After such strong beginnings, ABC has to be a little disappointed with its current Marvel TV lineup.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has declined in ratings every season and has been moved to a 10 PM time-slot.
Agent Carter has been canceled and the network declined to move forward on
Marvel’s Most Wanted. Speaking at the TCA Summer Press Tour, new ABC president Channing Dungey admitted that its time to rethink how ABC is approaching its Marvel adaptations and hinted that they might be looking to carve out a Netflix-esque series of interlocking programs.
"
We all came to an agreement that the next show that we want to do together is something that is as creatively strong as it can be," said Dungey. A follow up question was posed as to whether ABC would look to replicate the Netflix model to which she replied, "
That’s an interesting question, and we have talked a little bit about that, yes."
As for what Marvel currently has in development at ABC, John Ridley is rumored to be working on a TV show starring Kamala Khan aka
Ms. Marvel and then there's
Damage Control and a second, unnamed Marvel comedy also in development. As these projects were announced under the tenure of former ABC Entertainment President Paul Lee, it remains to be seen whether they'll move forward under Dungey.
Discussions then turned to whether the network could develop a
Star Wars TV drama to which Dungey replied, "
As a fan I would absolutely love to say yes. We have had conversations with Lucas and we will continue to have conversations with them. I think it would be wonderful if we could find a way to extend that brand onto our programming." Of course, Dungey's predecessor, Paul Lee, also fielded such questions but admitted that the focus on
The Force Awakens effectively nixed development on Star Wars Underworld - a project that had been in development since 2005. Many of that show's elements were later incorporated into Disney XD's
Star Wars Rebels..
Another hurdle is the fact that J.J. Abrams' Bad Robot has an exclusive TV deal with WB and its hard to imagine a TV project moving forward without the involvement of
The Force Awakens director and
Episode VIII and
IX executive producer.