Now that Marvel has announced that they’re about to start a Runaways series on Hulu, the blockbuster television studio has diversified to the point where they have their toes in just about every major format.
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With Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on ABC and a number of projects reportedly in the works from the network that also aired Marvel’s Agent Carter and was developing Marvel’s Most Wanted, they’ve got broadcast covered. Cloak and Dagger is coming to cable’s Disney XD.
Their Netflix slate, set to culminate in a team-up series called Marvel’s Defenders, has already launched with series starring Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and has both Luke Cage and Iron Fist planned for 2017.
And now, with Runaways, they’re reaching out into Hulu’s sphere. And what else could they develop there?
We thought you’d never ask.
While Hulu certainly has its share of “mature” content, the fact that Marvel is opening with Runaways (whereas they opened with Daredevil at Netflix), we’re going to use that as a muse. Something a little different, a little offbeat…but likely somewhat light.
MUTANT X
With Marvel Television and 20th Century Fox seemingly cozying up a bit to make Legion and other X-themed television happen, it seems like a logical enough move to bring an X-title to Hulu, a company with deep ties to Fox.
But which? Well, since I adore the series, I started thinking about Mutant X, Marvel’s Havok-driven series from about 15 years ago in which Havok is shunted into the body of an alternate-universe counterpart of his when said counterpart dies. The world he ends up on — with, of course, “classic” Havok’s memories, is a dramatically different one and allowed writer Howard Mackie to explore similar territory to the other X-Men titles, but in a dramatically different way and sometimes to act as though the Stan Lee/Jack Kirby and Chris Claremont runs on the titles never happened — meaning that Havok could be the one to drive certain thematic discoveries on his own for the “first” time.
It’s a great comic with a distinct beginning, middle, and end — just like Runaways — and one of Hulu’s most recent successes — the Stephen King adaptation 11/22/63 — was a time travel/alternate universe drama, so it’s not unfamiliar territory to the executives who would be listening to the pitch.
(So, too, the recent and hugely-profitable X-Men film, Days of Future Past.)
This is a long, long, long shot, but if they wanted to do it, they could certainly link it up with the apparent-but-not-onscreen death of Havok in X-Men: Apocalypse.
THE FANTASTIC FOUR
This is another one where Marvel Television would have to work with Fox, but let’s be honest: at this point, can anybody really argue that the cinematic future of the Fantastic Four looks good?
I think that the cast they had in place could very well have made a decent movie — and I think that if there was somebody willing to commit some funds to the right screenplay, it still could — but the odds are stacked against them ever getting it off the ground.
So why not take it to TV? To do so would more or less give them a longer-format way to rehab the image of the property, much like what Netflix had with Daredevil.
And, to be honest, the FF is one of Marvel’s longest-running and most storied teams for a reason. There are dozens of great FF stories that could become an episode or even a season of a TV show if done right.
DAMAGE CONTROL
With DC bringing Powerless to NBC, this one seems like it’s a hard sell…unless of course Powerless becomes a big hit.
For years, while fans were clamoring for DC to make a TV show out of Gotham Central (which they eventually — kind of — did with Gotham), they wanted Marvel to make Damage Control.
Damage Control follows the guys who clean up after superhero fights and, in some instances, have to go to elaborate lengths to help bring things “back to normal” after the chaos those fights bring.
The project was being developed at ABC about a year ago, but with Powerless already headed for an airdate in a few months and no more movement on Damage Control, it’s entirely possible that The Daily Show and The Colbert Report EP Ben Karlin could be looking for a new home for his script.
THUNDERBOLTS
There’s been a lot of talk about the Thunderbolts recently — last week’s Superwoman #1 had a twist ending that reminded a lot of fans and critics of Thunderbolts #1, and it’s led to a lot of talk about how hard it is to genuinely surprise fans these days.
It would be difficult to fool anybody about a TV show, since before it ever aired, we would likely have dozens of stories about the Thunderbolts comic. Still, bringing together some B- and C-level villains who will likely never be the star of a major motion picture and putting them on a Suicide Squad-like team together where the bad guys are compelled or forced or…whatever…to do good.
We’ve already had a couple of the main original Thunderbolts show up in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, so you could either steal those actors to launch the series, or just go with a whole new version of the team and just keep the high concept. Either way, the idea of delving into the psychology of “villains” has huge potential for an ongoing series.
And doing it on Hulu would allow for some not-safe-for-TV language or violence once in a while as the story dictated, but it wouldn’t BEG for a lot of same, as one of Marvel’s Netflix series would.
NEW WARRIORS
The whole notion of a reality show centered on superheroes is one of those things that has huge upside to be either great, or a total disaster.
Taking it off broadcast TV and allowing for a smaller-budget production that takes a few more chances might allow for it to be really great, and Hulu would likely jump at the opportunity to make a Marvel show that feels cool and innovative and not like “just another Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.“
And, as with so many of these ideas, it would give Marvel an opportunity to take some characters unlikely to find a home on broadcast or in the movies a chance to find an entirely new audience.
