ABC announced that they have not ordered a pilot for a series featuring an all-female cast of Marvel superheroes, from Allan Heinberg. Heinberg was one of the writers of the ‘Wonder Woman’ movie and also penned a run of the comic books. For Marvel, he created the ‘Young Avengers’. On television, he has worked as a writer and producer on ‘Party of Five’, ‘Sex and the City’, ‘Gilmore Girls’, ‘The O.C.’, ‘Grey’s Anatomy’, ‘Scandal’ and ‘The Catch’. He was also attached to write a script for a movie based on the Marvel mutant character Maddrox, ‘Multiple Man’, with James Franco attached to star, but presumably, with Disney buying out 20th Century Fox, that’s not happening.
ABC had a pilot commitment for this all-female series, which would have had a large budget, but the network has opted not to move forward. No reason was given, but money was probably a factor, added to the fact that ABC hasn’t been terribly successful with their Marvel projects. Their biggest success, ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ has endured for six seasons, and has been renewed for a seventh. Unfortunately, it has never been a big ratings hit nor does it generate much buzz, even within the comic fan community. ‘Agent Carter‘ lasted for two low-rated seasons. Plans to spin Ghost Rider and Mockingbird off from ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ into their own shows failed. ‘Inhumans‘ was an expensive disaster. On the plus side, ‘Cloak & Dagger’, which airs on the ABC offshoot Freeform has performed well enough to be renewed for a second season.
Nevertheless, ABC is still said to be seeking to develop more Marvel projects, and wants to attract a female audience like some of its biggest successes, including ‘Grey’s Anatomy’, ‘How to Get Away With Murder’, and ‘The Good Doctor’, as well as the recently departed ‘Scandal’.
No details about the show are known, but it was reported to feature lesser-known characters, and presumably none that belonged to the X-Men or Spider-Man universes. Also, characters from the Marvel movies would be off-limits, with shows based directly on the MCU going to the streaming service Disney+.
What Marvel characters would you like to see brought to television?
Source: Deadline
