Back when the no brainer announcement of Joss Whedon signing on to direct The Avengers 2: Thanos’ Boogaloo hit the web, there was another minor news item attached that was less widely discussed. Joss Whedon would also lend his expert hand in crafting a Marvel universe live action TV series for ABC.
The cryptic announcement was met with some speculation about what exactly the new show would be about. Now Deadline has broken the news that a live action S.H.I.E.L.D. show has been officially green lit by ABC:
S.H.I.E.L.D. will be written by Whedon and frequent collaborators, his brother Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen. Joss Whedon also is set to direct the pilot, schedule permitting. Production on the pilot, which marks the first live-action Marvel TV project to get a green light, will start immediately.
The main focus of any Marvel TV series should be on expanding the total universe, and there is no better way to reach the widest corners of the Marvel cinematic universe than with a show based on S.H.I.E.L.D. So this announcement makes a ton of sense.
Take a look after the jump for the top three reasons why this is pretty stupendous news.
1) A show based on S.H.I.E.L.D. gives Marvel a weekly TV show to test out characters, places and stylistic directions on the general public with out taking the risks on big budget feature films. Small characters who would otherwise never have a chance on the big screen now have an avenue for introduction to the world that wont cost Marvel studios millions.
2) A weekly series set in the Marvel universe that runs in the fall gives Marvel Studios a nearly year round connection to the public consciousness. With their ‘phase’ structure that plays movies out as precursors to larger event films, Marvel Studios can now build these events in another very visible medium. This new show could end up being the equivalent to the tie ins that accompany every modern event in comics. Giving fans a chance to dig deeper into the story with out having to make everyone watch/read ten times as much content to get the story.
3) This represents an almost 100% guaranteed Joss Whedon TV series that will have a fair chance to thrive. Firefly and Dollhouse both were shows that were never really given a fair shake, and while Dollhouse did get a second season and Firefly got a movie, both were pretty much doomed by the time the first episode aired. The knowledge that Whedon is heavily involved in a show that is going to be given every chance to succeed is probably the most exciting bit of info in this whole shebang.
Hopefully the series gets fast tracked and ends up on TV screens sooner rather than later. Stay tuned to The Flickcast for any new updates on this series as it develops.
