Has Marvel’s Inhumans already been canceled by ABC?
Poster copy suggests that ABC may have already canceled Marvel’s Inhumans, but is it too soon to start worrying?
Back in 2014, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige announced the Phase Three lineup of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Inhumans being one of the films expected to be released in the Phase. And while the film was scheduled for release in 2019, details surrounding the project were few and far between, with even rumors suggesting the studio had no intention of producing the film.
Fast forward to 2016. Marvel Studios announced that Inhumans would be moving forward as a television series, with ABC and IMAX joining forces for what they expected to be the Game of Thrones of the MCU. Unfortunately, the project was dubbed a critical and commercial failure during its limited IMAX run, when it grossed less than $3 million worldwide. And ahead of its Sept. 29 premiere on ABC, Renew/Cancel TV pointed out oddly specific verbiage at the bottom of a promotional poster.
The poster in question:
MARVEL’S INHUMANS – “Marvel’s Inhumans” will premiere a version of the first two episodes in IMAX theatres for a two-week period beginning September 1st. ABC will then air the entirety of the series on the network, with additional exclusive content that can only been seen on ABC. “Marvel’s Inhumans” will premiere on ABC on Friday, September 29th at 8:00-10:00pm ET/PT. (ABC)
If you look at the poster above, Inhumans is at first described as “the first chapter,” but it also suggests it could be the “complete series,” which has led belief that this is to be its first and only season. This, of course, has led to speculation that it has already been canceled before its network premiere.
But it’s far too early to jump to conclusions. Sure, the wording on the poster is strange. And sure, the critical response has been tepid to terrible. But that doesn’t make for a cancellation.
Take Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Iron Fist, and The Defenders, for example.
Ratings for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. gradually declined throughout the first season, but has since found its footing. Now, five seasons in, it continues to serve as an integral element of the MCU. Iron Fist was created by Scott Buck, the same creator behind Inhumans. Even though Iron Fist was considering the worst of Marvel Studios’ Netflix programming, it managed to gather enough interest to score a second season (albeit with a new showrunner). And finally, the recently released The Defenders was the least watched Netflix original series premiere in the United States — as measured over the first 30 days of viewership — according to an analysis by marketing analytics firm Jumpshot.
While the IMAX numbers for Inhumans were disappointing, there aren’t actual ratings to go by just yet. It’s far too soon to know if ABC will continue the series. But if the series does fail, hopefully they will work the Royal Family into Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Then again, I expected Bobbi and Hunter to be back on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. by now, but I guess everything can’t always go my way. At least Hunter is back.)
Inhumans debuts on ABC on Friday, Sept. 29, at 8:00 PM.