Live-Action Marvel TV Shows Could Be Heading to Marvel Studios

Days after Hulu canceled the Gabriel Luna-starring Ghost Rider that was about to begin production, there's a large cloud of uncertainty surrounding Marvel Television. Friday afternoon, Variety released a report seemingly suggesting Marvel Television could be shuttering its efforts to produce additional live-action television series. The news comes after a renewed effort from Marvel Studios and Kevin Feige to develop limited series for Disney+.

"According to multiple industry sources who spoke with Variety," Variety's Joe Otterson reports. "The perception throughout the entertainment business is that live-action productions will be mostly if not completely moved away from Marvel Television, headed by veteran exec and producer Jeph Loeb, as Feige's unit ramps up production on its own Marvel series projects."

Since news of Disney+ first surfaced, Marvel Studios has announced six live-action shows including The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, Loki, WandaVision, Ms. Marvel, Moon Knight, and She-Hulk. Marvel Television, on the other hand, currently has just one live-action program about to enter production in Hulu's Helstrom, a show announced alongside Ghost Rider. Outside of that, the Loeb-led outfit has a third season of Runaways due out in December before Agents of SHIELD debuts its seventh and final season next summer.

"Feige's shows are so far beyond anything Marvel TV has been able to do," one TV agent says in the report. "He has access to all of these MCU characters that the other Marvel live-action stuff just doesn't, not to mention way bigger budgets."

As reports had suggested around the announcement of Disney's The Mandalorian, the House of Mouse is expected to dump around $100 million per series into its new offerings original to Disney+. In comparison, Marvel Television's initial deal with Netflix allowed for a reported budget of $200m for the initial seasons of Daredevil, Iron Fist, Jessica Jones, and Luke Cage. In case you're doing the math, that means Disney+ shows get at least four times more money than Netflix dished out to any of the Defenders.

Not counting for the aforementioned Hulu live-action series, the only other productions in the works from Marvel Television include the adult-oriented "Offenders" shows Howard the Duck, Hit-Monkey, MODOK, and Tigra & Dazzler. Those shows are expected to hit Hulu in 2020.

If Marvel Television ceases production on all live-action television shows, what other characters do you think Marvel Studios could pick up? Share your thoughts in the comments below or by tweeting me at @AdamBarnhardt!

Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney