this thing to make it work, and in all of that spending Agent Carter could appeal as a lower cost option which has already been proven to work as a TV series and comes with a fanbase clamoring for closure.
Well, there are a lot of IP’s which Disney owns (or will own once the merger is complete) which are currently not tied up in any deals, so they will have a much easier time filling their catalogue than Netflix has. And some of the stuff is actually pretty good, just a little bit old.
Agreed.
I’ll add, just so we’re all on the same page: according to the Variety article (and several others preceding it), the plan is still to keep the Marvel Netflix shows on Netflix. So, the Disney shows will be working with different Marvel IPs. Your comment indicates you already know that. Just adding so that everyone else does.
I assumed. Frankly, it currently doesn’t makes sense to move Netflix Marvel, not until Disney has its streaming service up and running, and even then, they aren’t that much of a draw anymore. There has been barely any hype around the last releases compared to beforehand. Plus, I assume whatever contract they have, Netflix has secured the rights firmly for now. They would have been stupid not to.
Agreed.
There’s also the possibility that the shows simply don’t match the image Disney is going for with this service. I don’t think PG-15, borderline-R material is in their business plan.
Maybe things would be different if the shows were still the draw they once were, but as you pointed out they all seem to have lost a lot of their cultural pull at this point. Regardless, from what I’ve seen you are right to assume Netflix has the rights locked down for the time being.
Btw, have you ever taken a look at the number of TV IPs Fox owns? It is kind of impressive…I guess at one point Murdoch went on a shopping spree and collected as many defunct studios and production companies as possible, with their IPs naturally. And considering that TV shows are a better draw for Streaming services than movies are….
I’d be willing to watch some of those (Falcon, Hawkeye, Valkyrie) as long as the creators don’t use the same formula that’s used for the Netflix shows, which is getting kind of tired.
I’d also watch an Incredible Hulk reboot, or a corporate drama about the adventures of Pepper Potts.
“creators don’t use the same formula that’s used for the Netflix shows, which is getting kind of tired.”
100% yes to this. I have seriously soured on the Netflix shows for that exact reason.
“I’d also watch an Incredible Hulk reboot”
I thought about including him in my list, but, technically, he’s an Avenger who already got a solo movie and the Variety article said no one like that will be getting their own TV show. But, that was two actors ago, and thanks to contract drama with Universal there’s not going to be another Hulk solo movie. I don’t know if Universal also holds TV rights.
“a corporate drama about the adventures of Pepper Potts.”
I’d watch that. Might I also suggest a legal drama with She-Hulk.
OMG! I loved John Byrne’s version of She-Hulk when I was growing up! (I was girly- crushing on her really hard.) I would totally watch that show, especially if there are no Hulk movies or shows coming.
Was excited at first. Then given it a bit of time to sink in and now I am thinking this is really scraping the barrel. Next Dc will release a show called Pennyworth a butler serving two masters. Or Chief O Reilly about an irish policeman who never gets a break due to a dark knight. Howard the duck tv show might work.
That is really not the same. We are talking about characters which can and have carried their own comic book titles.
Howard the duck had his own comic series. Im sure the others could sell 10 or 20 issues. But tv? Nah.
Those are supposed to be mini-series if I understood the rumours correctly. So, maybe six episodes? Easy to fill.
Yes, they are going to be mini-series. The Variety article states 6-8 episodes, which is a perfect length, I’d say. Very easy to fill, I agree.
“Or Chief O Reilly about an irish policeman who never gets a break due to a dark knight.”
[Raises hand in shame] I’d actually watch that.
I get your general point, and with superhero storytelling now so pervasive across all manner of media there’s a definite tipping point into “scraping the bottom of the barrel” where we run out of worthwhile characters or new angles on old stories.
That being said, when they’re leading with Loki and Scarlet Witch I’d hardly call that scraping the bottom of the barrel.