Marvel has decided to make an Inhumans TV series on ABC instead of a movie, and they're using the core characters for this one!

Well, this is certainly a change of plans. For almost as long as the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been a thing now, it feels like, The Inhumanswas on their schedule as a movie. But then in April, something changed, and it was removed from its July 12th, 2019 release date. At the time, it felt like business as usual, as it had already been shuffled around Marvel's busy schedule a few times. But now we know the reason: there's an InhumansTV series coming instead.
Marvel has tapped a familiar showrunner to make this one a reality. Scott Buck, who worked as showrunner on March's Iron Fist (and, of course) Dexter, is in charge of making this one a reality.
So, you know how Agents of SHIELDhas been using kind of "bargain basement" Inhumans characters on the show? That isn't going to be the case for this. We're going to get the core Inhumans characters, in a big way. That Hashtag Show (who broke a ton of character news about Iron Fist) have the official character descriptions from a casting call sheet, and they confirm everything you want about the series.
The phony "regular person" names on these all correspond to the first letter of the names of the biggest names in the Inhumans world, and the descriptions match accordingly. All are listed as "series regulars" too.
First up, we have "Broderick" who is certainly team leader, Black Bolt:
[BRODERICK] Male. 30-40. Caucasian. Can say volumes with just a look. Strong, thoughtful and private, he’s unaccustomed to being questioned or feeling a need to answer to anyone, to an extent that can verge on arrogance.
"Marjorie" is Medusa:
[MARJORIE] Female. 30-40. Caucasian. An elegant and intelligent advisor to her husband, she struggles to find her place outside of their relationship, as others tend to view her as just a pretty face. Strong and resourceful, she’s not afraid to break the rules when the situation demands it.
Maximus the Mad:
[MARTY] Male. 30-40. Caucasian. Broderick’s younger brother; he is intelligent, charming and articulate. He comes across as a man of the people but secretly covets power.
Karnak (currently starring in a really cool solo mini-series of his own from Marvel Comics)...
[KEVIN] Male. 30-40. Open. Slight of build, his mind is his greatest asset. Always prepared with a plan, his outlook on life is the glass is always half-empty and often cracked and dirty as well. Though his outlook can be grim he has a droll, dry sense of humor.
Gorgon:
[GRADY] Male. 25-35. Open. Impetuous and brash, he has serious impulse control issues which frequently get him into trouble whether its women, booze or fighting. He loves life and lives in the moment for better or worse.
Crystal:
[CHRISTINE] Female. 18-25 to play 18. Caucasian. Soulful but still learning the ways of the world, she has the arrogance of youth. Impetuous and independent she is also deeply devoted to her family.
Triton:
[TIMOTHY] Male. 25-35. Open. SFXMU required. Supremely athletic. The ultimate picture of cool. He’s calm under pressure and willing to do anything to get the job done.
The full report from That Hashtag Show is here.
And if you want to learn more about the roots of the Inhumans and why these characters are important, we've got just the article for you.
The Inhumans Release Date
The first two episodes of The Inhumans TV series will screen in IMAX theaters for two weeks beginning September 1st before it bows on ABC on September 26th, and apparently those episodes will also contain footage that wasn't in the big screen versions. Whew.
Uh-oh, Agents of SHIELD fans...September 26th is a Tuesday. Does this signal the end of Agents of SHIELD, currently in its fourth season but relegated to an odd timeslot of 10 pm? We'll update this with more information as it becomes available.
Buy Inhumans Comics on Amazon
Marvel's announcement focused on the innovative marketing of playing this in IMAX theaters before the TV premiere. “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 in a statement. “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.”
The Hollywood Reporter has some additional details, namely that the first two episodes will be shot entirely using IMAX cameras (which makes that IMAX launch make a little more sense) and that footage for more episodes will also be shot in IMAX, including sequences on the Moon, which is the comic book team's traditional base of operations. This seems to indicate this will take a more comic book faithful, cosmic approach than what we've come to expect from Inhumans concepts introduced on Agents of SHIELD so far. It also appears that this won't be an Agents of SHIELD spinoff. The same report indicates that this TV series doesn't replace Marvel's movie plans for the franchise, but I find that kind of hard to believe, and wonder if this information is garbled.
We'll update this with more info as it becomes available.