Every Rumored, Confirmed, And Canceled Comic Book TV Show On The Way You Need To Know About
Believe it or not, there are more comic book TV shows in development than movies and we're now taking a look at the ones you need to know about which are either confirmed, rumoured, or no longer happening.
Not too long ago, superhero TV shows were pretty much unheard of. However, thanks to the success of movies like The Dark Knight and The Avengers, things quickly started changing and now pretty much every network you can think of is developing small screen comic book adaptations. In fact, there are more of them than we can even count based on Marvel, DC, Image, and various other properties.
There are your straightforward superhero shows and ones which adapt comic books you may have never heard of but an awful lot of them are worth your attention and those are what we're looking at.
From those which are confirmed to ones which are currently just rumoured or sadly even cancelled, this is your in-depth guide to every must-see comic book TV show in the works over the next few years. So, to check out the entire list, all you have to do is click on the "View List" button to check them out.
New Warriors - Confirmed/Cancelled
New Warriors is currently in a very weird place. Originally scheduled to air this year, Freeform decided it didn't have room for the series and gave it back to Marvel for them to try and shop around to another network. The show has a cast and the pilot started shooting last November but Jeph Loeb revealed last month that Marvel is still searching for a home, so we'll just have to wait and see for now.
Titans - Confirmed
Titans will debut on the DC Universe streaming service this fall and early word on the show is that it exceeds expectations in every respect. Surprisingly, Warner Bros. has taken an R-Rated approach to these characters, going for a tone which doesn't sound that different to Batman v Superman! However, it's clearly going to adhere to the source material and that's obviously worth getting excited about.
Daredevil Season 3 - Confirmed
Aside from introducing the Punisher, season two of Daredevil was a tad disappointing but season three looks set to make up for that by adapting Frank Miller's "Born Again" storyline. Pitting the Man Without Fear against Wilson Fisk and Bullseye is pretty much a comic book fan's dream come true and assuming Marvel doesn't drop the ball here, it should be epic. Expect it to air on Netflix sometime in 2019.
Iron Fist Season 2 - Confirmed
Thanks to Scott Buck, the first season of Iron Fist was a crushing disappointment. It started off pretty strong but went downhill from there and the fact the hero never donned his comic book costume infuriated fans. Thankfully, there's a new showrunner in charge of season two which has already started production and is expected to finally introduce Danny Rand's comic book accurate look.
Doom Patrol - Confirmed
Another DC Comics adaptation set to debut on DC Universe, the Doom Patrol will be introduced in an episode of Titans before a spinoff is launched featuring this oddball group of heroes. The cast is slowly coming together and Kelsey Grammar is rumoured to be taking on the role of The Chief, the team's leader. An air date hasn't been confirmed but we'll probably see this one next year or early 2020.
Deadly Class - Confirmed
Based on the comic book of the same name, Deadly Class is being produced by Joe and Anthony Russo as the Avengers: Infinity War helmers continue making an impact outside of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It will air on Syfy next year but don't let that put you off because the horror series has assembled an incredible cast made up of names like Doctor Strange's Benedict Wong and Lana Condor.
Swamp-Thing - Confirmed
Warner Bros. isn't holding back when it comes to putting a lot of original content on the DC Universe streaming service and that's going to include a live-action Swamp-Thing TV series. Aquaman director James Wan will co-helm the pilot, while a brief synopsis has confirmed that Abigail Arcane will have a role, a sign that the show may be inspired by critically acclaimed New 52 run featuring the hero.
The Boys - Confirmed
The Boys takes place in "a world where superheroes embrace the darker side of their massive celebrity and fame" and "revolves around a group of vigilantes known informally as 'The Boys,' who set out to take down corrupt superheroes with no more than blue-collar grit and a willingness to fight dirty." It's being developed by Eric Kripke, Evan Goldberg, and Seth Rogen and will it air on Amazon Prime.
Untitled Jessica Jones-Esque Marvel TV Show - Rumoured
We don't know who will be the focus of this series but during a recent appearance at the Edinburgh TV Festival, Marvel Senior VP of Original Programming, Karim Zreik, confirmed that they're working on another female-led TV show in the same vein as Jessica Jones. This one joins an untitled comedy which is also in the works, not to mention John Ridley's long-delayed mystery "superhero reinvention" show.
Static Shock - Cancelled
As you may recall, Warner Bros. was reportedly developing a live-action TV series alongside Reginald Hudlin but four years on and it's pretty clear now that it's not happening. The character appears to be stuck firmly in development hell as a result but rumours continue to swirl that he could appear in The CW's Black Lightning. Whether or not that will happen or lead to a spinoff remains to be seen for now.
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina - Confirmed
Riverdale has proved to be a big success on The CW and with Netflix airing the series outside of the US, it's no great surprise that they now want to get in on the action by expanding this world with Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. Reimagining the origin and adventures of Sabrina the Teenage Witch as a dark coming-of-age story that traffics in horror, it will star Mad Men's Kiernan Shipka in the title role.
Watchmen - Confirmed
Zack Snyder's Watchmen was pretty much a pitch-perfect adaptation of Alan Moore's graphic novel but fans were still excited when they learned Damon Lindelof was developing it for HBO. Unfortunately, it appears to be a sequel which may not make use of the original characters in a meaningful way and while it does have some potential, whether or not it will end up working now remains to be seen.
Damage Control - Cancelled
Damage Control was going to put the spotlight on the people who clean up after The Avengers but after Warner Bros. beat Marvel to the punch with a workplace themed comedy set in the DC Universe (NBC's now-cancelled Powerless) which really didn't work, this one was put on hold and hasn't been heard from since. Proving that it's dead, Damage Control was used in Spider-Man: Homecoming.
Dr. Mirage - Cancelled
Did you forget about this one? A Valiant Entertainment property, Dr. Mirage centres on a female paranormal investigator who can communicate with dead souls but after being announced in 2016, it's clearly no longer happening. That's probably because it was originally set to debut on The CW, a network which already has its fair share of superhero properties and doesn't actually require another.
Invincible - Confirmed
Originally, it was announced that Preacher's Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg were developing a live-action Invincible movie but plans for that now appear to be up in the air because we recently learned that Robert Kirkman is working on an animated series for Amazon Prime. It will run for eight episodes and given the crazy scale of the comic book series, that may work better for it than a live-action take.
Obi-Wan Kenobi - Rumoured
This one should definitely be filed under "rumour" but there have been rumblings that the movie will debut on Disney's planned streaming service in order to increase interest in that, while some believe it could actually take the form of a limited series. What we do know is that Jon Favreau is working on a Star Wars TV show set after Return of the Jedi which is indeed set for this planned rival to Netflix.
Y: The Last Man - Confirmed
Y: The Last Man is one of those shows which has been stuck in development hell for what feels like forever. Thankfully, the pieces are finally falling into place as it was revealed this week that FX has cast Diane Lane, Barry Keoghan, Imogen Poots, Lashana Lynch, Juliana Canfield, and Marin Ireland in Michael Green's adaptation of Brian K. Vaughan's comic. This should be worth keeping an eye on.
Metropolis - Cancelled (For Now)
Another DC Comics adaptation which was being eyed for DC Universe, fans did not react well to the news of a Superman prequel revolving around Lois Lane and Lex Luthor teaming up in Metropolis. Possibly taking that into account, the show is now being redeveloped and that's probably for the best as it sounded pretty awful and the last thing Warner Bros. will want is a flop on this streaming service.
The Defenders And The Inhumans - Cancelled
This is rather embarrassing for Marvel but two of its biggest projects - The Defenders and The Inhumans - have both been cancelled after an overwhelmingly negative reaction to the latter and pure disappointment with the former. It's a shame because these properties have a huge amount of potential but neither worked for a number of reasons and that's particularly bad news for Black Bolt.
Pennyworth - Confirmed
Gotham is wrapping up with its next season but Warner Bros. isn't willing to leave the world of Batman alone, hence why another prequel is in the works. Developed by Gotham showrunner Bruno Heller, it will put the spotlight on Alfred Pennyworth's time in the SAS before he became a butler for the Wayne family. It doesn't really sound like a must-watch but Epix has already ordered ten episodes of it!
Sin City - Rumoured
Sin City: A Dame to Kill For may have been a disappointment but Frank Miller's beloved series of graphic novels is now rumoured to be on the way to the small screen. Despite being announced last year, we've not heard anything about casting but we do know that Miller is involved along with, quite worryingly, Die Hard 4.0 director Len Wiseman. The Walking Dead's Glen Mazzara will be in charge.
The Rest...
Now, we haven't mention obvious shows like The Flash and The Punisher above because you know that they're on the way but here's a list of TV shows which are in various stages of development right now:
The Gifted, The Flash, Black Lightning, Riverdale, Supergirl, Arrow, Legends of Tomorrow, Umbrella Academy, The Walking Dead, Fear The Walking Dead, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Gotham, iZombie, Krypton, Legion, Harley Quinn, The Tick, The Rocketeer, Snowpiercer, Jessica Jones, The Punisher, Lazarus, Lucifer, Minnie the Minx, Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur, Quantum & Woody, Red, Runaways, Scalped, Scarlet, Sex Criminals, Southern Bastards, Velvet, Witchblade, Judge Dredd: Mega City One.
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