While 12 Years a Slave screenwriter John Ridley’s mystery Marvel TV project is still a mystery, he’s apparently making revisions.
As the Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to dominate the big screen box-office, its continuity-connected television realm also expands heavily with ABC’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the growing array of Netflix shows like the upcoming Iron Fist and mega-crossover The Defenders. However, one of its long-discussed project is a mystery show for ABC being written by John Ridley, the scriptwriting visionary behind the celebrated show American Crime and the Best Screenplay Oscar-winning historical epic film 12 Years a Slave. While the project is still on the table, Ridley is apparently reworking his long-gestating script.
In an interview with EW, ABC entertainment division head Channing Dungey had somewhat of an update on the status of John Ridley’s mystery Marvel superhero show. While said update still does not identify what the show will become, Dungey did divulge an interesting tidbit about its current state. According to Dungey:
“Yeah, so John is working on a rewrite of that script for Marvel at the moment. We have not seen a new version of it. He’s been on production of his show, over in London, and on Season 3 of American Crime, so those are the things that have been top of mind for him of late. But I have heard from Marvel that he is working on a revision to that script.”
Rumors over the past few years have pegged Ridley’s project as being a variety of likely socially-conscious Marvel Comics adaptations ranging from the much-bandied The Inhumans (now confirmed for ABC), Cloak and Dagger (which we now know will arrive on Freeform), to a small-screen version of the current polymorphic-powered Ms. Marvel, Kamala Khan that would likely run parallel to the 2019 Captain Marvel movie in which Brie Larson will star as former Ms. Marvel Carol Danvers. However, another loose theory has Ridley pegged to pen a television reboot of Blade, focusing on the iconic Daywalker’s vampire-hunting daughter. Thus, nothing has even come close to being confirmed.
Nevertheless, this status update proves useful, since it seems to let the fans know that this Marvel TV project, whatever it might end up being, is not coming around anytime soon. However, in another instance of vague-but-useful tidbits, Dungey also made some auspicious comments regarding the chances that ABC’s current Marvel TV mainstay Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. will stick around for a prospective fifth season, stating, “I’m very bullish on S.H.I.E.L.D. and we’re also really excited about our production with Marvel, ABC Studios, and IMAX, which we are working on for next fall as well.”
For now, though, John Ridley is juggling not only his Marvel script rewrite, but more episodes of American Crime and his work will next be seen in an upcoming TV miniseries about radicalism and racial strife in 1970’s London called Guerilla.