Marvel's THE INHUMANS Movie is Now an ABC TV Series

So much for the big screen.

Marvel announced late yesterday that their planned Marvel's The Inhumans film based on their characters will now be an ABC television series instead.  However, in an unusual move, the new series will premiere in IMAX commercial theatres before debuting on ABC. This follows on the film being removed from Marvel's film schedule in April 2016.

The Inhumans were introduced into the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the second season of ABC's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., with further introduction in the third season.  This was the first live-action adaptation of the Inhumans, but has not yet featured any member of the Inhuman Royal Family.

According to the press release, "a version of the first two episodes of Marvel Television’s new series Marvel’s The Inhumans -- produced in conjunction with ABC Studios and filmed entirely with IMAX digital cameras -- will run worldwide exclusively in IMAX for two weeks at the beginning of September 2017.  ABC plans to then premiere the weekly series in fall, with additional exclusive content that can only be seen on the network."

In addition, the release claims that ABC, IMAX and Marvel Television will work together to create a joint marketing and promotion plan for the series across their proprietary media platforms, the first cross-platform marketing launch of a television series.  The agreement also marks IMAX’s first time as a financing participant in a TV pilot and series.

"This unprecedented alliance represents a bold, innovative approach to launching great TV content for a worldwide audience," said Ben Sherwood, co-chairman, Disney Media Networks and president, Disney/ABC Television Group.  "It highlights Disney/ABC’s unrelenting commitment to finding new and creative ways to showcasing our very best programming and increasing global engagement and reach."

"This first-of-its-kind multi-platform production, distribution and marketing agreement brings together Marvel Television’s unique brand of entertainment, ABC’s unparalleled audience and IMAX’s brand and global fanboy demographic," said IMAX CEO, Rich Gelfond.  "It also takes our decades-long relationship with The Walt Disney Company to a whole new level, jointly breaking new ground in the industry.  We are confident our exhibition partners will be excited to work with us on this innovative launch of a series across the IMAX network."

"We're happy to see this unique deal come together, working with our partners," said Dan Buckley, President, Marvel Television, Publishing & Brand.  "In an ever-changing world of distribution and consumption, it’s very exciting to be part of a groundbreaking initiative that takes us to the forefront of this evolution."

Created in 1965 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the Inhumans first appeared Fantastic Four (vol.1) #45.  At the beginning of the Kree-Skrull War, millions of years ago, the alien Kree established a station on the planet Uranus, a strategic position between the Kree and Skrull empires.  Through their work at this station, they discovered that sentient life on nearby Earth had genetic potential invested in it by the alien Celestials.  Intrigued, the Kree began to experiment on Earth's then-primitive Homo Sapiens to produce the genetically advanced Inhuman race.  Their goal was to investigate possible ways of circumventing their own evolutionary stagnation, and to create a powerful mutant race of soldiers for use against the Skrulls.  Although their experiments were successful in creating a strain of humanity with extraordinary abilities, the Kree abandoned their experiment because a genetic prophecy had predicted that the experiments would eventually lead to an anomaly who would destroy the Kree Supreme Intelligence.

Their test subjects, the Inhumans, went on to form a society of their own in Attilan, which thrived in seclusion from the rest of humanity and developed advanced technology. Experiments with the mutagenic Terrigen Mist (a process known as Terrigenesis) gave them various powers, but caused lasting genetic damage and deformities.  This led to a long-term selective breeding program in an attempt to mitigate the effects of these mutations.

Until recently, the Inhumans were led by their king, Black Bolt, and his Royal Family, consisting of Medusa, Karnak, Gorgon, Triton, Crystal, Maximus the Mad, and the canine Lockjaw.  Both Crystal and Medusa have been members of the Fantastic Four, while Crystal has also been a member of the Avengers.  Black Bolt guided the Inhumans through some of the most turbulent times in their history, including several attempts by Maximus to usurp the throne, revolts by the worker class (with their eventual emancipation), attacks by human renegades, the kidnapping of Medusa, the destruction and rebuilding of Attilan, and the revelation of the Inhumans' existence to humanity.

During the events of Infinity, Thanos and his forces attacked Attilan and offered to spare the city in exchange for a tribute -- the deaths of all Inhumans between the ages of 16 and 22. Black Bolt surmised that the offering is a ruse to hide the fact that Thanos actually desired the death of Thane, a half-Inhuman youth he had fathered years earlier.  The search for Thane eventually revealed that secret Inhuman tribes have existed on Earth for years and mated with its population, producing a number of seemingly-normal humans who possess dormant Inhuman genes.  In response to Thanos' threat, Black Bolt and Maximus evacuated Attilan before destroying it as a show of defiance.  The destruction of the city activated the Terrigenisis Bomb, a creation of Maximus, which spread the Terrigen Mist across the globe and activated special abilities within numerous unsuspecting humans who were Inhuman descendants.