A lot of people loved Daredevil, but I think Marvel TV is still trying to hit its stride. Ironically, a company built out of long-form storytelling hasn’t mastered television. Even at 13 episodes, Daredevil felt too long and carried weak storylines (the supporting characters labored for episodes on end to discover what we already knew). That being said, it was also a promising start, especially as far as Daredevil and Wilson Fisk were concerned. Nevertheless, Marvel TV keeps struggling, but that’s not stopping them from rapidly trying to expand their TV plans.
Heroic Hollywood has lots of new details with how the studio is planning for the Phase 2 of their TV series and beyond. Let’s break it down:
Daredevil
The show was a huge hit, and Season 2 received a green light 11 days after the show premiered on Netflix. However, it’s possible that we’ll see The Man without Fear before then. The next Marvel-Netflix series, AKA Jessica Jones, will premiere later this year, and there will be “a great deal of crossover with Daredevil”. Keep in mind that the four Netflix series—Daredevil, AKA Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist—are all building to The Defenders. We already know that Luke Cage is part of Jessica Jones, so Marvel wants these characters to start interacting before The Defenders, so it makes sense to put Daredevil in the mix as well.
Furthermore, when Daredevil returns, expect to see his love interest, Elektra along for the ride. However, she might not be the only anti-hero on the block. Marvel “is toying with the idea of adding characters like Punisher, Blade and Ghost Rider”, but they provide their own complications.
Punisher, Ghost Rider, and Blade
Blade and Ghost Rider carry supernatural aspects, which will not only up the cost of giving them TV series, but it also carries the Marvel-Netflix TV shows away from the gritty, street-level aspect that the studio is going for. Furthermore, they see Blade and Punisher as not only one-note but also too violent. The studio wants a “hard PG-13”, not an “R”, which, if true, is utter horseshit on the part of Marvel. Daredevil is outrageously violent to the point where a guy impales his head on a spike. As long as no one says, “fuck” or shows boobs, it remains “PG-13”
I also disagree with the assessment of Punisher as “one-note”. On his own, Punisher is tricky, but if you bring him into the Marvel-Netflix universe, he could work great since his ethos buts against the other four heroes. Punisher is willing to kill, and if he gets results, then who’s to say his way is wrong? Another flaw in Daredevil is that Matt Murdock refuses to kill, which is fine, but the show still needs to dispatch his enemies, which leads to suicide or someone else doing the dirty work on more than one occasion. Matt wrestled with his desire to kill in season one, and I agree with Devin at BMD that bringing in The Punisher keeps that conflict relevant and also expands it to other heroes.
If the Punisher, Blade, or Ghost Rider end up getting solo shows, Heroic Hollywood says they’ll likely make their first appearance as a cameo on another Marvel-Netflix series before going to a backdoor pilot.
Non-Netflix Series
Heroic Hollywood briefly mentions, “Titles like Cloak and Dagger, Ms. Marvel and a Hulk prequel are all coming our way.” I assume Ms. Marvel would be based off the hit comic series currently running rather than tie to Captain Marvel, which is due to hit theaters in a few years. I’m also not sure why anyone would care about a “Hulk prequel” if that means Bruce Banner puttering around in a lab. That would also mean you would need to nail down Mark Ruffalo, who I assume is too busy to do a TV series. I suppose the other option would be to focus on the military trying to track down Hulk, but that would probably be laughable after a point. Although, I can’t deny I would be amused to see wrecked warehosues and having a commander shout, “Damn! Missed him again!” That would be better than some episodes of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Inhumans
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has heavily cast their lot with the Inhumans, which is Marvel’s way of bringing in their answer to mutants since they can’t use m-word characters because Fox owns the rights. So far, the purpose of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has been to bolster the movies. It’s inessential, but a nice touch if you’re a fan of the MCU. One would assume that all of the Inhumans plotting is laying the groundwork for Marvel’s Inhumans, which opens in 2019.
However, Heroic Hollywood says, “It’s a good bet the movie will ignore all or most of what the TV show has done,” which is kind of a slap in the face to all of the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. fans who think they’re getting a jump on the MCU.
Movie Crossovers
This is where things get touchy for the movie-television relationships. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. bolsters and relies on the movies, but the movies don’t need Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. You get a Maria Hill or Nick Fury cameo from time to time, and that’s it. Daredevil only makes passing references to the films. Marvel wants more than that, and they’re “working hard to get film actors to cameo.”
The studio is “pulling hard for Dr. Strange to appear in the Defenders series,” which makes sense since Doctor Strange is a natural bridge between movies and television. He has magical powers but he also resides in Greenwich Village. Unlike the Avengers, he lives at street level, but he can also ascend past that. However, that’s an item on the wish list, and Heroic Hollywood suspects a supporting character will once again bridge the gap between movies and television.
If Doctor Strange crossing into the Marvel-Netflix world seems like a high hope, then a Hawkeye/Black Widow series is reaching for the stars. This would be the huge mashup between the TV and movie sides, but there are just too many pieces to get into place. I also wonder if Kevin Feige’s plans for the movie side don’t want to get bogged down with TV series’ storylines. Personally, I would love to see a Hawkeye/Black Widow series or movie, but I understand all the obstacles to the former, and there’s no place for it in Phase Three.